White fuzz on cutting stem

[tick tocker]

I have a cutting that sat in water for 3 weeks without showing ANY sign of shooting out roots.  I didn't add any fungicide to the water, but did let it soak in root stimulator for a night before changing the water.  A little up the stem from the water a white fuzz started to develop.  I lightly scraped it off and the stem turned black where I scraped it.  Since no roots started to grow I ended up putting it in soil just a day ago, and noticed quite a bit more fuzz on the stem around where the other fuzz was.   Has anyone else experienced this?  Would rubbing some isopropyl alcohol on it fight it back at all?  Or would some fungicide do that better?  As of now.. I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Thanks.

[winder]

To avoid rot, use a bubbler and change the water 1 or 2 times each week.
Once the rot sets in, this plant is a goner.
Even stems that are pruned get infected easily and die off downward.

[tick tocker]

That's what I was afraid of, thanks for the tips.  I may try to cut off the bottom of the stem and see if I can root it from above where the rot is.  I'll post back with my success, or lack thereof.