Cloning Woes

Hey people, this is my first post here, always reading around though.

I have a problem with my cuttings, now last year I was cloning in a different location and had a very high success rate, I was successfully rooting around 45 out of 50 cuts most the time. Now my current location is in the same room just about 2 meters from where it used to be, it used to be in a chest of drawers now it is in a DR40 inside of a wardrobe.
I never used to check the temp or humidy and everything went fine. I am making the cuts in the exact way I was before, using the same rooting hormone and same root riot cubes.

The problem I have is the last two times I have attempted to root some cuttings (only doing 6-12 per time), is that they look healthy then around five days in some of them begin getting a dark patch on a leaf, this then spreads and within 24 hours the cutting will be droping and never recovers. This eventually happens to them all .

I took 8 new cuts last sunday and checked my temp and humidity, temps are between 70-80 and humidy is 90+, misting twice daily. Everything was looking good and healthy until I checked them last night (day 5), two had small dark patches appearing, by today the patches have grown and they are starting to wilt . I used to use about 30w of cfl while rooting, only using 11w at the mo but the area is roughly 25% smaller.

I will get some pics now of them and the setup, using a dome with heatmat underneath. I dont think I have forgot to mention anything but if anyone needs any more info just ask. Really hope I can get to the bottom of this.


Thanks for reading

wow, i can GUARANTEE you one thing im pretty sure it has nothing to do with being 2 meters over LOL. i can move my entire grow to the other side of the room and i bet bottom dollar nothing changes. dark spots, could be mites, could be nutes, could be watering, could be anything pictures would be very helpful

Do you sterilize between? Dipping right out of the clone gel bottle? hard to judge without pics.

lagarrettBLUNT said:

wow, i can GUARANTEE you one thing im pretty sure it has nothing to do with being 2 meters over LOL. i can move my entire grow to the other side of the room and i bet bottom dollar nothing changes. dark spots, could be mites, could be nutes, could be watering, could be anything pictures would be very helpful

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Didnt think it would be the two meters lol

Coho

Do you sterilize between? Dipping right out of the clone gel bottle? hard to judge without pics.
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No sterilizing and come to think of it I have been dipping out the bottle! I did used to pour some in a shot glass and dip from there. However I have done cuts for a friend and dipped into the same bottle and a lot of his rooted :S.


Ok I got some pics, hope they can explain the problem a bit better than me. It seems the areas that get darker also feel a lot thinner and weak, and two of the stems just broke apart as I tried to pull them out the plug. (I have never pulled from the plug once inserted, but as I knew they was goners I wanted to look).

Also, the cuts are in a DR40 tent, inside I have set up a shelf and the mothers live up there, and have done for the last 9 months with out a problem.

And thanks for the fast replies dudes


Ok, the first 3 pics are of the location and prop with lid off. The next 4 are of the affected leafs. The next 3 are of the stems of 2 different cuttings that have no affected leafs yet, and the last 2 pics are of 2 different cuttings that had affected leafs and the stems just broke as I pulled them out the root riot cubes.

Thanks again

Cuttings are 2x Dutch Passion Blueberry, 3x Green House Exodus Cheese, and 3x Green House Super Silver Haze if that helps at all.

Subannac said:

The problem I have is the last two times I have attempted to root some cuttings (only doing 6-12 per time), is that they look healthy then around five days in some of them begin getting a dark patch on a leaf, this then spreads and within 24 hours the cutting will be droping and never recovers. This eventually happens to them all .

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That black rot is a fungal infestation. Normally when it spreads down (or up) the stem, it makes it get soft, and black, and the little girl just falls over. Is that what you're seeing?

These fungus spores are always present, but normally lots of moisture is the cause for the outbreaks. Not humidity necessarily, but moisture. Are the cubes moist, but not wet? Make sure your substrate is merely moist, and never soaking wet. Also as the guy above me stated; make sure your using somewhat sterile methodology when you make your clones.

DankShasta said:

That black rot is a fungal infestation. Normally when it spreads down (or up) the stem, it makes it get soft, and black, and the little girl just falls over. Is that what you're seeing?

These fungus spores are always present, but normally lots of moisture is the cause for the outbreaks. Not humidity necessarily, but moisture. Are the cubes moist, but not wet? Make sure your substrate is merely moist, and never soaking wet. Also as the guy above me stated; make sure your using somewhat sterile methodology when you make your clones.

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Yes that sounds pretty much whats happening. The parts that are still nice and green feel normal and strong but the affected areas are like nothing is there and when it happens on the stem she just falls over .

I think maybe they are getting too wet, definitley more wet than just moist, and I have been misting a bit to much I think. Sometimes the cubes start drying out though so I give them a spary to moisten them up again, maybe Im doing that to often. What is the best way to re-moist them? And should they be drying out at all?


Cheers

I water those little cubes until they feel damp, but if you press on them you don't see water. Then I don't water them again until the top of the pellet starts to look a tiny bit dry (they get a little lighter in color) after a couple days. I had quite a few fall over as well when I started, and since then I just have used less water, and no misting, and never seen it again. I cover them with a dome, and use a heating pad, but I do not mist.

i have been having this same problem...im kinda forced into the situation of rooting in rockwool and i hate its because of many reasons....i am now in a cloning machine and have never looked back.

I use root riot cubes and get 100% success. But your problem is definitely to much water they are rotting. Try this first get a new bottle of gel or whatever and pour it into something clean when you dip them. Second is a sterile razor blade, your temp and humidity are right. So for the first 2 days leave dome vents closed and spray 2 times a day for 2 days, then open the vents and spray 2 times a day for 2days then take the lid completely off and spray 2 times a day for 2 days and then plant, works every time for me hope this helps.

They have been too wet and are now too dry. They mustn't be soggy but they can't dry out either. The base of the dome tray looks bone dry.