I SuCK AT CLONING!

Wassup everyone. I need some advice. I’ve tried cloning a couple times now two different ways and have been unsuccessful both times. So I have some really healthy outdoor plants I’ve tried to clone just to learn how to do it. Followed procedures laid out by posts on here and some YouTube videos. I know my propagation set up is hillbilly-ish hahaha I’m redneck Albertan but I’m trying and I will figure this shit out with a little help from my friends here hopefully. So I will post the recent pics and the product I used tell me your thoughts or if you need more info no problem. I ph balanced to 5.5(read that was good for clones) and mixed a gallon of water with 1 ml flora blend from general hydroponics(vegan plant booster). I tried hemp cubes soaked in mater originally but that failed miserably. This attempted I did what the ladies do to root clippings from home gardens, cut at 45 degrees dipped in root stim and dropped in the water. Been changing the water every second day(they say to change everyday) and twice a day I spray foliage with ph balanced water. Help this no clone growing mutha trucker!

I have had 100% success with taking clones and I kept it very simple. Take the clones, trim the fan leaves in half, slice the bottom of the stem at a 45 with a razor, dip stem in water, then plant right into solo cup with potting soil. I water with just tap water keeping the soil moist, after 7-10 days they start showing signs of growth. For lighting I keep them under a T12 shoplight, the leaves can even touch the bulbs with no issues.

BostonBuds said:

I have had 100% success with taking clones and I kept it very simple. Take the clones, trim the fan leaves in half, slice the bottom of the stem at a 45 with a razor, dip stem in water, then plant right into solo cup with potting soil. I water with just tap water keeping the soil moist, after 7-10 days they start showing signs of growth. For lighting I keep them under a T12 shoplight, the leaves can even touch the bulbs with no issues.

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Cool man that’s what I mean sounds simple lol. Right from water to dirt?? What about the light I’m using it’s a 45 w full spectrum. No root atom hey?

Coco works great also, just don't soak the medium.

I bought a this little Bin at wall mart. I use a small rockwool cube. I cut the clone trim the tips of leaves off except top ones, put in water then dip in clonex. The rockwool you soak, shake the excess water out. Stick in clone put in bin in bottom of grow room under plants on 18/6 or more light schedules. In a week you should see roots!! I use no fertilizer but ph corrected water.

Bro, try this. First sterilize your equipment with alcohol, take the cuttings and immediately put them in water mixed with a tiny bit of aloe vera gel. Let those cuts stay in there for 24 hrs. Then put them root riots or straight peat, cover with a humidity dome and you’ll have healthy clones in no time.

BostonBuds said:

I have had 100% success with taking clones and I kept it very simple. Take the clones, trim the fan leaves in half, slice the bottom of the stem at a 45 with a razor, dip stem in water, then plant right into solo cup with potting soil. I water with just tap water keeping the soil moist, after 7-10 days they start showing signs of growth. For lighting I keep them under a T12 shoplight, the leaves can even touch the bulbs with no issues.

Click to expand...

Pretty close to how I do it as well.

Cut em put in water for 30 min or so, put in solo cups of dirt with a ziplock on top. 100% pretty much. Failure is rare.

Here’s what you do.

Go buy some rockwool starter cubes

HollandBasics Hydroponic Mineral Wool Cubes (48 Pcs) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KXJ2L6Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JvcFDbADQNXJ5

Grab yourself a nice tray to hold them. These fit perfectly in a 1020 tray. If you don’t get these find a way to support the cubes so they don’t fall over but still allow airflow
Grodan RW205002 GRO-Smart Tray, Terracotta https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004PTFZ48/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RtcFDbTNBTZ2Z

Preferably a tray and dome. You have a little set up going there so should be ok as long as you can fit the above rockwool holder inside. This ones heat Mat is a bonus

Jumpstart Hot House with Heat Mat https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0006VK68E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MycFDbMEEJSSE

If you don’t have a heat mat go get one and make sure you buy the temp controller as well. This step is key as the mat and controller is what you use to control the temp inside your enclosure.
- NOTE. Big rookie mistake. The mat controller comes with a temp probe. DO NOT shove it in the rockwool or soil or whatever medium you use. Just leave the temp probe on the surface to measure air temp and not soil temp.

iPower 68-108°F Digital Heat Mat Thermostat Controller for Seed Germination https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01E9IO6N0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4BcFDbFBP275Q

For lighting I run a single lamp T5 65k at about 20” off the clones tops. It’s a 4 lamp fixture so at day 8 I add all 4 bulbs as the plants have set roots. You want to minimize any growth of the clone until it has at least something resembling a root

Now onto cloning. Your clones seem a good size however I would only leave 2 fan leafs and I would trim them in half just use a sharp razor.

You have a ph meter so let’s get working on prepping the rockwool

-Get a 1gallon pail. Add 200ppm of grow nutes to your RO water
-PH the water down to 5.5 toss the cubes in the water and let them soak for 2-3 hours.
- THIIS IS THE KEY STEP TO ROCKWOOL SO PAY ATTENTION after the 3 hours or whatever go for 24 it doesn’t matter at this point. Take the cubes out and pay attention to how much they weigh. Heavy as shit right? Here’s what you do. Go to your laundry sink and shake the rockwool into the sink 5-6 times for each cube. You just want to remove all that moisture it’s soaked up. You will be amazed at how much water comes out. DONT SQUEEZE IT if you do throw the cube out.
-now you’ve got this cube that you have shaken all the water out of. Cut the clone dip it in gel and stick it in the cube. Stick it enough just to get some pressure into the cube. Kind of like shoving a fork into jello.
-toss the dome on
- set the heat mat to 75 degrees
- mist the clones twice a day. I do it in the am and pm before and after work. Keep the vents on the dome closed for now.
-ANOTHER KEY STEP. Don’t god damn touch the clones. Everyone does a little “tug” to see if it’s rooted. You just fuck and
rip the small roots when you do it. The beauty with the rockwool cubes as you can see the roots when they root. Be patient.
- so watering. Just don’t. DONT think of any water till the 4-5 day. To much water and the clones rot. Take a small syringe. I will water 12ml straight RO with no nutes on the 4th day. Use the syringe and inject it right in the small hole the clone went Into. If you don’t and just pour water the cubes won’t absorb anything.
-I stop misting at day 6 and start opening the vent a little bit each day
-day 10 the heat mat gets turned off
-day 12-14 I have roots on most strains I’ve ran. Some longer some shorter.
- I will only add water with the syringe when the cubes are damn near fully dry and plants are wilting. Again 12ml

At that point a little root shoots out the bottom of the cube and your off to the races. Make sure you acclimatize them properly to your whatever high powered light you choose to veg under

Hope this helps I’ve had to explain to many grow friends and gardener friends how to do this so I figured I’d type it out and just be able to copy and paste to friends

Clumpyoyster said:

Cool man that’s what I mean sounds simple lol. Right from water to dirt?? What about the light I’m using it’s a 45 w full spectrum. No root atom hey?

Click to expand...

I use Black Gold potting soil 0.05- 0.0- 0.0 they sell at my local hardware store. As I take my clones I put them in a large bowl filled with tap water then as I make the 45 degree cuts at the base of the stems and trim the fan leaves in half I'll toss them back in the bowl and get the solo cups ready. I poke about a dozen holes in the bottoms of the cups with a tack, I feel drainage is key so they aren't sitting in mud. I fill the cups and make a hole in the soil with a screwdriver and slide the clones down and gently water with tap water. I use a 40 watt shop light but it's 2' long, so they hardly see anything being right up close to it and wont burn. I haven't used a rooting hormone, I just tried cloning with soil in a cup and it's working. Knowing when to water is the hardest I think, just have to look at the plants and figure out what they need. I did have one or two that started drooping severely that I propped up with a wooden skewer while I got the watering right. I have some clones flowering in there solo cups.

I’m also in Alberta as well. Your outdoors should be nicely in flower right now

Heres my "hillbilly" aka cheapo version...lol
I cut my rockwool cubes up a little...I get 2 clones for every cube...saving $ already...lol

After they are tube shape I cut in half

The halves with a small hole in them need to be plugged up...use the cut off pieces/left overs from above step to fill it up
Make up some cups with 4 holes in bottom edge of each cup...12 used here so 24 total...they are dollar store shot glasses (plastic)
Take a clear top foil pan...also dollar store...and hot glue half the cups to the bottom of the pan...here I did 12.
Put in a spacer/bottle cap in each cup glued in the pan.
Second cup gets the rockwool cube (cylinder) and a clone.

In the end it should look like this.

For my clones:
I shave all around the stem on ~45 degree angle...looks like a sharpened pencil.
Dip it in water to clean off any debris and then dip it in rooting powder.
If stem is tough enough I poke it into the dry rockwool...or use a toothpick to make a hole first if needed.
It shouldn't poke threw bottom, but be 1-2mm just inside.
Cup with the dry rockwool and now a clone in it I sit into a bowl of water (tap water ~ 7.0 pH...6.0-7.0 should be good) until it soaks up fully...takes seconds.
Then they go into the trays.
Mist/spray the clear tops with water and put them on...repeat misting, only the container tops, daily.
Soak rockwool only when/if its almost dry...usually about every 3-5 days.
If kept warm...70-80 degrees...you should have roots show in 7-12 days.

I use this double cup because I kept over watering in the beginning and killing the clones. This way they absorb what they can and spit the rest out.
The clones wont get much of their water source from the rockwool until there are actual roots. In the beginning they drink from the moisture in the air...thats why I use the humidity dome.
When roots start to show I bend up the corners of the foil pan to create an air flow to harden off the clones before I permanently remove the dome. If the clones dont wilt when dome is removed I usually plant them next day.
I found the hot glue didn't stay stuck to the foil well so now I just use 2 of the clear tops. Trim the edges of one so it fits inside the other to make a "seal".
Now there is prob a million things wrong here for some to pick at, but I dont think I've had a clone not root in months...check this one out...forgot to water the rockwool until the next morning when I noticed unhappy plants all droopy...then 10 days later....

Roots grew above the rockwool...somehow...and the 5 others in the tray did the same thing....lol

Mak'er Grow said:

Heres my "hillbilly" aka cheapo version...lol
I cut my rockwool cubes up a little...I get 2 clones for every cube...saving $ already...lol
View attachment 4394071
After they are tube shape I cut in half
View attachment 4394071
The halves with a small hole in them need to be plugged up...use the cut off pieces/left overs from above step to fill it up
Make up some cups with 4 holes in bottom edge of each cup...12 used here so 24 total...they are dollar store shot glasses (plastic)
Take a clear top foil pan...also dollar store...and hot glue half the cups to the bottom of the pan...here I did 12.
Put in a spacer/bottle cap in each cup glued in the pan.
Second cup gets the rockwool cube (cylinder) and a clone.
View attachment 4394075
In the end it should look like this.
View attachment 4394076
For my clones:
I shave all around the stem on ~45 degree angle...looks like a sharpened pencil.
Dip it in water to clean off any debris and then dip it in rooting powder.
If stem is tough enough I poke it into the dry rockwool...or use a toothpick to make a hole first if needed.
It shouldn't poke threw bottom, but be 1-2mm just inside.
Cup with the dry rockwool and now a clone in it I sit into a bowl of water (tap water ~ 7.0 pH...6.0-7.0 should be good) until it soaks up fully...takes seconds.
Then they go into the trays.
Mist/spray the clear tops with water and put them on...repeat misting, only the container tops, daily.
Soak rockwool only when/if its almost dry...usually about every 3-5 days.
If kept warm...70-80 degrees...you should have roots show in 7-12 days.

I use this double cup because I kept over watering in the beginning and killing the clones. This way they absorb what they can and spit the rest out.
The clones wont get much of their water source from the rockwool until there are actual roots. In the beginning they drink from the moisture in the air...thats why I use the humidity dome.
When roots start to show I bend up the corners of the foil pan to create an air flow to harden off the clones before I permanently remove the dome. If the clones dont wilt when dome is removed I usually plant them next day.
I found the hot glue didn't stay stuck to the foil well so now I just use 2 of the clear tops. Trim the edges of one so it fits inside the other to make a "seal".
Now there is prob a million things wrong here for some to pick at, but I dont think I've had a clone not root in months...check this one out...forgot to water the rockwool until the next morning when I noticed unhappy plants all droopy...then 10 days later....
View attachment 4394103
Roots grew above the rockwool...somehow...and the 5 others in the tray did the same thing....lol

Click to expand...

I would think clones get most of it's water from the medium, thats why it's best to make a long 45 degree cut at the bottom of the stem. Think of cut flowers, without sticking the cut stems in water they shrivel and die quickly.

Some of my clones are 3 weeks old and just starting to show roots, I’m using a cheap 3 watt air pump in a container, bubbles splash the stems with water. When I used soil with Wilson root simulator my stems would rot. Second pic is a cut I took from the bottom of my plant and stuck it in an empty pot of soil without root hormone just to see if it would root, thats between 2-3 weeks after.

BostonBuds said:

I would think clones get most of it's water from the medium, thats why it's best to make a long 45 degree cut at the bottom of the stem. Think of cut flowers, without sticking the cut stems in water they shrivel and die quickly.

Click to expand...

The cuts are coated for awhile with powder, gel, honey, aloe or whatever is used...so they get very little water from the medium in the beginning...thats why I showed the pic of the ones I had a few weeks ago that rooted above the rockwool...even when the remainder of the stem (dead and shriveled) was in the rockwool.
I have done them without the dome also, but I find they show roots sooner when domed.
No disrespect...just sharring what works for me and my observations.
I've also noticed a lot of failures if the rockwool/soil stays wet/soaked...let it dry out some before watering. I usually spray the dome first and if they aren't looking better in an hour or two then I water.

crimsonecho said:

Bro, try this. First sterilize your equipment with alcohol, take the cuttings and immediately put them in water mixed with a tiny bit of aloe vera gel. Let those cuts stay in there for 24 hrs. Then put them root riots or straight peat, cover with a humidity dome and you’ll have healthy clones in no time.

Click to expand...

Since everyone is uploading stuff this is what i get with this technique in 7 days. Easy, simple and effective.

I tried all methods....finally found one that works for my coco grows.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/best-method-cloning.990583/page-3

I use the hydroponic 2 inch foam collars & net pots. Cut the bottoms off the net pots so roots dont tangle and rip when you remove them.. 45 degree cut and I shave the bottom inch of the stem ( just the top layer) then dip in Clonex then in to the collar & into a little tupperware type container with holes cut out for the net pots. Add an air stone I add some more clonex in the water. Some take longer than others, But they all tend to root. Cut the leaves in half (Tips off) Any lights will work.
Ive had great success

The Gram Reaper said:

Coco works great also, just don't soak the medium.

Click to expand...

My clones root faster when I let the rootzone dry out a little around day 5.
I personally think it stimulates the roots to search for water!?

Sounds like you could be watering down your rooting hormone man!? Some are more water soluble than others...... try wetting your medium before you add rooting hormone and clone, not after......