Newly transplanted clones drooping

Hey guys, need a little advice here.

I got several clones of blackberry and immediately transplanted the cubes of rockwool into some Organicare Pure Earth Soil. I gave them about 150 mL of water each with a small amount of Superthrive. I have a 400W MH going 18/6 for vegging. I watered them a couple times with tap water, and did not adjust the pH. They began to droop and I gave them some CNS17 Grow Fertilizer at 1/2 strength and they were still drooping. I picked up some worm casting tea at a hydro store and gave them all about 200ml of that hoping to revive them. Some have turned yellow and lost lower leaves and are beginning to lose the upper leaves. Others have been shocked from the start and are extremely droopy.

I also have some larger clones that I got, they are the bigger, greener ones in the pics. One of them is already pretty much dead, but a few are doing very well. I now have pH adjusted water and I am giving them that when they are dry. Any advice?

The temp has been pretty good, about 70 during the day and 60 at night. Humidity has been from 50-75%, using a humidifier in a 3x3x9ft tall closet.

Well, the one looks like it's drooping from a lack of humidity. Get some plastic wrap over the planter to hold in moisture.

cool that's an easy fix for those guys. should i wet the inside of the plastic wrap? should i poke a hole or two in the wrap so it doesn't suffocate the plant? i've noticed that if i run the humidifier thru the dark cycle it can reach 80-90% humidity, or if i leave it off it stays around 40-50, which is better? during the light cycle with the humidifier it stays 50-55%.

i was also wondering if i had to resort to leaching the soil to save them, or if i could just give them water for a while...

The soil doesn't look wet at all, so water the clones planter and add plastic wrap over it and it if is able, it'll improve appearance in a few hours.

Most plants will droop from shock when transplanted. Just put some carnations in the garden outside and yesterday they looked like they would die. Today they are looking so good.

Same happens to weed. They will be fine. If they are rooted clones they are like seedlings or young plants. just water as needed and don't do to much. And do not worry bout humidity.

I grow and clone in 30 percent humidity. I just ran a batch of 4 clones and decided to not use a humidity dome. 100 percent rooted.

This is from a couple days ago



Good lcuk

thanks lefty, appreciate the help. unfortunately i gave them some tea and nutes and they aren't really rebounding like i had hoped. i have just given them water the last couple of days but they aren't showing any signs of recovery. should i keep them wet or let the soil completely dry between waterings? or should i leach them to get the toxins out of the soil?

ok does anyone not think of the obvious that you have to cut leaves in half in order get the plants to root or else they will just try to continue to veg...this just looks like a poor cloning job...could b wrong

oops some are cut...ne ways the containers that the clones are in look kinda big...its always easier to clone in smaller in order to get big root ball

Krawhitham said:

thanks lefty, appreciate the help. unfortunately i gave them some tea and nutes and they aren't really rebounding like i had hoped. i have just given them water the last couple of days but they aren't showing any signs of recovery. should i keep them wet or let the soil completely dry between waterings? or should i leach them to get the toxins out of the soil?

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Let the completely dry between watering. You are drowning the roots. They are not wet plants.

Your doing to much. I know its hard. You feel like there is some thing you should be doing. So back off a lil. When they get dry flush them, 2 times the container size of water, and than wait till they perk uip than start nutes slowly.

Some of my plants go 4 days or more befor they need to be watered. You could get a cheap soil moisture meter to help guide you. I water by my meter and have never had a watering issue.

Good Luck

The original drooping was from shock and now you are likely gone straight into over watering classic mistake. Its ok. Lets see if we can't save them. Let them dry till the container feels light. Than flush. ANd make sure you water when they are dry for now on. And go slow with the nutes. start at 1/4th strength and work up. Only feed once a week.

DR. RESINTHUMB said:

oops some are cut...ne ways the containers that the clones are in look kinda big...its always easier to clone in smaller in order to get big root ball

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naw. There is no set rules to cloning. You can clone 7 weeks into flower and can clone in straight water with no hormone and right in soil

I cloned right in soil. I have a 100 percent rooting success rate. I found my clones do better with out humidity domes. I just mist 3 or 4 times a day.

Life finds a way my friend



Next he stated he transplanted them which means they had rooted and were moved into the growing medium. I skip this step myself by cloning in soil. I cut, dip, place in soil and mist. 18/6 lighting with heat pad.

Awesome thanks a lot lefty. When you say let it completely dry do you mean event the soil that's an inch or two down?

Also, I am a little worried about flushing because isn't that overwatering as well? I guess that also breeds the question of how much water to give them each time. Should I wet the whole pot or just give the area around the plant 30 or 40mLs?

Krawhitham said:

Awesome thanks a lot lefty. When you say let it completely dry do you mean event the soil that's an inch or two down?

Also, I am a little worried about flushing because isn't that overwatering as well? I guess that also breeds the question of how much water to give them each time. Should I wet the whole pot or just give the area around the plant 30 or 40mLs?

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Its dry when the container feels light versus how it feels when just watered. I would go get a cheap soil moisture meter from lowes. They like 5 bucks and when ti says dry I water.

I suggest you flush once they are dry just to make sure you did not burn them with the 1/2 nutes. It would not hurt and than start feeding at 1/4th strength. You wanna build up nutes. 1/4th one feeding than move up the next. Make sure you ph after you add the nutes.

No overwatering is not to much water at one time. The medium will only hold so much water. the rest should drain out. Over watering is when you water to often. The soil never gets to dry and the roots drown. I water with the same amount of water as the container size. I have not had any issues. I water my 1 gallon grow bags with 1 gallons of water. My 16oz cups get 16oz of water. Get it?

Flushing removes salts and nute build ups from your soil. They will droop for a day after a really good flush but perk up quickly. I would say try to flush once every 30 days for good health.

This si what I have gone with and had no issues. I hope it helps

OK, so i've been letting them dry out for the last couple days and they don't seem to be getting any worse at least. I have poked my fingers into the soil of a few of them and although it's dry for at least an inch or two, there is moist soil towards the middle and bottom of each container. The pots are 5 inches across at the top and filled with about 4 out 6 inches to the top with soil. I assume that it is best to wait until this is dry as well before the next watering? Also, is it good to let the plant sit in dry soil for a day before watering?

Another concern of mine is that my stems have actually turned to a deep purple/red color. Not sure what to make of that. This is a light that I borrowed from a buddy, any chance that it is past its prime or something? I wonder what the symptoms are from a worn out 400W MH?

Thanks for the help guys.

Krawhitham said:

OK, so i've been letting them dry out for the last couple days and they don't seem to be getting any worse at least. I have poked my fingers into the soil of a few of them and although it's dry for at least an inch or two, there is moist soil towards the middle and bottom of each container. The pots are 5 inches across at the top and filled with about 4 out 6 inches to the top with soil. I assume that it is best to wait until this is dry as well before the next watering? Also, is it good to let the plant sit in dry soil for a day before watering?

Another concern of mine is that my stems have actually turned to a deep purple/red color. Not sure what to make of that. This is a light that I borrowed from a buddy, any chance that it is past its prime or something? I wonder what the symptoms are from a worn out 400W MH?

Thanks for the help guys.

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Don't worry bout stem color. Mine be all kinds of colors. It could be strain or stress. No biggie. Your plants are shocked anyway lol.

If they are not getting worse that is great. They will take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks to recover. Just watch for new growth and for them to perk up like they are awake.

yes let them dry. I would really suggest you get a soil moisture meter to help teach you how to feel dry vs wet.



When the arrow points to dry you water. Its that simple. No thinking no mistakes. Its like 5-10 bucks. Worth every penny imho.


Let the medium dry , usually 3-5 days than water. I would wait for nutes till they perked up. Go slow. I would not be surprised if the perk up by time they need watering again.

I have 2 clones that 2 days ago looked poor and now look awesome. I am sure yours will do the same.

Good Luck

Heres some pics of mine today

The bud I cloned 6-7 weeks into flower.



My clones. Will be putting a couple in flower in another week.

Nice lefty, some of those clones are looking real good. Took your advice and just picked up a pH/light/moisture reader from the garden center. It has a meter going from 1-9 (dry-wet). It turns red at 3, and all the plants were at about that level. The thing I noticed as being off was the pH. It came out between 7 and 8 for all the plants. I wasn't pHing my water until just now. Maybe this is the main culprit? Are these things accurate at soil pH? Isn't the ideal around 6 for the soil?

Krawhitham said:

Nice lefty, some of those clones are looking real good. Took your advice and just picked up a pH/light/moisture reader from the garden center. It has a meter going from 1-9 (dry-wet). It turns red at 3, and all the plants were at about that level. The thing I noticed as being off was the pH. It came out between 7 and 8 for all the plants. I wasn't pHing my water until just now. Maybe this is the main culprit? Are these things accurate at soil pH? Isn't the ideal around 6 for the soil?

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I water at 3. So if your at 3 I would say water. I do not trust the soil ph meter, Just ph your water between 6 and 7 and you will be fine.

Yeah thanks. I already have 3 clones in flower. I am now a cloning fool. I bet I could clone a ham sandwich lol

OK so I just went ahead and have them the rest of my pH'd water, about a 1/2 cup for each one. I'm pissed because my buddy sent me some stuff for pHing but it's been in the mail forever. There were also a couple of 600's in there, I'm hoping that it didn't get flagged or something... I can get more pH'd water at the hydo store but they don't open til tomorrow morning so i guess a half cup will have to do for now.

Krawhitham said:

OK so I just went ahead and have them the rest of my pH'd water, about a 1/2 cup for each one. I'm pissed because my buddy sent me some stuff for pHing but it's been in the mail forever. There were also a couple of 600's in there, I'm hoping that it didn't get flagged or something... I can get more pH'd water at the hydo store but they don't open til tomorrow morning so i guess a half cup will have to do for now.

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Its cool. And its never dire you have to water right away. They can go a few days before they start to really be affected. Just make sure your not over watering and everything else I told you and you will be fine.