Why trim/cut the fan leaves on clones.

lynx · Nov 8, 2009

Could someone explain why one should trim the tips of the fan leaves on clones?

How many fan leaves should be left on in total? Should all tips be trimmed?

I've read a lot on cloning and have heard many give this advice. However, I haven't got a good understanding of why and how many leave should be left on.

Thanks!

superskunk52 · Nov 8, 2009

you cut the tips on the fan leaves so the clone can concerntrate on growing roots instead of growing the leaves bigger. I would leave the top leaves alone. i only take clones with 5-6 nodes on them

lynx · Nov 8, 2009

superskunk52 said:
you cut the tips on the fan leaves so the clone can concerntrate on growing roots instead of growing the leaves bigger. I would leave the top leaves alone. i only take clones with 5-6 nodes on them

So do you take the top with it 5-6 nodes down? Basically topping the plan in the process.

DaveCoulier · Nov 8, 2009

superskunk52 said:
you cut the tips on the fan leaves so the clone can concerntrate on growing roots instead of growing the leaves bigger. I would leave the top leaves alone. i only take clones with 5-6 nodes on them

Im not sure if that is part of the reason why, but I do know it mostly has to do with the fact without roots they have their ability to uptake water greatly reduced, but it still perspires through its leaves. Cutting them in half allows the plant to retain moisture longer until roots grow.

lynx said:
So do you take the top with it 5-6 nodes down? Basically topping the plan in the process.

I think you misunderstood him. He's taking clones with 5 or 6 nodes because you remove the branches/leaves so you have space for the roots to grow from. He didn't say anything about topping.

Punk · Nov 8, 2009

To add to superskunk52, you can keep them healthier with a minimal amount of foilage...it's less for the root system (or lack of) to keep alive, then having a bushy big branch.

JPaulino · Jul 1, 2012

Hey guys, i finally thought it would be good for me to join some of these forums to help educate myself. i am a first time grower and i recently got cuttings from a friend. i got them all cut and dipped into rooting hormone, got them into a dome with good humidity and sprayed them twice a day with water for the first 4 days. i still have them in the dome and recently cut some of the fan leaves off at the stem to promote root growth. these fan leaves were huge and turning slightly yellow. i read that they are turning yellow because the plant is using up the nutes in the leaves to feed itself. the plants themselves look healthy and i didnt cut too many off of each one, one or two nodes off of each, and they were the lower, larger ones. new growth on top looks healthy. i guess my question would be:

-is cutting the larger fan leaves off of the 1 week old clones good or bad for the clone?

-when can i start adding some nutriants to my mist for clones when watering?
-->i heard a b1 nutriant is good for clones. i have 'advanced nutriants b-52' solution i plan to use when in full veg cycle.

hope to hear some good responses

superstoner1 · Jul 1, 2012

along with letting the plant work less on moving water it also tells the plant it just lost half its stored nutes so it better grow some damn roots if it wants to survive.

aseboy101 · Jul 1, 2012

nice info to know

T.H.Cammo · Jul 1, 2012

Punk said:
To add to superskunk52, you can keep them healthier with a minimal amount of foilage...it's less for the root system (or lack of) to keep alive, then having a bushy big branch.

Bingo! It's sort of like a big family. If the bread winner looses his job (a.k.a. - the plants roots), there are just too many mouthes to feed for everyone to survive on whatever, meager, crumbs they can dig up. So they have to thin the herd a little. Maybe set Granny and Grandpa adrift on an icefloe and maybe throw a couple of the (ugly) kids under a bus. As cruel as this may seem, it will allow the remainder to survive more easily.

Basically, that's the same reason why you trim a clone down to the bare essentials. If you didn't there would be too much foliage to feed (instead of mouthes) and no roots (instead of no job) to do it with.

Wetdog · Jul 2, 2012

lynx said:
So do you take the top with it 5-6 nodes down? Basically topping the plan in the process.

Yes, it is basically topping the plant. With plain old topping you toss what you've cut off. For clones you plant them. With my mother plants, I top them probably 3 times between taking clones.

The leaves are trimmed to reduce transpiration. I also like at least 5 nodes. 2 go into the rooting medium, the rest above. I leave the very top growth and 2 trimmed fan leaves. I remove everything else.

Wet

superjoint · Jul 2, 2012

I dont trim my leaves,100% success rate in 5-7 days with a power cloner, I do trim off extra leaves near the cut though,I did in the beginning,but tried without,and have not had any problems ,it does make sense to help them root faster,but Im seeing roots within a week max ,no yellowing,my clones dont even droop a bit at all

Jimmyjonestoo · Jul 2, 2012

superjoint said:
I dont trim my leaves,100% success rate in 5-7 days with a power cloner, I do trim off extra leaves near the cut though,I did in the beginning,but tried without,and have not had any problems ,it does make sense to help them root faster,but Im seeing roots within a week max ,no yellowing,my clones dont even droop a bit at all

Exactly what I was gonna say. I've noticed no difference when cutting the leaf tips. Not even in rooting time.

SuspiciousResidue · May 5, 2020

superstoner1 said:
along with letting the plant work less on moving water it also tells the plant it just lost half its stored nutes so it better grow some damn roots if it wants to survive.

This speaks best to what i've read as well. Plants use big leaves like fan leaves especially as chemical and water ballast that they can shift in form and function (break down sugars for food, in the case of deciduous trees, convert chemistry and redirect it back to the stem like chemical antifreeze for winter, and quickly get water when you fail to mist).

When you cut em down a little it reminds the plant that its infrastructure needs work, and it should focus all the energy it would spend pumping water and chem in and out of leaves INSTEAD on creating cytokines and pushing roots.

Maybe thats wrong, but my clone survival rate jumped like 25-50 percent when i started trimming larger leaves down 2/3 or 1/2 their original length.

(I use either rapid rooter plugs or rockwool cubes in unheated domes with diffused window light and no additional lighting. contemplating getting a heating pad because i get 60-90 percent survival with a MINIMUM 10 day rooting period. Just cant get em any faster.)

Frydmcnugget · Jan 31, 2021

Hey guys I have a question and I think this is the best place to ask it so I’ve recently started cloning I didnt trim my leaves when I took the cuttings and the leaves grew large without much branch formation....?if I trim them now will the branches start to grow?opinions please

Psycho roots · Jun 23, 2021

lynx said:
Could someone explain why one should trim the tips of the fan leaves on clones?

How many fan leaves should be left on in total? Should all tips be trimmed?

I've read a lot on cloning and have heard many give this advice. However, I haven't got a good understanding of why and how many leave should be left on.

Thanks!

The
It helps.direct energy to the bottom ofthe pant. That is my thoughts on it

Lordhooha · Jun 24, 2021

Psycho roots said:
The
It helps.direct energy to the bottom ofthe pant. That is my thoughts on it

It doesn’t really do anything IMO. I simply cut and stick in the cloned 4-7 days they have roots and into pots they go.

RadicalRoss · Jun 24, 2021

I'mma keep bumping this old ass thread to say I also don't snip my leaf tips and my clones root just fine in the dwc cloner.

V256.420 · Jun 24, 2021

I do it so I can fit 15 in a tray and they don't touch each other. If I only took a few clones I wouldn't snip them either.

nc208 · Jun 25, 2021

Jimmyjonestoo said:
Exactly what I was gonna say. I've noticed no difference when cutting the leaf tips. Not even in rooting time.

It makes no difference. I used to think it was done to stop the leaves growing or some other stuff but truth is it doesn't.
We did tests at work using 124 clones with leafs given a haircut and 124 clones with no haircuts and every node left on and they both started shooting roots in 7-10 days using ez plugs. We used 3 different strains and noticed no differences.

It is easier working on large trays that have haircuts and have lower nodes removed so it became just personal preference.
For reference we would cut 6000 clones a week on average so we wanted to see if there was an advantage.

nl5xsk1 · Jun 25, 2021

Very old , but interesting, things haven’t changed much on this topic

Why trim/cut the fan leaves on clones.

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