young clones damping off after planting in soil

raggyb said:

I searched on this and only things that come up are about cloners. I have my problem after I move the rooted clone to a soil. Am I the only person ever had this problem?

I once had success with a dome setup but now I didn't. They got roots but damped off and died after planting. I thought maybe they couldn't handle the abrupt change from 100% humidity to much lower, or maybe the soil was too hot.

So I did a cloner system with no dome thinking there would be lest shock from humidity effects when transplanting. It worked great in terms of making roots and the top side was at 50% rH though underneath is 100%. Roots were > 1" long and branching. And I used less strong and better draining mix with 1/2 seed starter. But slowly some have damped off. rH is 50%. Neither not watering or watering more helps. Also I have them in indirect light the same as when rooting.

So what is the good transplanting method? Could I mist or dip the roots in a fungicide as i pot them? If so what fungicide? Or just dip them in chlorinated tapwater?

Then how to water them when I transplant and the weeks after that? I'd sort of prefer not involving misting because I only see them once a day. I dipped them in antiwilt before cloning, should I dip them again before potting? Should I put in pete pots and let them soak from the bottom?

Any other tricks you all use?

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Kushash said:

The 1st thing that comes to mind is your soil is to dry or to wet before you transplant. If the soil is properly hydrated and the clone already has roots it shouldn't miss a beat.
Humidity should not be a big deal and if you already have roots you should not need to dip it in anything before putting it in soil.
Pictures of the process would have helped to see where things went wrong.

How do you go about hydrating the new soil before transplanting?

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NGA said:

Maybe you need to clone them in solo cups from start or rapid rooters cubes

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Logan Burke said:

A beneficial like Great White may help if bad microbes and/or fungus is the source of the issue. I don't clone much, so I can't offer more advice then that. Sorry buddy, good luck.

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Kushash said:

The 1st thing that comes to mind is your soil is to dry or to wet before you transplant. If the soil is properly hydrated and the clone already has roots it shouldn't miss a beat.
Humidity should not be a big deal and if you already have roots you should not need to dip it in anything before putting it in soil.
Pictures of the process would have helped to see where things went wrong.
How do you go about hydrating the new soil before transplanting?

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hotrodharley said:

Soil is too damp after planting is the best guess. No domes needed. Great White or Mykos suggested as @Logan Burke said above. Watering too soon should be avoided.

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raggyb said:

I guess I could, but thought once I had beautiful roots I'd be in the clear but I was wrong.



More I think of it since a few survived and all were in same cloner it may not be fungus.



Sorry I didn't shoot. Too lazy. Medium was very soft mostly organic seed starter. I put some in cup, put clone in place, added a little water, put in some more medium, a little more water, topped with the rest and little more water. No good?



Maybe I should use a pete pot instead of plastic? I've thought pete pot may be good for seedlings because it dries out on it's own while baby cant really drink much, so you can water more without over watering and that way water maybe gets on the root where it's needed because the root cant go to water fast enough. But maybe I have to be much more exact about how much water to add per soil for a clone. Any idea how much?

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hotrodharley said:

Dampen your new soil slightly. Damp. Not wet. Before you insert the clone. Use Great White sprinkled on the roots and in the soil where the roots will be. Fill the hole in around the clone and leave it alone for a few days. If it wilts a bit the day after do not water it. Misting lightly suffices but don’t do that for a few days either. The roots will quickly start seeking boundaries and water.

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raggyb said:

Thanks, I will try this.

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raggyb said:

I guess I could, but thought once I had beautiful roots I'd be in the clear but I was wrong.



More I think of it since a few survived and all were in same cloner it may not be fungus.



Sorry I didn't shoot. Too lazy. Medium was very soft mostly organic seed starter. I put some in cup, put clone in place, added a little water, put in some more medium, a little more water, topped with the rest and little more water. No good?



Maybe I should use a pete pot instead of plastic? I've thought pete pot may be good for seedlings because it dries out on it's own while baby cant really drink much, so you can water more without over watering and that way water maybe gets on the root where it's needed because the root cant go to water fast enough. But maybe I have to be much more exact about how much water to add per soil for a clone. Any idea how much?

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Kushash said:

It is important to hydrate the soil before putting it in the cup especially if the soil is bone dry or hydrophobic out of the bag.
If a person filled a 3 gallon pot with hydrophobic soil you might think that you are getting it hydrated by pouring in a lot of water yet after running a lot of water with a lot of run off you can move a few inches of the top soil and find the soil completely dry. Same should be true in a smaller pot.
Something to consider.
A fresh bag of soil with some moisture in it would hydrate pretty well put directly in a pot but a hydrophobic soil can be a bitch to hydrate in a pot or cup unless it was given a lot of time.
The soil should be evenly moist, not wet and no dry pockets.
Good Luck!

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70's natureboy said:

If you're not using Pro-Mix you are doing it the hard way. Every professional greenhouse I have been in uses Pro-Mix. They can't afford to take chances with anything else.

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