First Attempt At Cloning

[dejayou30]

I took my first shot at cloning yesterday. I've been vegging my mother for about 7 weeks now and decided it was time so I took 5 cuttings. I am using Dip N Grow as my rooting hormone diluted to 10X (the level between hardwood and succulent). I am extremely pessimistic about the whole thing, not real sure why, but I just don't expect it to work for some reason. They are looking droopy after day one but I have read that this is normal. If they don't root, how long will it take them to die and what will it look like?

[PharmaCan]

Some die fast; some die slow.

The cuttings should have perked up after a day. Do you have them in a humidity dome?

PC :smokin:

[dejayou30]

Yep, they are sitting evenly spaced in a circle under a 6" (I think) dome with 300W CFLs shining on them. They were looking poor this morning, but now they are looking pretty. I have read that it can take 6 weeks to root, but how long does it USUALLY take? I can't imagine it takes that long every time or everyone would just grow from seed every time.

[PharmaCan]

LOL - More like six days to root...

You are using way too much light. I have 26 watt cfls on my clones. One small light is all you need for now.

Raise the dome a couple times per day to change the air. Mist the inside of the dome instead of the cuttings - this will help prevent rot.

... a few clone pics for you. :jointsmile:

[dejayou30]

My CFLs are the 150W equivalent, so I think they are like 46 real watts. I lift up the dome to mist them every time I check pH, which is at least 3 times per day. I have been doing it every time I go in there though.

[PharmaCan]

My CFLs are the 150W equivalent, so I think they are like 46 real watts. I lift up the dome to mist them every time I check pH, which is at least 3 times per day. I have been doing it every time I go in there though.

LOL - Yeah, I figured you would probably be looking at them often. Just try not to overdo it; since the cuttings have no roots right now, they are feeding through their leaves and they need the humidity.

Do try misting the dome instead of the plants. It avoids a lot of problems. You really only want to give them the minimum they need to stay healthy because you want to encourage them to grow roots. The older they get, the less misting you want to do. Keep a close eye on the cuttings - they will tell you if they like the humidity or not.

Two cfl's @ 46 watts is still too much light. Get one cool white or daylight 26 watt and use that.

PC :smokin:

[bstheory]

Question: How can you have too much light? I wouldn't have guessed that's possible (except for heat).

[dejayou30]

Well its been 4 days, and no roots are showing through the rockwool. I've been lowering the intensity of the mistings. Should I be wetting the rockwool at all?

[M.B.A.]

10 days is what I have heard,just wait, spray them 2x a day and let them root. I have just started growing and cloning and I have only had all 3 of clones that I made in rockwool in a humidome. Its been maybe 6days since I put themin there. I spray them always when the light is off(safety) and I do it 1x in the morning and 1x in the evening....check out this link, it was very helpful for me:

Growing Weed For Beginners (http://growing-weed-for-beginners.blogspot.com/)

need anymore help? let us know

[dejayou30]

Hey thanks man. Unfortunately, one died today. It was one I kind of accidentally sprayed some kind of screen printing ink removal chemical on, so it wasn't looking so hot as far as some of the leaves (long story). Luckily I only got it on a small leaf on one of the others, which I cut off and it seems to be doing fine. Its been 5 days now and there are no roots poking through the rockwool yet on any of them, but I am still holding out on the other 4. I took the dead one out and looked at it and the bottom was white and bulgy looking, almost like cauliflower.

[PharmaCan]

the bottom was white and bulgy looking, almost like cauliflower.

Those were roots starting. :thumbsup:

Any day now you should see root growth coming out of the cubes.

PC :smokin:

[dejayou30]

Success! 3/5 finally showed roots through the rockwool after 9 days! I put them into my system and took 6 more, so hopefully I can fill up my bins quickly!

[spongebobsmokepants]

Question: How can you have too much light? I wouldn't have guessed that's possible (except for heat).
clones have no roots when they are new, too much light will stress the plant and dry it out quicker than it can take up moisture.
You know how insufficient light will make your plants stretch? That low light will also encourage your clones to stretch and grow.

[dejayou30]

Just had 6/6 root in 8 days! My garden is full again!

[OLDJIMMYBONES]

tryed to clone so many times with no luck ever :wtf:

[whatsthatsmell]

Deja, for your next cloning session, take your rapid rooters and flip them upside down so that the wider end is sitting down and your can stick the plant on the narrow end. Make a small cut in the top of the rapid rooter so you can stick the plant in that cut. Take your cutting and do your dig-n-gro stuff, now when it comes to the prop tray, take out that little divider insert you got going on and just let the rapid roots sit in the tray with just enough water in the bottom to keep them moist. Take your neem oil spray that you use during veg and dilute that again to about 1/4 strength that you normally use (i just take some out of the already made bottle into a new one, filled 1/4 then topped with water). Once your clones are in the tray, spray them with the diluted neem oil, this will keep your plants from getting droopy without having to purchase the anti-wilt stuff. You will also notice that your roots will pop sooner that way. Your letting the air to get your roots more and since your in hydro that is exactly what you want to see.

[stinkyattic]

WTS's method (hmm... lol... I've seen it before) works well, except I would not let them sit in water- spray down the inside of the tray and dome so it's misty, but not an actual puddle.

I get roots showing in less than 2 weeks using that method.

I've also just started using these wicked blue 'ott lights' from Home DePOT (a different type of CFL) and they seem to work spectacularly.

Edit: Weedhound you can clone a clone indefinitely. That's how the 'elites' have been passed down, some as much as 20 years from the day the seed was popped.

Cloning a finishing plant is tough though. I'd re-veg first and THEN clone.

[whatsthatsmell]

yes, that method of cloning was shown to me by ms. stinky, sorry, i should have given credit

[stinkyattic]

Oh knock it off, haha. Spreadin' the looooove... :D