Clones slow to root, or paranoia?

Hello folks, and thank you first of all for sharing such a wealth of information. Here's the scoop:

My friend and I have:

3 Big Bang cuttings, and 3 White Widow cuttings (2-3 nodes each) fan leaves cut in half, stem dipped in root hormone gel, and placed inside a small rockwool cube, then put inside a large rockwool cube inside a growing tray and dome (neither rockwool cubes pre-soaked... Shame, shame, I know...) The dome is misted at least once a day, and the dome is removed once a day to let air circulate. The dome is on the floor, approximately 6 feet away from a metal halide light. We water nearly every day, and try to follow a natural wet/dry cycle.

Now, being new to this, I suspect our worry has gotten the better of us, but...

The plants look good, honestly, but tomorrow will be 2 weeks in, and we still aren't seeing roots emerging from the rockwool. The lower leaves on one or two of the clones have yellowed and died.

Are we being overly concerned parents? I'm worried they are receiving too much light, and are eating themselves instead of rooting. I'm also concerned that the amount of rockwool is somehow hindering growth... I would just hate to try to get these things vegitating without knowing for sure rooting was going on... Any ideas what I'm missing with this simple process?

I should mention the light cycle is 18/6, and we acheived great results during the summer with the clones only 3-4' from the light...

hey i think you should have soak the rockwool in ph 5.5 to 5.8 water for at least 2 hours cause thats what i do and not to be cheap i put a little of the cloning gel in the water while it soaks

you do not have to keep watering the clones cause they have no roots to uptake the water but keeping the rockwool moist and just mist the clones cause it is feeding from the leave and not the roots also a powerful ASS light is not needed you are not trying to make the leaves grow but rooting them(not saying you cant use it) a fluorescent from your hydro store or walmart will do

i will leave light on 24hrs too almost forgot

Wow.. So you don't water the clones at all? I guess it makes sense that misting them would keep them moist enough... Maybe that's the problem... Too much water...

Thanks for your reply, man!

Each to their own. I venture the ones that had leaves yellow, probably will have roots soon.

I would use a heating pad under the tray.

I have seen rooting in as little as 5 days and I give up at 21 if they haven't gone. Sometimes you can tell right away.

I read somewhere that you can scrape a piece of the clone off to create a larger area where roots can grow. Haven't tried it though yet.

Not quite, just scrape along one side of the cutting where you will be dipping....gently scrape along the cambium in one area before dipping. It does make a difference!

Keep clone enviornment humid, but don't spray the clones directly. The idea is to make the plants find their moisture/nutrients in the soil, (Rockwool) not to continue vegetative growth of the canopy. If you are providing all of the clones needs above ground, there is no incentive for it to develop roots.

Be careful not to dry-out the clones when 'airing-out' or giving fresh air. Too dry, and the leaves will crisp-up.

Keep clones warm. Cold will kill as quickly as drying-out.

Rockwool is acidic, and should be rinsed with properly ph'd water prior to use. Keep it moist without keeping it dripping wet. Transplant when roots start showing, but no nutes till third (or so) new node after transplant.

propper temp and light, only mist if dry