Originally Posted by rodekyll
Some of that curling and wilting is normal, especially when you clone straight into dirt with very spindly cuttings. It's a combination of shock, lack of nutrient uptake, and soggy soil (there I said it!). They will probably snap out of it in a week or so. Keep them under weak light, and don't water them for the next week, or until the soil is obviously dry an inch down. You can save them!
GN-- you seem to be an advocate of some method other than dirt cloning. I'm guessing that it's rockwool. I have no idea how to come up with any, although I've received clones from other grow rooms that were in a pellet of the stuff. How do you clone to rockwool? What are the advantages over dirt?
I always clone directly into potting soil. I saturate the soil with straight water in a 4" pot (yogurt cups with holes in the bottom work good too) and run a chopstick about 1.25" down into the center. I use ROOTONE/F powder for my rooting hormone. I have some gel stuff, but I wasn't real impressed by the time it ook to get roots on the cuttings. I use a Q-tip, dip it in the powder and sprinkle it around and in the hole for the fungicide effect. I keep the cutting in a glass of water till I've got everything prepared. Then I dip the cut end about 2" into the powder, tap off the excess, set it in the hole, and push the dirt up around it from the edges of the pot, not from directly next to the cutting. I keep them under a 18w "growstick" flourescent bulb and I don't water it until they're obviously dry, which is usually after the plant signals me that it's getting roots. I have virtually 100% viability with this method -- barring stupid mistakes.
I'm always looking for ways to improve clones!
