Favorite rooting solution for cloning?

Just wondering what everyones preferences are for rooting hormones when it comes to cloning. Currently I am probably at 50% success rate on clones (when I don't injure them myself, haha) and I am looking to switch things up a bit. Right now I am using Schultz Take Root, the powder form, and I can think of a few reasons why liquids may work better than the powder. Also what is your typical success rate? If you say 100% I call liar! haha at least for me I seem to have an unbelieveable ability to carelessly injure my young clones.

Thanks for your input!

Roottech and when I got my head out of my arse about 90%. going to try clonex as I use there cloning solution in my water mix

How bout when your head IS positioned firmly in your arse?

I use clonex gel. I havent tried anything else. I started cloning around the beginning of summer and the only two cuttings that didnt make it were two out of the three tops on my very first attempt. The reason they didnt make it was cause i didnt leave enough growth on them and pretty much got tired of waiting on them to show roots. Since then im at 100% and ive been pretty rough on them at times. Ive cloned White Rhino, Blackberry, PPP, and some bagseed. If you are at 50% or less i would question your setup. Be sterile (wear gloves and clean cutting devices) when taking your cuttings. I usually water about 30 minutes prior to taking cuttings. Once cut, I place the cutting in a cup of phd water. When im ready ill grab a cutting and scrape the bottom of the stem, cut at a 45 degree, and dip in my clonex gel solution. From there I place into rapid rooters and place into dome. Everyday i open the dome for about 10 min and mist the dome(not the cuttings). Around a week or two youll see roots. If youre sterile, keep temps around 80-85 degrees, and dont let the medium dry out, you should be close to 100%. Strain dependent of course.

Thank you for the reply, and it sounds like I do everything the same as you and we have been doing this for around the same amount of time as well. Just recently I have began cloning with the full setup and process that you've described above and before that I wasn't taking it too seriously so it is tough for me to give you an accurate success rate. The 50% I said takes into account a recent clone I was transplanting and half of the soil/rootball fell off taking the roots with it and some other random errors like that. I actually just took 8 cuttings at the same time the other night so we'll see how that batch does being that they're all in equal conditions.

Anyways the only part of my process that may be hurting me that I thought of is when I am actually cutting the clone from the mother. I always use fresh sterile razor blades but at times it seems difficult to cut through the stem and I fear that I might have accidently squished the stem and injured it sometimes. I don't see people using any type of scissors but I was curious if that would be acceptable as long as you kept it real sharp/clean/sterile? I haven't tried it because I figured even if it is extremely sharp you could still run the risk of crushing the tip of the stem and closing it off.

Thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it being that cloning is going to be extremely important to my setup in the very near future.

I trust CLONEX. But I have had just as much luck with powder rooting hormone.

Another question I'd have is... Who here uses soil for starting clones? I forget the brand that I use but I start them in a simple organic soil mix designed for starting clones/seedlings. I start them in aprox. 6 FL OZ clear cups. However for some reason I am starting to doubt the medium that I use even before I have given it a chance to show me results. It seems somewhat loose and can be difficult to get a nice firm hold on the cutting stem. I understand its important that your medium holds your cutting well and there are no gaps or loose areas around the base.

I actually use my scissors to take the cutting from the plant. The only time i use the razerblade is when im scraping the stem. Ive heard alot about some strains being harder to clone than others so I might have only dealt with the easy ones. haha who knows.

Do you use your scissors to make the 45 degree cut? Typically I cut it from the plant, leaving it a little longer than I intend, and get it into water immediately. Then just before dipping it into the powder I make another clean 45 degree cut in the proper place. So I can see using a scissors to remove it from the plant but I'd still use a razor blade to make the final cut. Unless you use a scissors the whole way through then perhaps I'll give that a shot and see if that makes any difference.

I've been using "Nutra+ Start" for the last year and have had about a 95% success rate.... The other 5% is a new strain I just started a month or two ago....the cuttings are stubborn to root....

But other than the strain that's harder to clone....I'm very happy with the root development I do get.... I use a bubbler to clone....

CGI::::::

I have a 95% success rate cloning. I don't use any cloning solution- just water. If you must use a cloning solution, keep away from the powder types and follow the directions that come with the liquid or jells. I clone with the Clone Kit.

Interesting I've never heard of anyone having much success without rooting hormones. Perhaps you're better at it than I am, have better conditions than me, or a strain that is very clone friendly, but I think I'll always stick to some sort of rooting hormones. I agree that powder is probably not the best option for several different reasons but I bought it before I knew any better and continue to forget to pick up something else whenever I am out and about. The most recent batch of clones I took are the first ones that I put under a humidity tent, and the humidity is consistently between 94-99%. Prior to that the room I had them in had a humidity level that ranged from 45-75% and I just misted the leaves more often.

Something I notied about misting the leaves is that clones would continue to look healthy for an extended period of time, without growing roots as long as I continued to mist often throughout the day. They would even continue to grow new leaves very slowly. So what I was wondering is if misting the leaves is actually not good for clones, perhaps because they don't have the absolute need to grow roots to sustain healthy water levels. Thats all just speculation by me and I don't know if that is true at all but so far clones under a tent with 99% humidity appear to be healthier than those in less humidity but more misting. It will still be a few days yet before I know the status of root growth with this batch under the tent but if they're successful overall then I think I will have proven the importance of the humidity tent. I will keep you all posted on that.

Another thing I'd like to add to this thread is... if you guys wouldn't mind taking some pictures and logging your processes next time you take some clones, I'd love to see them. Some things I want to experiment with more would be success rate of clones with different thicknesses of stems, length of stem, and amount of growth you leave on the clone vs how much you cut off. I know there are many clone logs out there I could look at but its nice to see pics/logs and be able to ask questions and communicate about the process, also perhaps clarify various details about the process. 95% success is awesome, but 100% would be better! We could all learn a thing or two perhaps.

KLN Clonex Olivia's.. I use KLN in conjuction with the other 2 metioned.