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Should Machine Rooted Clones be Dipped?

S

SooperSmurph

Hi again fellow lovers of IC and Cannabis, today we're setting the ground work for yet another side by side trial, this one again involving machine rooted clones.

The idea was brought up in my last thread:
I hear that alot, BUT..... I allow the gel to soak into the 1/4" of stem before placing it in the machine. Its only a topical root stimulator anyways, its not supposed to be absorbed into the stem like water. As long as the outer skin gets alittle gel worked into it, I get roots in 7 days. Big, white, hairy roots.
Maybe that could be your next side x side experiment with the winning clone machine.
Do 15 with the gel, and 15 without?
So, using the winning machine from my last side by side, an EZ Cloner 30 Original

we'll conduct a trial to see whether the clones benefit from being dipped in a rooting agent.

15 sites will be dedicated to a Rooting Gel such as Clonex, 15 sites for a liquid concentrate such as Dip-N-Grow, the data from the previous run will be used as a "Control" group, since the last round was done without any dipping.

Reservoir will be treated with 20ml / gallon of Clonex Cloning Solution, 1 teaspoon of Silica Blast.

Target Ph Range 5.6-6.3

Gel-dipped clones will be allowed to sit in the gel for 60 seconds as per user recommendations.

Concentrate treated clones will be dipped for 5 seconds, as per the "softwood cutting" Dip-N-Grow instructions.



I hope you all enjoy the data! Day 1 images can be found by clicking here.
So, final images and conclusions, both the Clonex examples and the Dip-N-Grow examples outperformed the Control Dataset, producing roots worthy of transplant in 13 days rather than 16.

Day 11.
View Image View Image
Day 13.
View Image View Image

The root growth over the last few days seems to have confirmed my initial impressions, that the most advanced individuals are in the Clonex group, but that the most consistent results were achieved with those treated with Dip-N-Grow.

Conclusion: Dipping machine rooted clones in a gel or concentrate before placing them into a machine will result in faster, more prolific root growth.
 
Last edited:

Crooked8

Well-known member
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
i run an ez cloner and i get 95%+ success rate very simply in your SAME 30 site ez cloner. i usually always double or sometimes TRIPLE up on clones per collar and still get the same success rate. 10 mls of thrive alive green, 10 mls of sm-90 and root tech gel, 5 gals RO water with 25 mls of cal mag added. Brand new collars and sprayers every time with fresh gel, every time. PH 5.8. Ambient temps @ 78-82. I absolutely think the gel helps and i'm eager to see your results. thanks for taking the time!
 

Crusader Rabbit

Active member
Veteran
If all groups are in the same cloner, then your control group will be subjected to the rooting hormones washed off the experimental groups' stems. Your bath water will be a dilute solution of the Liguid Rooting Concentrate and Rooting Gel.
 
S

SooperSmurph

i run an ez cloner and i get 95%+ success rate very simply in your SAME 30 site ez cloner. i usually always double or sometimes TRIPLE up on clones per collar and still get the same success rate. 10 mls of thrive alive green, 10 mls of sm-90 and root tech gel, 5 gals RO water with 25 mls of cal mag added. Brand new collars and sprayers every time with fresh gel, every time. PH 5.8. Ambient temps @ 78-82. I absolutely think the gel helps and i'm eager to see your results. thanks for taking the time!
I haven't found it necessary to replace the sprayers yet, a bent paperclip works to push bits of roots out of clogged sprayers, then the agressive bleaching (1 cup / 5 gal water) leaves'em clean as a whistle.

The collars however I can't seem to reuse more than once, they always break down with the bleaching and after the 2nd cleaning they're toast.

If all groups are in the same cloner, then your control group will be subjected to the rooting hormones washed off the experimental groups' stems. Your bath water will be a dilute solution of the Liguid Rooting Concentrate and Rooting Gel.
The amount of actives being washed off the cuttings, mixed into a 5 gallon res, should provide sufficient dilution so as to make any effects upon the control group minimal :huggg:or do you disagree?

Another idea was to dip the clones in water to rinse off excess gel / etc that has not been wicked up into the stem before placing them in the machine, do you feel perhaps that this will provide sufficient removal / dilution so as to minimize any effects upon the control group?
 

bugman52

Bug Scissor Hand
Veteran
i use just water in my cloner with a 95+%, i have use gel an powders in there also with same results ,maybe they rooted a little guicker. but in 7 to 14 days i have roots either way . alltho gel or powder does help on hard too root clone
 
S

SooperSmurph

People seem to be quite hung up on the effect of the excess gel on the "Control" group, so I eliminated it.

From this point forward the "Control" will be represented by data from the last round of clones the machine produced, since this was done without dips of any kind.

With this change, the study will begin tonight, images will be added soon.
 
B

BasementGrower

i don't think they need to be dipped.. but.. what ive been doing wen I use the aero cloner.. is soaking the clones in a cup of water.. with some a ml or 2 of dynagro KLN .for 12-24 hours.. then recut at 45 degree angle under water.. and into the aero they go. no probs.. with nutes in the cloner u need to change ur water more often.. without u can change it less. then I spray the clones down with a mixture of dynagro KLN and some anti wilt.. the anti wilt for me has kept my clones super healthy until they root.. giving me clean green fighting machines
 
B

BasementGrower

o and sprayers... the best thing u can do ive found so far.. is like he said paperclip 1.. and 2 between each round of clones.. I use maybe 1/3 cup of bleach and the hottest water I can get out of the faucet.. fill the cloner like im going to use it.. after u paperclip the sprayers .. turn the machine on.. let it run for a few hours.. making sure to rinse it very well.. and boom time to clone again .. no probs. I will say anyone that wants to have healthier clones after they rot should just use the ANTI WILT. and I use anti wilt at half strength.
 
S

SooperSmurph

People seem to think the effect of the excess gel on the "Control" group may be a significant factor, ...

:)
5mls of Clonex gel in 5 gallons of res solution is not really significant, but it doesn't matter because I already have that data, so it's a lot easier to save myself the repeated posts.
 
S

SooperSmurph

How do you know it wouldn't be a factor?
I can't technically be sure because my ppm meter isn't functioning, so I don't have a way of measuring the amount of actives being added to the res, I know from tests performed last night that 5mls of Clonex did not alter the Ph of a 5 gallon bucket of filtered water, but without the ppm data, I simply can't make an assertion either way. Much easier to leave it moot and use existing data.
 
S

SooperSmurph

You know the critical ppm of hormone in solution that will affect rooting?
Nope, but Clonex gel is about 3000 ppms, so, if I were to wager a guess i'd say the minimum amount to affect rooting is somewhere around 5% of the Clonex dosage, or 150ppm.

5mls of Clonex (if we accept the .3% labeled concentration) in 5 gallons of water shouldn't bring us anywhere near 150ppm.

Of course, different plants respond to IBA differently, species like Rice, Pomegranites, and Orchids all prefer super low IBA dosages (25 ppm in Rice), Grapes and Citrus fruits like ranges in the 1000s, and Apples simply guzzle it down.

But, again, the issue is moot, data from the previous round will serve just fine as a control.
 

Hammerhead

Disabled Farmer
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I dont use anything. Im using a king cloner its an aero cloner same as Ez. im at 100% since switching over from Rapid rooters...I change the water every 10 days, clean the whole unit every 30 days.
 
A

Alone

Something I forgot to add is that I scrape off 1/4" of the outer bark on 2 sides of the dipped stem.
The "bark", or outerskin, will produce hairy roots, with hairs like a "fern" or "ladder rungs".
The scraped part of the stem will produce noodle like roots. This helps with 2 types of root systems. 1 for nutrient uptake. The other for oxygen uptake.
Ive done alot of research on roots and found this to be the best way.
Maybe that can be your next experiment. LOL!
Scraped bark vs non scraped bark.
Here you can see the noodle roots and the hairy roots. They both have different jobs for the plant.
picture.php


Its nice to see you posting the results for all to learn. It also confirms my findings as well.
Pretty soon you will be producing the nicest clones you can possibly get without double questioning if you could get better results somehow. Great Job :respect:
 

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