Anyone else really hate cloning?

[Weird Jimmy]

I used to have the exact same problems... then I built a couple of little bubble cloners, and haven't had a cut die since....

just get some small plastic containers, cut holes in the tops for the neoprenes, add an air stone and you're good to go. I also don't even use clonex or anything, just straight tap water. 100% roots every time.

 

[Dr.Greenthmb420]

Try this. Its about the easiest way to clone. Remember these key things.

1. Get all supplies together, root hormones, 1/4 strength nutrient solution with a good amount of phosphorus, clean razor or shears, clone Dome, cup of water, and soaked cubes/plugs to put clones in like rockwool. MAKE SURE ALL THE ABOVE WAS STERILE PRIOR TO STEP 2.

2. Take Cuttings with clean shears from about 3 internoids up for main stock. Make 45 degree angle cuts. Ideal Cuttings are 2 to 4 inchs. If taking alot of cuttings place them immediately in a cup of water to prevent dry air pulling up the cut end and drying it out. Seems minor but is important to get to a 100% success rate.

3. Cut off about 25% of the leaf tips.

4.With a razor split the cut end down the middle about 1/4 inch to expose the inner layer that promotes rooting.

5. Generously apply root hormones, i use a Jelly from Olivia and a powder from Scholts together.

6.Without pinching the stem carefully place the cutting into the cube/plug of your choice.
7. After taking all the cutting you need, place them into the clone dome. The dome will need to have enough nutrient solution at the bottom the keep the cube moist alot all time. In your dome you should have an air stone hooked to a air pump (bigger the better) to keep oxygen in the root zone and will keep water temp up, if it doesnt and the water still seems to stay cold you can use some sort of heating pad under the trey.

8. Keep a flouresant light as close to the top of the dome as possilble.

9. Keep temps around 80 degrees and humidity around 95% until first signals of roots, then lower humidity to 80 to 85% until you are ready to transplant. High humidity is needed to take up moisture from the stomata until roots develope and can take up water/nutrients at that point humidity can be lowered.

10. Mist clones a couple times a day

11. For your clones to do better during transplant and avoid shock, use the solution the clones were setting in to water with after transplant.

Heres a Pic of my easy to maintain setup, I have 21 clones in here and could hold 5 times that if needed!

 

[Weird Jimmy]

Try this. Its about the easiest way to clone. Remember these key things.........

lol, hate to say this, but my way seems 1000x easier than that..... I don't worry about specific humidity or temperature. No hormones... just cut, and plug, and wait.... change the water every two or three days..

 

[BlueberryLovr]

I've tried so many methods (always keeping environmental variables in check) and my best success rates are about 30%...

Even bubble cloner failed me! Cuttings would stay alive for about 1.5wks but ultimately, leaf tips turn black(slowly spreads up the blades) and cuttings eventually keel over and die.

Yeah, I too hate cloning.

By the way, is it better to take tops? Or are cuttings from the lowest part of the plant better? I've heard mixed info on this.

 

[simon]

I use a DIY bubble cloner, Clonex, 2" rockwool cubes - 90% success rate within 2 weeks at ~78F. Easy peasy.

Simon

 

[Dr.Greenthmb420]

With a dome your temp and humidity should naturally stay at where it needs to be. You will just have to open or close it more to make the difference.

I say do what works best for your setup. But dont forget about factors involve that helps and prevents rooting. Focus on all factors involve and you should be able to get at least 90% success rate regardless of the method.

 

[Dr.Greenthmb420]

lol, hate to say this, but my way seems 1000x easier than that..... I don't worry about specific humidity or temperature. No hormones... just cut, and plug, and wait.... change the water every two or three days..

wow, about 2 days after your first water change Im already transplanting. LOL

 

[habeeb]

maybe tell us more on schedule with your plugs..

plugs are hard to mess up, and the "hardest" part about plugs is keeping them dry enough, and enough moisture, you constantly have to wet them..

I heard from someone the directions is to just fill the bottom with water, but I would not do that, as it would waterlog the stem, and I don't see enough air being transferred then



just try it again.. I always tell people to be good at cloning, as cloning is away to re-produce the plant and of course benefits of being sexed, age.... get good at cloning and be confident at it.. I think more then anything its a looming negativity surrounding the word cloning that gets people more then anything,,

 

[cirog]

There is a thread on here "world class cloner new at walmart" search for it. I can tell you from personal experience I hate cloning as well, or atleast I did when using rockwool. It would take some of my cuts up to a month before they shot roots. I have switched to this vermiculite method and have cut the time atleast in half, some showed roots in 7 days. I would read up on it. Has made my cloning so much easier, and for the price like 8 bucks, who could beat it. Can do 27 at a time too.

 

[Grizz]

im known world wide as the clone killer from hell, no matter what method i can kill them. lol.. recently built DIY bubble cloner using regular dome and base from grow store, rapid rooter, i ran 3 air curtain plastic tubes from walmart long ways in the bottom of tray, hot glued the down, glued 1 in spacers also to bottom, set plug holder on spacers, hook up a walmart aq. pump to air curtains, add water till its 1/4 to 1/2 in under tray, put dome on and your good to go. in the last 3 months i have lost 4 clones out of over a 100, some take 6 to 10 days some 2 weeks or more but they root, also use KLN liquid rooting hormones. no temp checking, no dome removal, set it and forget it. you do have to add water every week.

 

[Son_of_a_Batch]

it can be tedious but if you think about the plants that will grow from your little cutting it makes the work feel all the more worth while. We use 2 120 site aero cloners which are filled and emptied every 4 weeks and even re-potting these isn't that much of a challenge, it can be done in less than 2 hours!!

 

[cyat]

Aerocloners are my favorite, I make em. They need no dome, neither coco clones. If cloning w rockwool and domes, dont spray em ever. Keep coco and rockwool wet but not waterlogged. I prefer rootone powder w/ wool or coco, no gels. Tap w/ aeroclones.

 

[Zen Master]

that sure seems like alot of trouble for cloning, hardening off a clone?

im just curious if you've tried without a dome at all? i have never used a dome and i get near 100% in like 10 days or something, in rockwool, pure peat, pure perlite, rapid rooters, jiffy pellets, anything. my RH ranges from 40-50%

peace and puffs

its not hard at all. Merely cut --> clonex --> great white --> into plug, everything the same as you (more or less)

but then I cover with a dome.

next couple days I take the lid off whenever I have a chance.

by 3-4-5 days, the dome is off 24/7


2 weeks and I've got bustin roots.

nearly the exact same thing you're doin just with a dome versus no dome....

I am only cloning OG varieties right now and they are notorious for a longer rooting period.

with no dome they'd wilt in a few hours after being cut as I dont use big amounts of media like Reservoir's style of cloning in coco and a 16 oz cup (been there done that, dont have the space). Believe me my dome is off as soon as my plants can handle it.


Tahoe OG




Valley OG

 

[Madrus Rose]

im known world wide as the clone killer from hell, no matter what method i can kill them. lol.. recently built DIY bubble cloner using regular dome and base from grow store, rapid rooter, i ran 3 air curtain plastic tubes from walmart long ways in the bottom of tray, hot glued the down, glued 1 in spacers also to bottom, set plug holder on spacers, hook up a walmart aq. pump to air curtains, add water till its 1/4 to 1/2 in under tray, put dome on and your good to go. in the last 3 months i have lost 4 clones out of over a 100, some take 6 to 10 days some 2 weeks or more but they root, also use KLN liquid rooting hormones. no temp checking, no dome removal, set it and forget it. you do have to add water every week.

Hey Josey ...

Hav created a similar set up if i have the picture right , using standard clone trays tripled up & leave 1/2" of water underneath airated ( maybe post up a pick of yours ) . I love domes or to be honest just afraid of not using them , though have seen some peeps never use them & get success but most of those peeps do dome for the 1rst 3 days to harden.

Domes seem to trap too much moisture for my tastes so i add Bamboo skewers at four points in the trays to keep the dome propped up a scant 1/4~1/2" air space all around the bottoms letting the trays "breath" but still have that humidity advantage .

Ideal temps dependent on whether using bottom heat or not , if using a heat matt then temp can be more to the cooler side no problem . Heat & humidity a combination that molds love , so a cooler room/closet 63-68deg with bottom heat no prob . The t5 on the shelf below provide all the warmth clones need on the shelf above ..etc.

Always think to finish a cloning talk also with the phrase

Happy Moms , Happy clones !

* Also if running moms 24/0 like to add 4-6 days of 20/4
to let them relax a bit with some nite time . Feed them agressively up to that same 4-5days before & plain/ro water right up clone day ...keeping Moms on a light constant feed schedule , 700ppms good , but green them up good to 5 days before cloning with couple of hot shots of rye , Jaeger bombs , or Old grandad !!<g

**Diesels & OG's can be alot harder to root than some . Hav seen
some OD strains or commerish ones start rooting in 3days . Some
strains are more of a pain .

 

[Rjstoner]

i had trouble with cloning then i made a copy of the ez cloner i just use tap water and b1 and cheap ass lowes root toner i get like 90% at least and i have a 105, 35 and 12 site machines so i do a fairly large amount of cutts at a time just be carful with roots when u take them from the machine and your golden

after 2 years of the home made ez cloner and a fairly larger understanding i did clone in rockwool with about 75% succsess alot more work though. i didnt use any dome and had to mist them all the damned time

 

[Lazyman]

I just went straight to the EZ-Cloner...you really have to be lazy to fuck it up.

Hey now, Lazy can fuck up clones using every medium, ask Lazy!

I hate cloning too, I've got a 4' gorilla rack i enclosed with Panda to make a clone tent, with a 2' T-5 or T-8 over each shelf on 24/0.

Sucked with rockwool and Oasis, was too hard to get the medium moisture level just right.

Then the temps dropped and I had to add an electric heater to keep the tent warm.

That dried the clones out, so I had to keep domes on them to stop them from crispifying. That led to mold due to lack of airflow. Goddamit!

Now I switched out the electric heater for an oil-filled one that doesn't use a small blower, and humiidty went up to 60%. Now I can remove the domes as the clones prefer.

Moral of the story, get your environment right so it's around 78*F, 50-60% RH, no fans, 24-hour light, and keep the roots around 80*F on most strains with heat mats. Dial all of that in and you can remove domes after 5 days, and only need to water the tray under the medium every 3-4 days after that.

I take probably 500 clones a month to have about 150 survive. It sucks but it gives me good practice, and I get better every month. If they all survived I'd be buried in plants! lol

 

[dustin27]

So is it 70-75 degrees to keep it at? or 80ish? because ive seen people say cooler, and people say warmer.

 

[Lazyman]

Ideally the roots should be a few degrees warmer than the air, so I have my tent set at 76*F and my heat mats at 80*F. Getting the humidity right is the most important bit IMHO.

 

[Frozenguy]

Try using just water and rockwool (no solution, no gel).

Oh, and a couple drops of lemon juice lol.

I get roots in about 12-13 days with this.

Just pH water to 5.5 (lemon juice). Soak rockwool for 24hours. Then flush each cube with new 5.5 water right before cloning.

Cut clone off plant with an extra inch. Then on a flat surface, cut 45 deg angle about an inch up from last cut (cutting off that ~inch). Now place into rockwool.

My clones will stay green as well.

I encountered more problems trying to use gels and solutions years back. Just use water..



Simple trick, take a clone, cut 45 deg, then put in a glass of water. THATS IT. If the clone doesn't root in 2-3 weeks, you have weird water and it will be a problem no matter what method.

 

[zenoonez]

You hate cloning? How would you like to run one of those cloning houses that pumps out tens of thousands of em? I mean I bet there is good money in it if you have the hookup with commercial guys but I bet that job really sucks.