Cloning...what did I do wrong?

[col forbin]

My first 2 grows were autoflower, but instead on having to keep buying seeds, I decided on cloning (of course)....Ive had WW, Gigabud, Blue Cheese and Moby Dick plants (all female) vegging for about 7 weeks now, and took clones 6 days ago. I used Dutch Master Replicator root gel and propagation plugs to put the clones in:



Here they are after 6 days!!!
08262009346.jpg

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What have i done wrong?

Lights? - They are under T5's, at first about 6-8 inches, now about a foot away.

Temp, Humidity? - Temp is 77-79 F and Hum is at 85% in the dome.

Ive been spraying the clones a couple times a day.....thats pretty much it.

Im not ready to give up...I gotta get this cloning thing down. Any help, id truly appreciate it.

[TBuds]

What was ur method of making the final cut on the clone? Underwater?

[chunkdaddyo]

I usually don't give them a lot of light at first......wait until they root. I use a couple of 9watt cfls is all.......(6500k)......do you have a half inch of water in the bottom of your tray? Also, I give the Rapid Rooters a shot of water with a turkey baster every few days, just enough to moisten the rooting plug.

To look like that, they are either over or under watered........I would say under by the look of the plugs. You're on the right track, your method is similar to mine which has been good to me. here is my method I've posted a few times, perhaps it will help you:

To be successful cloning, you first need to have the right tools to do the job:

1) Clean NEW single edge razor blade or exacto knife.
2) Heated seedling tray with humidity dome or aeroponic cloner.
3) Cloning gel or powder / hormone supplement like Superthrive.
4) PH corrected water (6.2-6.8)
5) Mild lighting (40w equivalent CFL is what I use)
6) Rooting media (Rapid Rooters, Rockwool Cubes. Peat Pucks. or just well drained soil in a
plastic cup)

I will tell you what works for me and I have a 95% success with this method. Once in a while there will be a cutting that just does not survive. Others here have similar methods that work for them. My advice is let others weigh in and develop your own style that works for you. I have had clones from plants that were 6-7 weeks into flower grow roots, but they take a long time to transition from bud to veg. Once they grow past the bud though, they tend to develop several main stems/stalks.

Here's what I do:

1) Take my cuttings from lower half of the plant. 45 degree cut with NEW blade, then I
scrape the outer layer of tissue from stem about 1-1/2" from cut.
2) Soak fresh cuttings in luke warm, ph adjusted water with Superthrive hormone added
for 30 minutes. This lets fresh cuttings drink in vitamins and hormones.
3) Apply rooting gel or powder to fresh cut area. I use a gel now, and a little goes a long
way.
4) Insert treated clone into rooting media of choice. I like Rapid Rooters, but the others
will all work. I pre-soak the rooting cubes in same Superthrive solution as above. Make
sure rooting cube is SLIGHTLY DAMP...many a clone die from drowning.
5) Put cubes with clones into seedling tray. Heating mat should keep the seedling tray at
around 80 degrees.
6) Pour a thin layer of ph adjusted water in bottom of tray, about 1/2". Put humidity dome
on and your good to go. Some on here don't use domes, they work for me.
7) I keep my clones on an 18/6 light cycle, others use 24/0. IMO, the 6 hrs rest helps.
Just an opinion though, not a fact.

NEVER let your rooting cubes/media get saturated,they need to stay slightly damp. you want oxygen to be able to get to the root zone for success. There are a lot of ways to get plants to grow roots, this way works for me. Once you get the hang of it, you might want to try to build an aerocloner, but thats a different lesson.

Good Luck to you and I wish you great success.
chunkdaddyo

[wolverine32]

i heard that you cant cloan autoflowering plants. i read that in a post. so you need to get a reg plant

[col forbin]

Originally Posted by chunkdaddyo

I usually don't give them a lot of light at first......wait until they root. I use a couple of 9watt cfls is all.......(6500k)......do you have a half inch of water in the bottom of your tray? Also, I give the Rapid Rooters a shot of water with a turkey baster every few days, just enough to moisten the rooting plug.

To look like that, they are either over or under watered........I would say under by the look of the plugs. You're on the right track, your method is similar to mine which has been good to me. here is my method I've posted a few times, perhaps it will help you:

Thanks, good info man.

[col forbin]

Originally Posted by wolverine32

i heard that you cant cloan autoflowering plants. i read that in a post. so you need to get a reg plant

No, im not cloning autos. I got a Moby Dick, Blue Cheese, Gigabud