I've been having problems getting clones to root lately. I use both botanical aero cloner and rockwool cubes, and have found the stems start getting slimy after 2-3 days and most eventually never make it as a clone. I've tried everything I could think of including completely disinfecting my aero cloner etc etc. So then I changed from powder rooting homone "(Rootone") to a gel GroTech. No change. So a week ago, I took about 20 cuttings, and using rockwool cubes, I separated and them into two groups. Half of them used the gel and the other half just straight tap water. Result, after one week: 90% of the one with gel are dead, and the other 10% is on the way out. The ones using just straight tap water are all HEALTHY. Anyone care to comment? The 2 oz of gel cost me $14! \t\t \t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t \t \t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t \t \t \t \t\t \t\t \t\t\t
Hey, I'm new, but I have grown 5 or so gardens with success. The first time I tried cloning, I failed miserably. The second attmpt however, I got at the time before I got popped, was around 90% success, and probably would've had 100% success. What I did was cut the branches to be used for clones, cut them diagonally, immediately stuck them in water. They were there for a short amount of time. In the mean time, I got some perlite and some 6 pack trays. Wetted the perlite and drained it/washed the 6 packs. Then I dipped the cuttings into the horomone, stuck them in the perlite, covered with plastic wrap, and VOILA! I had first roots within a week. If you use this tek, then I would reccomend giving them a light misting every day to keep up humidity/moiture, as that is how roots tend to grow; right temp and right amount of RH. But be careful to not over do it.
As Cubie said, you really need to have high RH or they won't root. A humidity dome is a necessity. Also when using rockwool make sure you soak it in pH 5.5 water 24 hours prior to use to bring its naturally high pH down. So when you cut, make sure you cut at a 45 degree angle, poke a hole in the rockwool (the rockwool should be wet) and then dip the cutting into the gel. I like to get plenty of gel on there so I dip it into the gel, stick the stem into the hole and pull it out 2 or 3 times to get a good amount of gel in the rockwool. After 2 or 3 times doing this I put my cuttings in my humidity dome. It takes about 5-7 days for my clones to root usually.