I've heard of some people cutting clones and using either Rockwool, vermiculite, peat moss, combination, or just plain water. Rockwool seems to be the way to go but with no hydroponic system or fungicide it seems that mold is the main issue with that. I need some tips or ideas... what are some mostly fool-proof ways to cut clones? any advice is appreciated.
Ok seeing as nobody has replied to your post ill have a shot! This is by no means the only way but works just fine... Use rockwool cubes and soak them overnight in water PH'd to 5.5, fungus shouldn't be an issue,, just make sure that your propagator is clean, nice and humid but can still breath a little!! take your cuttings,, about 4 or so inches long, nice green flexible stem, you don't want anything "woody",,,, cut an angle at the bottom at roughly 45 degrees,, So it ends up looking like a fountain pen.. Dip into a rooting solution, clonex for example, on a side note i've heard a nice natural honey also works well.... and then put them into rockwool about an inch or so down and you're done.... a few things to consider!! When you cut a plant you're wounding it so make sure your cutting implement etc is sterile, don't ram the cutting down too hard in the rockwool, don't leave too much leaf on the cutting 1 or 2 small fan leaves is fine, you can trim the tips of the leaves if you like, this lessens the stress on the cutting as it's not trying to sustain too much foliage while it's trying to root, don't keep your rockwool soaking wet, you will actually end up with less root development this way, (and possible rotting) you are trying to walk the line between stressing the plant out just enough so it throws out roots to find water but not enough so it shrivels up and dies. Spray the inside of your propagator with water to keep it humid and you can give your cuts a spray with week fert or some rhizotonic to keep them healthy,,, Anyway a few ideas for you,, there will be more im sure, but should give you something to go on peace
Oh and keep your rockwool cubes in the plastic holders they come in, this will stop them drying out too quickly and help maintain a dark area for the roots to thrive in, seeing as if they hit the light they will brown off and die, this isn't as bad as it sounds though as the roots inside the rockwool will be fine, it's actually called air pruning, the roots will explode out again once in the right conditions but for starters i would just keep it simple and and try and avoid any unnecessary problems
I absolutely hate rockwool, no doubt it works but it holds so much dam water you need to be careful not to over water them. I use peat pellets or coco fibre pellets. I first soak them, then give them a massage to loosen the bags up, poke a hole to the centre. then cut branches of about 6" and drop the cuts in water, just to hold them while I trim them. I cut the foliage off except for the main shoot and 2-3 larger leaves. once that's done I inturn take each cutting and cut the stem down to 5" with a very sharp angle and immediately drop in to a pot of clonex. I do a couple more so each cutting gets a couple of minutes in the root hormone gel. each one is then put straight in to a peat or coco fibre pellet. they go in seedling tray in a propagator until roots show. this usually takes about 5-6 days. I lift the lid off once a day to exchange some air and usually water the pellets at about day 4 or 5 with a pipette