Ok all you mental giants, I need some serious help here. This maybe better suited to the sick plants section and if any Mods feel they should move it, be my guest. . . I have 4 cuttings in a bubble cloner, the strain is unknown but they closely resemble White widow, maybe a little less branchy but the buds are real close. These clones have been in the bubbler for about 6 days now. So far, they are showing very little if any root growth, not even the little nubs yet. No problem, they've only been there 6 days. . . The problem is that they are exhibiting clear symptoms of a major N deficiency, as in like the next day the bottom leaves were almost completely yellow already and now at day six, one of the plants is almost completely yellow top to bottom. I'm fubar'd on posting pics for the time being but please trust me. It looks like N def in a big way. The leaves are a fine golden yellow. I understand that the sticks will kind of eat themselves, use the nutrients it already has to regrow roots, but that is usualy just the tips of bottom leaves, these babies are yellow more than 3/4 of the way up. The water in the cloner is at 77*F, I tried 4 cuttings in a water temp of about 68*F and had the same thing happen, eventualy (3 weeks) they did root but I was down to the last couple leaves that were the color of bannana's, they lived but. . . I'm at a loss gang, I need to know what is happening and more importantly, how I can fix it. I NEED at least two of these plants to make it. Additional info. . . These cuts were taken on the 16th day of flowering from a dirt mom. They are about 6 inches tall with around 4-5 nodes each. Other than bannana colored, they look normal and healthy. I have two white widow cuttings in the same cloner and they are exhibiting more "normal" yellowing in that only a leaflet or two is yellowing and it's all at the outer half of the leaflet. I'm using straight tap water (set aside for 24hrs before use) with a ppm of about 100, no idea what constitues that 100 though. I'm not using any kind of additive at all. No thrive or any of the other stuff out there. half the clones have the stem slightly submerged and the other half have the stem just above the water level getting the splash treatment from my air stones. I've cloned before using this same technique with no real problems. Any help is most certainly appreciated! Thanks, -Slime
Hmmmm, quiet types eh. . . Could it be the humidity? it's winter here and the overall RH is in the low 30%. Clone area is probably a little lower.
you know ive been using a bubble cloner for some time with tap water and clonex only a trifle of clonex. it has worked fine for me but i have to wonder how you prep your cuttings, and if there is a potential for improvement in this area. i would reccommend some enhancment for nutes. root-tone is an acid based powder you can dip a damp stem in but if you are using no soil medium it will wash away immediatly so id suggest clonex in your bucket. you shouldnt have to change unless it takes more than two weeks to get em rooting then perhaps new mix is suitable. the angle of cut is important as is the immediate placement in water or dip if you plan to treat before starting your clones. i take my (cuttings) with scissorc and reduce them down with a sharp sterile razor. a flat or 90 degree cut will close off the stems base and it will suffer if air gets into the base of the stem, perhaps to the point of death. another thing to consider is the plants have gone to tube feeding essentially and when you pull the plug (plug the stem) you will sign its death warrant. it no longer has mamas umbilical cord so as to speak and will not serve the leaves as there is zero root development so basically the old mama's milk went dry. the plants energy should go into attempting to create roots. this is why low light, rooting hormones and even trimming the leaves way back so energy isnt wasted on them. some photosynthesis will occure but the yellowing has never happened to me and i get 100% success. i cant explain it other than if the plant was a little mag deficient before you cut then the clones will naturally be the same so there is reason for minute amounts of the proper nutes. ive heard others using plain water do well but i want it right the first time as im sure you do also. yellow is usually a sign of over fertz or over h2o which dosnt seem to be the case. my guess would be the collapse of the stem base and an air pocket in the base of the stem. good luck with the probs and i hope this offers some insight and not insulting in the least. ive also found smaller cuttings from the bottom branches take best as they have more root zone hormones than the tops which are going into flower hormonal stages. the short clones sag and wilt far less and have only a few leaves to support. all of the plants energy could be being drained while trying to support so much plant (foliage) while attempting to root, especially if the plant is deprived of proper nutes -D-