Sometimes I've noticed clones stems are good and strong bottom to mid way up, but the rest will wither and die. More often than not after i take them out of their initial darkness stage. What are some causes of this? I know I'm making a simple mistake somewhere but i don't know where seeing as not all of my clones fail. Medium is typically potting soil and perlite 3:1 give or take with either a rooting powder or gel.
My guess would be shock, try using some kind of B1 on them to avoid the shock. Are you cloning right into dirt or using an inbetween like rockwool?
Wish i could get ahold of rockwool but i can't find anyone locally that sells it so straight to soil. The rooting gel/powder both have B1 in them. I was thinking it was a moisture issue, but i can't seem to figure it out. Still a bit new to successfully cloning. May attempt a cloning bucket.
It's hard to see where your mistake is being made as you've given no account of your procedure. Depending on what you're doing it might be an air bubble in the stem or your humidity is too low. There's a million and one cloning guides online on various sites, and they're all very much similar. Things to remember: -Keep clones in a container to keep humidity up. -Spray clones and inside of container with PHed water regularly. -fan out the container 2 times a day. -Keep temps somewhere between 75-80F -Don't give too much light -Don't give nutes. I only did my first batch of clones last night. 4 hours later they were laying on their sides. This morning they were standing to attention like an 18yr old's morning wood. Best of luck with it.
Use more perlite if you are using a peat based mix. 60/40 or 50/50 will give better results. Cuttings have to have good drainage to keep from getting stem and root rot during the rooting . The soil has to stay moist but not waterlogged during rooting.
Yea, I'm with Freshjive....what dark cycle are you refering to? 24/0 gentle light for clones, bro! Mine don't see any dark for two/three weeks, by then they have lots of roots, some new growth up top and get transplanted to grow pots asap. BTW, I have about 99.5% success cloning, the only ones that don't make it are the ones the dog ate! I don't mist them, I don't cover them with a dome and I don't give them any dark.
The cuttings should be grown in a light cycle between 18 and 24 hours. This darkness comment is baffling to me as well. You take the cuttings and put them into a long day light cycle and keep moist until rooted, then transplant. You might have to mist occasionally if they are wilting. Keep the rooting media moist but not soggy. Cuttings will root easily in well drained potting soil if not drowned. Bottom heat helps for faster rooting.