If you have a poor results cloning then read through this and see if it helps at all. Now from what i have accumulated from other growers and my own research, almost all growers claim to have a very high success ratio when cloning. Most people will claim about 90 to 100 %. In reality i have found its more around 60 to 70% at best. I also have came across many different methods of cloning such as how the clones are taken treated and what method is used to provide the nutrients essential for root development. Tools Needed: 1.Gardening Sheers 2.Double sided razor blades 3.Cloning solution (i have had best results with "roottech") Cloning is like playing god. You get to choose the next generation of plants. This process is called natural selection, survival of the fittest. So first and most important step to cloning is "spotting", you must look at the plant you wish to clone and visually inspect every possible clone point. The determination sign you look for first is a "cola". Depending on age your plant should have numerous colas. The younger a plant is the less likely it is to have a successful clones. You want to look for a cola that preferably is a side shoot and has smaller side shoots coming off of it. You want there to be good space between the smaller side shoots(about 2 to 4 inches). Next step after you spot the clone you wish to remove, take your double sided razor and locate the top of the cola and go down the stem find the next smaller side shoot and that's where you will cut from. The point where the side shoot and the main side stock meet is your exact cut point. You want to cut from the side closest to the plant towards you. Make the cut so the the smaller side cola will now be the top point of that side stock. This will promote new growth from where you cut and actually help your plant grow more. Now you should have a 4 to 8 inch cutting. Take this cutting and trim all lower leaf growth (even smaller colas) up to the top two sun leaves and the main cola. Next tip the remaining leaves on the cutting as this will promote new growth in the plant as well. Take your sheers and scrape off the bottom inch of the exterior of the plants stem. Do this similar to sharpening a stick with a knife only removing the outer layer of plant matter. Now take your double edged razor and insert it at the bottom of the stem and push it towards the top of the plant, make a even slit about a inch or more long depending on the size of the cutting. This will expose thousands of fresh cells allowing them to be ready to interact with the rooting agent causing the plant cells to turn into root cells. Now that you have your trimmed split and scraped cutting ready. Get you rooting agent ready. Submerse the slit end of the cutting into the gel or solution and engulf the stem leaving minimum an inch exposed out of the gel. Let the cutting sit for at least a min i like to let them sit for 5 mins or so. Once set you may know place the cutting into the medium. Now as far as medium goes. Wether you are doing hydro, aero, or soil i recommend using a aeroponic cloner. This method has the fastest most reliable turnover rate out of them all. I carry a honest 95% turnover rate. That means out of 100 clones i have 95 that live and make it to veg. I use this method week in and week out on a large variety of strands and get a great turnover rate. I would love to hear feed back on this. HAPPY CULTIVAING
Great cloning guide here for beginners: How To Grow Marijuana?: Cloning Marijuana - A Step By Step Fool Proof Guide In Pics
What about the prepwork like... how do you clean your clone machine? and how often do you change the water? how often do you clean? do you check PH? what PH is ideal? I ask because i have a homemade clone machine with ez clone spray nozzles and my cutting's cuts turned dark brown or black and didn't grow roots, and i'm about to take a few more cuttings and I actually want them to live this time lol. is there any way of adding something to the water to prevent this? do you know by chance what caused it? I PHed to 6.5 not sure if thats right I added about 10 ml of this cloning solution that was recommended by the clerk not what you recommended.. I have an aquarium heater that is keeping it between 80 and 85 F I wasn't sure how to clean it so it really prolly wasn't cleaned right Only 4 out of about 17 cuttings rooted and lived and they are going through my experimental 1 gal bubble buckets right now then they go to my 5 gal bbs I wonder if this solution can be used like that roottek stuff... It just makes sense that the cuttings should go directly into a solution or gel of some kind to prevent exposure right after they are cut.
Best thing to do when cloning is keep it simple.. took me a few attempts to realise that over doing things just makes things worse. All I do to get rooted cloned everytime is: 1) Use a humidity dome or propagation dome (always with condensation on inside of lid) 2) Use sharp clean scalpel & rooting hormone (clonex or similar) 2) Keep cuttings away from being too near the light (Mine are about 2/3ft away from my cfl sometimes more) Normally get rooted cuttings in 5-7 days & ready to transplant after about 10 days when roots have gone crazy. The most common mistake is people having their cuttings right under/too near the light.. don't.. they'll cook.
ok so i use a five gallon homemade system with two inch holes cut out of the lid for cuttings. where can I find a dome that will work for that? Never even looked for those.. Yea I keep my light away, I just have the nearest lights placed a top of actual rooted plants that sit next to the bucket and they get plenty of light still. I tried the cloning gel and got a higher root outcome. 5 out of 6 cuttings rooted. Is the lower stem turning dark colors before roots appear normal? While I was at the hydro store they had a clear walled model of a ez clone station. I saw that it has a bubble stone in it. Mine doesn't and was wondering if that was the problem. I just didn't think it would need one because of the spraying action. I gues I was wrong. Is it needed?
Okay so I have been having some issues with after seven days some of my clones start drooping And turning yellow. Mostly bubba strands. I've heard to add a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water to stop any threat of mold. I am using clonex gel. And jiffy soil pods. They are soaked in a rooting agent, I forget the name. But to the manufacturers specifications. Then cut with a fresh razor blade , dipped and put in the jiffy. And placed in the a 6in top humidity done. A heatin mat underneath an the thermometer that reads around 80f constantly. I just recently added a little b-1 to the water. And the vents are left closed till about 5 day we open them slightly. But always open it once a day for fresh air. Any ideas??
keep it simple folks no need for heating mat, just put them in your humidity dome, make sure there is moisture on inside of lid at all times, see the cloning guide here: How To Grow Marijuana?: Cloning Marijuana - A Step By Step Fool Proof Guide In Pics