Cloning basics

[Strungthru]

Hello OG Fam!

I wanted to make a topic for cloning, and get others input on the stripped down basics needed to clone, in an aid to help with people starting out cloning!

So far on my journey of cloning, i do not have a cloning machines. I have tried several attempts to clone, and have been unsuccessful, till now.

What i have learned on my journey so far that are needed:
•Healthy plant
•clean snips
•clean water, i use distilled
•soil or medium to put clone(s) in
•rooting hormones
•a low light place to set them.

I have learned to snip 1/3rd of the leaves off the cut, too slow down photosynthesis.

This is how i have been approaching this.
I cut off the cuttings i want too root, and immediately put them in a clean glass of distilled water, then when im ready to stick them in the soil, i use a freshly cleaned with isopropyl razor blade, cut the end of the cutting diagonally across then end to expose more of the inside surface of the end of the cut where roots start. Then dip it in the rooting hormone, shake off the excess, and stick it in the soil and add a few little water around it to settle the soil.

At this point is where i was killing them.

I would just stick them under the light and go about my day, and wonder why there were dying.

Then i was told that i need to put them under the canopy. Which started to make a difference, and they would live alot longer…then die.

I was confused… What was i doing wrong?

I discovered i needed to put them in relatively no light, and started just setting them outside my grow room on a shelf in a room that just has shop light leds on in it. And also the humidity is alot higher in that room, in the 80% roughly.

This is what i was missing, the low light, and the high humidity.

Granted, this all would be solved with the proper equipment, but I mainly have just been a seed grower, untill now my first clone i delt with was a Lemon G clone, but i did not root it.

I am making this post, and sharing my story of learning to clone, in hopes that I may help someone, or that others in the community will chime in and help others aswell!

@DougDawson @Wizdom @hoss8455 @DeeRezPoundmaker @darkillusion
I wanted tag you guys, because i bet you have more experince then I do at cloning.

[ClandestinLEE]

Check it out

How do you clone?

Hi everyone …I’ve just started clones for first time. Was wondering what is the maximum humidity I should have in the propogator ? As its at 90% now and temperature is at 21*c on day 2

[DeeRezPoundmaker]

I’ve rooted clones in plain water. Actually took some two weeks ago and they are rooting fine.
I’ve also cloned using a medium of sorts and they all can get the result you seek.
There are also cloning machines available and tutorials on how to build your own. I know brother @Acro does lots of rooted snips in water.
Brother @Roms Double Maz nice little cut that was going to be eliminated so now it will live on.

Brother @BRMTreefarmer ‘s AK-48 F2 long snip will live on as well.

I have some that have already been put into medium from straight water rooting.

Lot of the time we overthink and things don’t go the way we liked. Take your time and keep it simple and sterile.
Every plant use a new blade and always keep water temps low and you’ll be fine brother!

[Stu420]

I like to pour my rooting hormone into a little aluminum foil tray so im not dipping into the bottle. I’ll use a new tray and rooting hormone for each plant im cloning

Easy way to spread pathogens between plants if youre dipping multiple plants into the same hormone container.

[Longtooth]

Standard 10x20 seedling tray
Humidity dome (key)

Place a heating pad under a towel under the tray @ 77-degrees

Prepare medium.
Rockwool (conditioned 1st with 30-minutes in 5.5ph water & excess water shaken out). OR
Root-riot cubes as the preferred medium.

Rooting hormone - doesn’t really seem to matter which brand, but I do separate into a shot-glass for dipping and don’t reuse any excess.

I usually use a scalpel to dip a little powder into the hole in which I plan to insert the cutting.

The cutting.
Make the cut at a branch or leaf node diagonally exposing a broader cross section
I prefer clips take directly from the meristem but it doesn’t seem to matter.

Place in distilled water immediately while preparing

Clip all leaves along the shaft of the cutting EXCEPT the top cluster.

Clip 1/3 of remaining leaf tips (I skip this on smaller cuttings) -not sure it matters

Dip wet cut into rooting hormone. Place in rooting medium.

Place in the tray next to a compact-fluorescent or single standard 5000k LED

Put the dome on with vents closed

Mist 2-3x day w/ distilled water.

Leave in dome with no venting for 2-3 days other than to wipe off condensation and mist

Then on 3rd or 4th day adjust vents on dome at 25-50% and

Remove dome daily and allow hardening without dome for 30min-1hour.

Check for root development at 7-10 days

This works for me every time.

[Stu420]

@Longtooth

Clip 1/3 of remaining leaf tips (I skip this on smaller cuttings) -not sure it matters

You reminded me of this study that actually found clipping leaf tips resulted in lower rates of success compared to unclipped. In their study it was the 2nd most statistically significant change across methods tested.

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjps-2018-0038#.W8zjhS2ZNuU

[yardgrazer]

I’ve cloned using cheapo cloning powder, slightly higher concentration liquid, and straight into medium. All of them work, but I was impressed by the higher concentration liquid.

^ I was listening to some podcast recently where someone who regularly took huge quantities of clones said the only reason to clip leaves was for space/airflow when you have a crowd of clones.

[aGarageCulturist]

I stopped clipping my leaves recently and noticed the plants seem to root in the same amount of time but have stronger and thicker roots to hit the ground running with.

[Acro]

Yeah, I do it for space only and only certain strains.

[Strungthru]

The two clones i took of my Franco’s lemon cheese are growing new growth on the stems!

[RookieBuds]

I’ve noticed I get faster rooting in warmer conditions than with slightly cooler conditions, all other parameters the same other than temp. I’ll get roots in like 8-12 days in Summer but takes a solid 2 weeks in the winter

[Omphaloskepsis]

Recently I cut many extra cuttings just to play it safe. Some I put into jiffy pellets and the remainder I put directly into potting soil. All had rooting hormone.

Most of the ones stuck directly into the potting soil are doing well. I’m seeing roots poke through the fabric pots. (I planted many in the same pot and some are close to the edges)

Humidity seems to be the most important factor in clone survival. When I’ve let humidity levels slip, the clones always suffer. Having a shelf unit with a plastic cover and a humidifier helps. A small tent for cloning can hold humidity too.