Im going to buy some clones - what to look for and do next?

Indoor Growing
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Ive decided to buy three clones for my hydro experiment - maybe. Im very frustrated so far. Its like pulling teeth trying to get these people to get back to you. So far I have found 4 places that have websites offering clones for sale in Wa state.

The ONLY one that got back to me within a few hours was some guy selling out of his garage. Obviously not a registered seller with the state.

Of the other three, one finally answered my email. Well, I should say responded and not answered. I got a reply but it didnt answer one single question I asked. Im up to 4 emails now and slooooooooly prying answers out of them. I now know they have a minimum order of plants but no idea what the costs are or what strains are availableā€¦

The other two dont answer emails or return phone calls.

WTF???

Anyway - assuming I can over come these hurdles and actually get some clones - what do I do next?

I will examine them to see if they look healthy and have nice white roots, but what else should I check for?

Should I dose them with bug spray or soap or something else to be sure they are bringing in no pests?

These will all be going into small perlite netpots in my hydro setup. My plan is to just run PHā€™ed water at first, but Im not sure how soon to start adding nutes. I assume after they are settled in and roots are growing well? Then gradually ramp it up?

Thanks for any help, tips etc.

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Bugs.

Some form of pest strategy makes very good sense.

Have to stop there, I grow in soil.

Good luck!

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I dont think soil/hydro would make any difference as far as treating clones for bugs prior to planting would it?

What would you do to make sure they had no bugs?

Im thinking a dunk of the entire clone in something, but I have no clue what to use or how strong.

Or would you dunk the roots in one thing and the upper plant in something else?

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@ReikoX has mentioned some products that might work for you. Letā€™s see what he has in his bag of tricks.

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I would do a dip in something for sure the whole thing root zone and all. What do you have available to you? Neem oil is my go to. I would also quarantine them for at least a week to make sure they are clean.

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Yup dip in some azamax or something and quarantine for 2 weeks then dip again and good luck. Should be pest free cuts for your clean room. I purchased clones from a dispensary and they came with aphids and mites. To be fair I had the clones with me in a rental car all up in the colorado Rocky Mountain so the pest may have been picked up on the ride.

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I got thrips the last time I brought in a cutting. Ruined a harvest and killed my Tahoe OG clone before I figured out what was going on.

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yes definitely treat immediately and quarantine for a week or 2 away from your garden. iā€™d treat with the strongest pesticide you have right off the bat.

i know @Swampthing was selling clones before not sure about now and can also find lots of cuts for sale on @Strainly

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I checked out Strainly and there are a few clones sellers in my area but they are waaaaay $$$$ - most were like $200 per clone. One was $50 per clone, but thats still way outside my price range.

I will PM Swampthing and see if/what he has going - thanks!!

I cant believe how crappy and unprofessional the growers that are offering clones for sale are here in Wa state. I have left at least 4 messages each on every single website contact page, sent several emails (when I could find an email) to each one of them, and left multiple phone messages.

Only two have replied. One was The Strain Bank, which took some time to get answers, but at least they reply to emails. Unfortunately, they are at the hi end of the price range with a $100 minimum order.

The other one is some guy selling out of his garage - not a legal seller in Wa. I may go that route, but would prefer to buy legally.

This is really frustrating. How do these folks expect to stay in business if they wont talk to customers? Three of them offer a grow guarantee - but how can you guarantee something if the customer cant contact you in any way? Sheesh!!!

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i know what you meanā€¦ canada is considering having a special nursery license for people wanting to produce clones and seeds. iā€™d love to get that but even if i donā€™t iā€™ll probably sell clones anyways.

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Thanks legal. Yea not atm. Iā€™ve kinda let my veg goto shit as of late.

Everything is now clean but about to move em to a new space to get some room

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That sucks. Sorry you have that to mess with. Sounds like thats going to take a while to fix, so I will look elsewhere.

It occurs to me that shipping clones cant be all that easy or simple, so it will probably end up cheaper to find some locally anyway.

Thanks for offering!

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Well, I found exactly two people willing to actually make a deal on clones!! Im not counting the five or six on Craigs List. They all came across as shady or not really knowing thier stuff.

The ā€œlegalā€ seller is through ā€œThe Strain Bankā€. They seem up front and ok I guess, but their warranty is pretty vague and has some loop holes - like if you are not completely polite, and dont ask very nicely, you get no warranty. PLus, its never their fault so why even ask for a warranty?? :slight_smile:

The ā€˜under the tableā€™ guy I found on Bud Trader/Washington. He sounds legit as far as knowing what he is up to, and he answers questions asap with no evasions or crap, and just sounds like a nice, smart guy. At least as far as I can tell over the phone.

His warranty is simple - 100% guarantee of no bugs or pathogens.

https://washington.budtrader.com/

He is less than 1/2 price of the other shop, and he has a strain Im more interested in (Blue Dream), and they are in small rockwool cubes instead of soil, so he wins.

So, Im getting 5 Blue Dream clones in small rockwool cubes.

He guarantees no bugs - but Im still going to treat them with Neem oil before putting them in the hydro setup.

Do you guys have any suggestions for strength of solution and soak times?

Should I put some neem in the hydro rez?

Also, would you guys recommend putting any nutes in the hydro rez at the start or just go PHā€™ed water at first? These are supposed to be 6" to 8" tall.

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if rooted, 6"-8" would probably like some food.

If just cuttings, plain Phā€™d water.

Canā€™t advise on the bug treatment, I havenā€™t done any of that besides mosquito dunks lol.

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Thanks for the help!!

Leafly says this strain is a heavy feeder, especially during flowering.

Iā€™ll check out the roots and decide how much nutes after I see them. I will probably start out at 1/4 strength and work up slowly.

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Wow, clones round these parts are Ā£10 each if you do not know the guy, Ā£5 if you do.

Check for roots, check roots are healthy, check for pests!, check for any signs of wilt, or damping off.

For that money you want a vigorous plant, with many white roots, no bugs or disease, no damaged leaves at all in fact.

Full plant dip, then quarantine for 2 weeks (some eggs take a week or more to hatch depending on temps and you might not see the babies for a day or two)

Yeah, this guy sounds a lot better. Still quarantine them for two weeks if you have other plants, still dip, still take all the precautions until you are sure of them.

You need to be vigilant always, the bugs just need to be lucky once to be a big problem.

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I have no other plants growing, so Im not worried about that. Just dont want to hassle with killing an infestation if I dont have to.

This guy has a $50 minimum, but I get 5 plants for that. The Strain Bank folks have a $100 minimum but you only get 4 plants, so $25 ea instead of $10.

I can understand having a minimum price per order. None of these folks have a storefront, so they have to pack up the order, then drive somewhere and wait for you to show up. Its not worth getting out of the shop for just $10. That wouldnt cover the cost of gas and supplies. Even at a $50 minimum, this guy is not getting rich quick.

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Well, I got the 5 clones. I almost didnt get them. Three of them were really droopy and some of them had a few questionable leaves as far as color, spots, brown. After looking closer I decided the over all color was not bad and the new growth actually looked very good. The rockwool cubes were drenched and dripping, so I figured the drooping was too much water. The roots all looked very white and healthy. I finally decided to chance it and brought them home.

First thing I did was take a close look by eyeball, then I got out the USB scope and checked them over again. I couldnt find anything that looked suspicious as far as critters.

Then I put them on paper towels to dry out the cubes as much as possible. After changing out the towels several times, the leaves had started to perk up again! Thats like in under 2 hours!

So, then I stressed them by dunking them in a double strength neem oil mix for 10 minutes. I let that dry for a while on more paper towels, then set them up-right on top of some dry perlite to dry out again. They are now in the tent warming up and drying out. Late tonight I will give them a small drink of phā€™ed low dose nutes and them wait till tomorrow to see how they look.

Unless there are some hidden critters down in the rockwool, I think I will be ok.

0331181911a.jpg1872Ɨ2496 1.37 MB

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At first blush, these look like they will be just fine.

Blue Dream is on my top 3 list too. Nice.

Letā€™s see the instant jungle you purchased.

99

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Good so far, I would repeat the close inspection and neem dip in three days, just to be safe.

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