Yo whatup playas. This by far is my fav thread, and Custom those clones are beautiful. I was gonna drop an update myself. I was struggling with the cloning part, really badly, made a few adjustments and this last try i have 27 of 30 lookin great still on day two. Last two try's they almost all wilted within a few hours. Here's my method.
1. Identify branches to clone off of...first i'm looking towards the top branches because they contain more growth hormones than the lower branches, and this helps in root generation. I also make sure that the nodes on the branches indicate its a mature stem. So if the two nodes appear exactly opposite of each other its not mature, they should be spread out. One node on the left and then the next one up comes out opposite. Then I'm clippin them using a sharp scissor just above a node and making sure at least 3 nodes appear above it.
2. I then use an exacto blade and cut a 45 degree cut about 1/4 inch below the first node. I lightly scrape from the node down to break down the skin a little. With the blade i also cut off any other branches except for the top one of course. I trim the leaves to half and i dip the stem in water and shake it for a couple in hopes of getting any air bubbles off the stem bottom.
3. I dip the clones into my rooting gel and put them into my rockwool cubes. This time i'm experimenting between rapid rooters and some plain rockwool. So far i don't see any difference. Perhaps the roots will grow faster on one, i'll let ya know.
4. I then mist the leaves, i also misted the rockwool cubes. The night before i soaked the plain rockwool in 5.5 PH RO water. Once the stems are in the rockwool i make sure they are tight around the stem and put them in my tray which then gets covered by the dome.
5. I'm keeping them misted and the cubes damp, things are looking great.
The difference between this time and last was this. I got a clean new exacto blade, used H202 3% rather than 35% to wipe the blade (not sure that made a difference). I also bought new rooting gel, the last one i had was the same kind but over 2 years old. I also didn't shake the stems in the water last time. Those are the only differences, had to have been one of those things. Pretty sure all my facts are straight. Let me know though. Peace!