Early Cloning Question?

[Trevor Ellis]

I'm cloning some Somango right now and while i am experienced in growing organically, havent fine tuned my cloning skills. I have had recent success with using bloom nutrients to really stimulate bright white roots. My question is at how many days old should the clones be before they start to get a mild nutrient solution? Do some people wait a week? 3 days? immediately? And if so which is optimal?

 

[mayor juana]

My clones take 10-14 days before they dry out and from there I gradually build the strength of nutes up from 1/2 strength. I clone directly in Roots organic soil so they already have a nutritious home. What are you cloning in? If you already have roots then the worst you can do is burn the tips a little if your medium is too hot.

 

[Mother's Finest]

Certain very weak nutes can be given to clones and seeds. That said, clones can handle and will need light ferts once they are rooted; the same time they can be planted. Take clones, they droop, they root and perk up, they get moved to fertile soil.

 

[Trevor Ellis]

I use the little spongy organic peat plugs. I have little jiffy peat pots and roots organic formula 707 i believe its called. I'll try some that way. And are u saying that they dont dry out or need water for 10 days. the plugs dry out in 24 hours give or take. I like the little jiffy pots because you can bottom feed evenly. Im still looking for a rock solid cloning technique so any other tips would be appreciated. While i have had success im still experiencing alot of wilting in the first 24 to 48 hours. And while i know some is to be expected im having cuttings just straight keel over. Do some cuttings just not make it or is there something i could do to prevent this.

 

[Mother's Finest]

Yes we've been using peat pucks for clones for a long time. The slight acidity of the peat helps create a good Ph for rooting and they plant well into soil. In a warm, humid environment, peat pucks should take at least a week to dry. We always take clones, dip in hormone, place in pucks wet with a very light Guano tea, put them into a large cooking pot with the lid on (not sealed tight), place the pot on top of a heating pad already tested with the pot to be the correct temperature and wait.

Some cuttings don't make it, especially for growers new to cloning. Clones have to be kept in a high humidity environment until they have roots to absorb water through on their own. What are you keeping them in?

 

[Trevor Ellis]

i keep them in a clear hot house. guano tea from the start i like. the hot house has adjustable vents on the sides and on the top. i keep it on a proper heating pad under a nice flourescent. All the equipment is top end and completely sterile. scrubbed out with rubbing alcohol. the mothers are from seed so the genetics are strong. water is good. Yet still getting what i would consider excessive wilting. most bounced right back with light misting. But a couple look out for the count. this is probably normal. i think that i have been opening the side vents to soon. how long should i keep the dome completely sealed?

 

[Mother's Finest]

Never mist clones. While it can help them look better, it inhibits root growth. The clones need to know that the water comes from the soil and grow roots to absorb it. The more water it absorbs through its vegetation, the less it will want to grow roots. The high humidity environment is to prevent water loss but there needs to be less moisture in the air than in the peat.

The cloning area shouldn't be sealed. It should be mostly enclosed to keep the humidity up but there should still be small air holes. Bigger cloning containers need less air because they have more air already inside and smaller ones are more likely to sufficate the clones without some small amount of airflow.

You're aiming for enough humidity to create slight condensation on the walls without any water dripping on the plant.

 

[IXOYE]

I just took clones...have them under a humidity dome and misted them directly (oops!) I'm on my way to go ventilate the dome right now but what is a basic temperature and humidity for clones? I'm a wee worried I didn't cut at a severe enough degree but between 8 clones hopefully a few will take root. I am using 5.5ph grodan and rootech under two 6500k 32w T8s.

Also I've read 24/0 or 20/4 lights are best. This makes sense to me as 2 of my 3 mamas were in flower and preflower when I took the clones. So 24/0 to get them to re-veg seems logical. Is 24/0 typical for all clones?

Thanks all!

 

[Mother's Finest]

Misting just after taking them isn't that bad as long as they spend the rest of their time getting water from the rooting area. Temperature should be kept above room temp for best results. When using peat pucks, they should be covered in damp perlite to slow drying and also to block light from the roots when they poke out from the puck. This container of perlite, pucks and clones should be heated from the bottom with a heating pad set to low. The container should be set up on the pad for a few days before cloning to make sure the temp is right. I don't have exact numbers but we make sure the bottom of the cloning pot is just barely warm to the touch. We're currently in the middle of cloning and put some notes and pics of it on our journal: https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/380606-sensi-seeds-mothers-finest-indoor.html

Roots grow best at night. You want about as much night while cloning as possible without flowering. We use 16/8 until they are rooted and transplanted.

 

[mindatlarge]

Never mist clones. While it can help them look better, it inhibits root growth. The clones need to know that the water comes from the soil and grow roots to absorb it. The more water it absorbs through its vegetation, the less it will want to grow roots. The high humidity environment is to prevent water loss but there needs to be less moisture in the air than in the peat.

The cloning area shouldn't be sealed. It should be mostly enclosed to keep the humidity up but there should still be small air holes. Bigger cloning containers need less air because they have more air already inside and smaller ones are more likely to sufficate the clones without some small amount of airflow.

You're aiming for enough humidity to create slight condensation on the walls without any water dripping on the plant.

Somebody help this guy...

 

[treefugger]

Peat pucks work well for cloning, I took a cutting off a catnip plant that grows abundantly in my area, and it rooted within 4 days. The catnip plant is probably the closest thing to marijuana that grows wildly in my area, and it spreads fast, in part due to its rapid growth and ability to root itself again when it gets knocked over/stepped on. Flowering and branching structures are very similar as well, I think if I could find a strain that can kick it with the catnip plant, I will be in good shape! Hardy afghan genetics seem to work well here too, similar climate and soil quality to Afghanistan. Had an afghan seedling that survived a real bad hailstorm, I remember thinking, "damn the plant probably died" hell no! the thing thrived after the hailstorm. Cant wait for this spring, gonna be a kickass season, no x factors, no rippers, and definetly no plants in pots above ground ever again (it rained for like 2 weeks, so I figured no reason for me to go water em right? bad idea, i come back and the pots are gone... wouldnt have happened if they looked like they just popped out of the earth!) going to plant amongst catnip plants, which I will clone and plant in abundance.

 

[mayor juana]

I just took clones...have them under a humidity dome and misted them directly (oops!) I'm on my way to go ventilate the dome right now but what is a basic temperature and humidity for clones? I'm a wee worried I didn't cut at a severe enough degree but between 8 clones hopefully a few will take root. I am using 5.5ph grodan and rootech under two 6500k 32w T8s.

Also I've read 24/0 or 20/4 lights are best. This makes sense to me as 2 of my 3 mamas were in flower and preflower when I took the clones. So 24/0 to get them to re-veg seems logical. Is 24/0 typical for all clones?

Thanks all!

My clones grow best with a root temp around 75 but have rooted in the high 60s and low 80s.