Leaves wilting on clones - Day 4

[timmy78]

Hey fellas, I took 3 clones off a mother 4 days ago. One wilted immediately and looks like it's not going to make it. The other two looked great until today. One of them is starting to wilt. They're in a humidity dome and I've been foliar feeding twice a day. Does anyone know what could possible cause a clone to start wilting 4 days in after looking great before? Anything I can do to remedy?

Thanks guys.

 

[ROBSTERB]

pics would help! but i only mist once aday, have you been messing with them looking for roots?

 

[timmy78]

I haven't messed with them at all but minutes ago I pulled up the one that had completely wilted and saw a worm about an inch long, dark in color, sitting on the rockwool. Does anyone know what these are? I'm wondering if having my dome sit directly on a heat mat caused it. Anything I can do because although I didn't look I'm wondering if that's what's causing my other one to start to wilt. Crap!

 

[ROBSTERB]

did you pre soak your rockwool cubes in ph water? i would go with the peat pellets for cloneing untill u get the hang of it, theyve never let me down! also sitting the dome on your heat mat is the right way to do it, the brown worm looking thing sounds like the stem is rotting, the rockwool is probably to wet.

 

[timmy78]

I didn't presoak. I just gel'ed and soaked them in tap water (advice given to me by the hydro store guy). Any suggestions on what I can do? Should I try to dry the rockwool somewhat by leaving the dome off for a while?

 

[ROBSTERB]

your meant to pre-soak the rock wool cubes in phed water for 24hrs then squeeze the excess water out, they should be wet but not soaked and dripping! i would really recommend peat pellets, you could try squeezing the cubes gently to get rid of most of the water, are they really wet? i wouldn't remove the dome because they will probably wilt even more.

 

[timmy78]

I don't think they're soaked as there hasn't been any water drip out of the bottom of the tray but maybe they can still be too wet without doing that.

So you think I should gently remove them from the tray and try to lightly squeeze out excess water? I guess I'm more scared that when I remove them I'm going to see those nasty worms on them again. Debating if I should just let it go and see what happens as I don't want to shock them anymore.

 

[cruzer101]

Sorry to say this but forget it. If you didn't pH the rockwool they are not going to root.
Peat pellets are low in pH. What works the best is rapid rooters. No need to pH and they are made out of natural material.

 

[ROBSTERB]

are they real worms you talking about? or just brown rotting stem? try leaving them and mist once aday there strong mofos and could still root! try peat pellets/peat pucks on the next go!

 

[timmy78]

So PH the rockwool next time huh? Funny, the guy at the hydro store actually showed me how to do it off a cucumber plant and he made it look so easy. I specifically asked him about water and he said just soaking it in tapwater immediately before I insert the clone was fine.

So Rob I think you were right on it being too wet because I just checked the other two and they weren't nearly as soaked as the one with the nasty worm (and yes it was a real worm, crawled around for a while before I killed it) and they were seemingly free of critters. The rockwool of the remaining two feels about perfect, moist but not too dry. It'll be interesting to see if these take since I didn't PH the rockwool. Otherwise, although one side of leaves of one of the clones is drooping slightly, the leaves on both look green and healthy.

 

[MrStickyScissors]

what i do is take a humi dome and cut 2 wholes on each side and run a 2 foot t5 fixture through the inside of the dome. make sure there is water in the bottom of the tray with a heating pad on a timer to run a hour every 5 or 6 hours. keep a wet towel over the top of the dome to help build up humidity. you should try the wet towel

 

[MrStickyScissors]

So PH the rockwool next time huh? Funny, the guy at the hydro store actually showed me how to do it off a cucumber plant and he made it look so easy. I specifically asked him about water and he said just soaking it in tapwater immediately before I insert the clone was fine.

So Rob I think you were right on it being too wet because I just checked the other two and they weren't nearly as soaked as the one with the nasty worm (and yes it was a real worm, crawled around for a while before I killed it) and they were seemingly free of critters. The rockwool of the remaining two feels about perfect, moist but not too dry. It'll be interesting to see if these take since I didn't PH the rockwool. Otherwise, although one side of leaves of one of the clones is drooping slightly, the leaves on both look green and healthy.

you also have to watch out that your cube is not sitting in the water you just want to soak them and then have enough water in the bottom to build up humidity. once the cubes start to dry out add water not over the cubes but to the tray and let them suk it up from the bottom of the cube. rapid rooters work really gud. you will be able to tell if they are going to root as soon as the bottom of the stem fattens up a little. most strain if you know what you are doing will root withing 7 to 10 days. then there are sum strains that i have ran into that take nearly a month.

 

[timmy78]

So you're saying when the rockwool cubes start to dry out, add some water to the inside of the dome and not the cubes directly? My tray has holes throughout the bottom so what if I set a small cup of water inside, would that work?

 

[MrStickyScissors]

So you're saying when the rockwool cubes start to dry out, add some water to the inside of the dome and not the cubes directly? My tray has holes throughout the bottom so what if I set a small cup of water inside, would that work?

rock wool is a little different. but i still would not have them sitting in water. I would use the rapid rooters there hella easy. but yeah i would get a little tray that didnt have wholes in it so that you could keep a cup of water in it thats why there drooping theres no humidity. you shoul see it on the sides of the dome. they shouldnt even limp from the first day you cut them unless it takes you to long to make the cuts

 

[MrStickyScissors]

also clone ex gel works really gud.

 

[timmy78]

So it's day 5 now and my 2 clones leaves are still drooping. Can anyone confirm that this is because I used tapwater for the rockwool cubes and didn't PH them. Any advice or anything I can do to revive? They are in a humidity dome with 24 hr CFL light. They seem to be wilting a little more each day but the leaves are still very green and healthy. Any input is appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[Xcon]

Well, don't judge any method off your first 3 clones. I tried dozens of methods, killed countless clones before I found my mojo. You can decimate a mother plant and it'll grow back with a vengence, so don't be afraid to take the entire plant for clones (if it's a female)

I keep 3 small starter trays... 36 cell, maybe 8-10 clones in each... in weekly rotation for replacing mothers and flowering, and I have a small grow (400w)

I find that with cloning, overdoing it produces the best results.

 

[timmy78]

Thanks XCon. So what has been your method of success? I'm doing something wrong and just haven't figured it out yet apparently. Any tips for me based on some of the things you discovered you were doing wrong as you refined?

 

[Xcon]

Thanks XCon. So what has been your method of success? I'm doing something wrong and just haven't figured it out yet apparently. Any tips for me based on some of the things you discovered you were doing wrong as you refined?

No lights, heat mat, root riot cubes, clonex gel, ¼" of standing water in trays, 45º cuts, >= 3 nodes, no humidity dome, 3x 36 cell trays, weekly rotation, daily maintenance... I'm lazy, and am willing to sacrifice a few rotted stems in exchange for not having to constantly water/check water level/replace water more than every few days, which is why I leave standing water in the trays.

You might get lucky and root 3 clones the hard way, but IMO you're better off going for broke and cloning as much as you can, even if it means an extra month of veg up front.

 

[MrStickyScissors]

Thanks XCon. So what has been your method of success? I'm doing something wrong and just haven't figured it out yet apparently. Any tips for me based on some of the things you discovered you were doing wrong as you refined?

if you dont have humidity built up in your dome your clones will wilt and die. thats the main thing. also if you graft the bottom of your cut before you dip it in your rooting gel it will help. If there limping at day 5 i would start over.