slump
Well-Known Member
Hello RIU!
Even with the great resources on the site for cloning, I felt that there still wasn't anything that was super in-depth about the process of taking cuttings AND caring for them through the entire rooting process, so I decided to try and make a comprehensive guide for the way that I do my cloning.
Quick Grow Bio - I started growing seriously about 3 years ago and joined RIU to glean as much information as I possibly could before I set out on my own adventure. RIU was very helpful to me when I was starting up, so I'd like to finally return the favor. I started with a 2000w grow room (LINK) and then progressed into 2 - 2000w grow rooms and then to 3...and then to an additional 4000w grow room and now I'm in the process of building another 2000w room...overall I will be running 10k watts for growing and 2k-ish watts for mothers (more on this later)! With all the rooms to fill, buying clones from the dispensary was getting expensive ($12 + tax) so I decided to learn how to clone for myself. When I got the technique down and started giving some clones away to other patients here and there, people took notice of the quality of my clones and I started getting larger orders for clones. At full capacity I was doing anywhere from 100-200 clones a week.
Mother and Clone Room
Fortunately, I have the space for a separate room specifically for mothering and cloning. I keep the room slightly warm @78-80 degrees, this helps keep the humidity a bit higher which is around 75%. I also run a humidifier. In full production mode, I would keep 6 mothers under 2k watts which gave me the ability to take 25-50 cuts per plant per week...since I've not done any mass cloning in several months, I find that 600 watts will keep 2 mothers producing around 25 cuts each per week.
I used to use nothing but HPS bulbs for my moms, it keeps the plants constantly stretching, producing more available cuts. Since I'm basically just taking clones for myself now, I find that MH produces a much larger cut as the branches don't stretch as much. I prefer the size and quality of the MH clones, you just can't get to a serious production level using only MH. If I do get back into taking a lot of cuttings, I'd like to try a dual spectrum bulb and see what it will do for my moms.
For the clones I use the chrome 6' x 4' storage racks from Home Depot. Each shelf has a single T5 bulb on it. The bulbs will conveniently sit dead center of each shelf with only their cords as support. Also, they will act as a heater for the trays above them! When fully stocked you can fit 400 clones on this rack (with my method...more if you wanna go nuts!)
Mother Care
I keep my mother plants in 7 gallon pots and use B'Cuzz coco as a medium and Great White + Carbo Load as a pre-transplant drench. I hand feed my mothers with the Nutri+ line (@ 1/2 strength) because I had a ton of it lying around since my hydro guy was dropping cases of it on me to try out for them (not a bad line IMHO). Nutri+ base literally sits around 5.7 pH with my filtered water so there's no pH adjustment at all, which makes it easier. I also use Nutri+ Green, Nutri+ Gold, Silica Blast, Superthrive and an occasional Cal/Mag Plus (Plus has Nitrogen in it). Once a week I'll toss 1/2 a scoop of Great White and also some Carbo Load so the bene's can NOM NOM.
I feed the plants 5 times a week..and then 2 days before a cut I will feed them with straight water to leach the nitrogen out of the plant. A lack of nitrogen will promote quick root development in new cuttings. After a cut, I will foliar feed the moms with OpticFoliar, because it dominates faces.
The following picture is a BlackJack (I think it's Mendo Purps + OG Kush) mom at around 6 or 7 weeks and around 5 feet tall.
Normally I would start taking cuttings when the plant reaches 18 inches or so in order to force it to start bushing out and creating more branches. With this particular plant, I wasn't really trying to get back into cloning so much so I let it get about 4 feet tall before I took just 12 cuts from it. I also started this mother under a 1000w HPS but the plant was growing quicker than I wanted it to so I switched to a 600w MH right after the initial cut.
Let's Make Some Clones!!
Hardware and Software
Cloning Trays - The cheap ones are like a dollar each. Pay a bit more for the sturdier ones...you'll be happy you did.
Domes - I used Mondi domes...they're the tallest domes available and they fit the trays better than most domes. There's some new domes out which I just picked up and they are the same size as the Mondi, have the 2 side vents but they also have a huge vent on the top of them. I might switch to these because you can really get the clones to dry out when you need them to.
Rock Wool Cubes - Grodan 2" cubes. Bigger cubes make for chunkier roots, easier handling and, IMO, an overall easier transplanting experience. Plus they can hold bigger cuttings with no problems!
Rock Wool Pre-Soak - I personally use SensiBloom A+B. Any FLOWERING base will do the trick though. High Phosphorus content excellerates root development. Once I'm out of the SensiBloom, I'll swap over to the Nutri+ bloom nutes.
Rooting Gel/Powder - I have used - Olivia's, CloneX, SuperNatural, RooTech, Juicy Roots, etc. etc. etc. - THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. Equal success with every one. I will, however, say that CloneX gel consistently pops roots a day or two quicker than the others.
Blades - I use #15 Surgical Dental Scalpel Blades. They're like $7.00 for 100 on E-Bay...and they fit on the handles of the disposable blades you get at the hydro store.
Salad Spinner - Al B. Fuct is a GODDAMNED genius for this one. /bow
Rubbing Alcohol - Clean your blade in between EVERY cut. Dunno if it makes a difference...I just like being nice to my moms.
Rubber Gloves - Clean is happy.
Prep!
Clean is Happy - Yes! A clean work surface is golden. Don't want creepy pathogens and what nots eating your clones' faces.
SOAK!! - I mix the SensiBloom A+B @ 2ml per gallon and pH to 5.5 - FIVE POINT FIVE!! Rockwool has a naturally high pH, gotta bring it down. The 2" cubes can literally soak for like a minute and be done. I usually go smoke at this time.
The next part is one of the most important steps and one of the most difficult to master:
Cube Wetness! - Mastering the wetness of the rockwool cube will take some trial and error. My goal is to absolutely not touch the cubes for an entire week while they're in the dome. I want them to dry to a point where, at 7 days, they will need a watering but only be a day or two from the roots popping. It's a fine line that I lost many a clone trying to reach. But once you get it down, it becomes a second nature and really makes production cloning with this style work really well.
If you grab a cube and give your wrist 5-6 good snaps, this is about the wetness you want. The cube is still colored like it is wet...but you know that it's not full of water because you just almost dislocated your elbow slinging water out of it. Now doing this for more than 10 cubes is insane...ENTER:
THE SALAD SPINNER! - Again. Al B. Fuct, if you happen to be lurking. Thank you.
Save your elbow. Get a spinner if you plan on doing this more than once. You'll get the feel for your spinner and know how many times you need to reach the desired level of saturation.
Place the Cubes - Toss your cubes in your tray. A normal cloning tray can fit 50 2" cubes in it. I use a checkerboard pattern (tighter than this in the picture) to fit 25 cubes in a tray. It reduces the chance of mold forming on your new cuttings and, without a ton of transpiration from 50 plants, it helps dry the cubes out when it's time.
Selecting a Cut
If you plan on keeping a mother plant for more than 3 or 4 rounds of cuttings, it is important to select the first round or two of cuts carefully. If you're too aggressive with the cuts, the plant will take a long time to produce viable cuts again. Don't be afraid to NOT clone the first set of cuts. Although I really like a clone produced from the main stem (the top), and the 3 or 4 subsequent sets of nodes, it may not be worthwhile to take the time or space to root them. But by cutting them, you will begin the process of creating more available cuts as each branch that you cut, will start branching even more. This is why it is best to start cutting or even just topping the plant as soon as possible.
Cutting at the Node - I've made cuts everywhere on a branch, they all root. I personally prefer to cut RIGHT at a node.
I've read that there are more "growth" hormones at nodes but I don't know if that is 100% accurate. The reason I like it is because it makes like a "barb" that I can sink into the rockwool and really create an anchor with.
45 Degrees! - A 45 degree cut will expose a good amount of surface area and allow you to still insert into the rockwool with no problem.
I like to start in the "arm pit" of the node and make my 45 down and away from it.
Strip It
I then take the scalpel and strip the bottom nodes off of the cutting. I like to leave 2 or 3 nodes up at the top as it makes the clone look more like a plant once it's rooted.
I don't stress too much on grabbing the hairs with the scalpel, I just pull them off with my fingers. Just make sure to remove them as they are a big culprit when it comes to mold. Also, if a node is small, sometimes I'll just rip it off. Remember, it's an easier healing process from a tear than it is from a cut!
Scrape It - Alleged to reduce rooting time by creating a path of less resistance for the new roots. I dunno. It's a habit now and it doesn't seem detrimental. So I do it.
I scrape all around the opposite side of the node.
Dip! - Always put your gel or powder in a small container...don't use the original container because bad stuff will grow in there in between uses. Come up about an inch when you dip and coat the living hell out of it.
Plant It!! - I believe this part is where many people who have tried to clone with rockwool have gone wrong and end up blaming the medium for failure. NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER...EVER...EVER use that shitty pre-drilled hole. EVER. The hole you put your cutting in MUST be AIR TIGHT!! I'm pretty sure that Embolism (LINK) is the leading cause of rockwool based clone death. (If you are taking multiple cuttings off the mother plant all at once, drop them into a cup of water to prevent air from getting in the stems.)
Always "test" the the cube for a hard part you can push the cutting in to.
Two reasons for this - One is that it serves as a checkpoint, if your cutting is not strong enough to press into rockwool, it does not deserve to be a clone. The other reason is that it will create an airtight seal around the stem.
Keep in mind that your cuttings will start to droop if you're doing a lot of them...don't worry...as soon as you get them in a dome...they'll pick up in no time!
Cuttings in the Mist - Some people mist cuttings directly before popping the dome on top. I prefer to just mist the dome itself. It seems to cut down on mold growth quite a bit. Twist the vents close and give it some misty lovin'!
Keep the dome on, but visually check for signs of mold or mildew. If during the doming, any shows up, get in there and either remove the infected or clip off the infected portion of the plant to keep the mold from spreading to other cuttings.
After 3 or 4 days I open the side vents half way. This will lower the humidity in the dome and aid in the drying out of the cubes. We want the cubes to slowly dry out and the roots that are forming to start looking for water. Around 7 days I open the vents all the way.
This is another area of importance! If the cubes become too dry, then the cuttings will obviously die. If you water the cubes too soon, it will take longer for them to root. It all ties in with how saturated the cubes were initially. Eventually you will be able to just lift a tray and tell, by how much it weighs, if the cubes need watering. At 7 or 8 days though, it's usually time for a watering. I feed them just plain water, as there's usually no roots by now (check each one because there just may be some roots!). I'll fill the tray about 1/4 of the way and then immediately drain all of the water out. Keeping the vents all of the way open on the dome, I'll mist it again and replace it.
Roots should begin forming around day 10 on most of the cuttings and it shouldn't take longer than 14 days for all of them to form roots. This is for most strains. I have had strains that did take up to 3 weeks to root.
Roots on a BlackJack clone @ 8 days.
Please feel free to leave feedback and ask questions. I made this guide because I still see so many questions about cloning and was hoping I could shed some light on one of the many ways to take cuttings and produce your own clones.
Grow Safe
Even with the great resources on the site for cloning, I felt that there still wasn't anything that was super in-depth about the process of taking cuttings AND caring for them through the entire rooting process, so I decided to try and make a comprehensive guide for the way that I do my cloning.
Quick Grow Bio - I started growing seriously about 3 years ago and joined RIU to glean as much information as I possibly could before I set out on my own adventure. RIU was very helpful to me when I was starting up, so I'd like to finally return the favor. I started with a 2000w grow room (LINK) and then progressed into 2 - 2000w grow rooms and then to 3...and then to an additional 4000w grow room and now I'm in the process of building another 2000w room...overall I will be running 10k watts for growing and 2k-ish watts for mothers (more on this later)! With all the rooms to fill, buying clones from the dispensary was getting expensive ($12 + tax) so I decided to learn how to clone for myself. When I got the technique down and started giving some clones away to other patients here and there, people took notice of the quality of my clones and I started getting larger orders for clones. At full capacity I was doing anywhere from 100-200 clones a week.
Mother and Clone Room
Fortunately, I have the space for a separate room specifically for mothering and cloning. I keep the room slightly warm @78-80 degrees, this helps keep the humidity a bit higher which is around 75%. I also run a humidifier. In full production mode, I would keep 6 mothers under 2k watts which gave me the ability to take 25-50 cuts per plant per week...since I've not done any mass cloning in several months, I find that 600 watts will keep 2 mothers producing around 25 cuts each per week.
I used to use nothing but HPS bulbs for my moms, it keeps the plants constantly stretching, producing more available cuts. Since I'm basically just taking clones for myself now, I find that MH produces a much larger cut as the branches don't stretch as much. I prefer the size and quality of the MH clones, you just can't get to a serious production level using only MH. If I do get back into taking a lot of cuttings, I'd like to try a dual spectrum bulb and see what it will do for my moms.
For the clones I use the chrome 6' x 4' storage racks from Home Depot. Each shelf has a single T5 bulb on it. The bulbs will conveniently sit dead center of each shelf with only their cords as support. Also, they will act as a heater for the trays above them! When fully stocked you can fit 400 clones on this rack (with my method...more if you wanna go nuts!)
Mother Care
I keep my mother plants in 7 gallon pots and use B'Cuzz coco as a medium and Great White + Carbo Load as a pre-transplant drench. I hand feed my mothers with the Nutri+ line (@ 1/2 strength) because I had a ton of it lying around since my hydro guy was dropping cases of it on me to try out for them (not a bad line IMHO). Nutri+ base literally sits around 5.7 pH with my filtered water so there's no pH adjustment at all, which makes it easier. I also use Nutri+ Green, Nutri+ Gold, Silica Blast, Superthrive and an occasional Cal/Mag Plus (Plus has Nitrogen in it). Once a week I'll toss 1/2 a scoop of Great White and also some Carbo Load so the bene's can NOM NOM.
I feed the plants 5 times a week..and then 2 days before a cut I will feed them with straight water to leach the nitrogen out of the plant. A lack of nitrogen will promote quick root development in new cuttings. After a cut, I will foliar feed the moms with OpticFoliar, because it dominates faces.
The following picture is a BlackJack (I think it's Mendo Purps + OG Kush) mom at around 6 or 7 weeks and around 5 feet tall.
Normally I would start taking cuttings when the plant reaches 18 inches or so in order to force it to start bushing out and creating more branches. With this particular plant, I wasn't really trying to get back into cloning so much so I let it get about 4 feet tall before I took just 12 cuts from it. I also started this mother under a 1000w HPS but the plant was growing quicker than I wanted it to so I switched to a 600w MH right after the initial cut.
Let's Make Some Clones!!
Hardware and Software
Cloning Trays - The cheap ones are like a dollar each. Pay a bit more for the sturdier ones...you'll be happy you did.
Domes - I used Mondi domes...they're the tallest domes available and they fit the trays better than most domes. There's some new domes out which I just picked up and they are the same size as the Mondi, have the 2 side vents but they also have a huge vent on the top of them. I might switch to these because you can really get the clones to dry out when you need them to.
Rock Wool Cubes - Grodan 2" cubes. Bigger cubes make for chunkier roots, easier handling and, IMO, an overall easier transplanting experience. Plus they can hold bigger cuttings with no problems!
Rock Wool Pre-Soak - I personally use SensiBloom A+B. Any FLOWERING base will do the trick though. High Phosphorus content excellerates root development. Once I'm out of the SensiBloom, I'll swap over to the Nutri+ bloom nutes.
Rooting Gel/Powder - I have used - Olivia's, CloneX, SuperNatural, RooTech, Juicy Roots, etc. etc. etc. - THEY ARE ALL THE SAME. Equal success with every one. I will, however, say that CloneX gel consistently pops roots a day or two quicker than the others.
Blades - I use #15 Surgical Dental Scalpel Blades. They're like $7.00 for 100 on E-Bay...and they fit on the handles of the disposable blades you get at the hydro store.
Salad Spinner - Al B. Fuct is a GODDAMNED genius for this one. /bow
Rubbing Alcohol - Clean your blade in between EVERY cut. Dunno if it makes a difference...I just like being nice to my moms.
Rubber Gloves - Clean is happy.
Prep!
Clean is Happy - Yes! A clean work surface is golden. Don't want creepy pathogens and what nots eating your clones' faces.
SOAK!! - I mix the SensiBloom A+B @ 2ml per gallon and pH to 5.5 - FIVE POINT FIVE!! Rockwool has a naturally high pH, gotta bring it down. The 2" cubes can literally soak for like a minute and be done. I usually go smoke at this time.
The next part is one of the most important steps and one of the most difficult to master:
Cube Wetness! - Mastering the wetness of the rockwool cube will take some trial and error. My goal is to absolutely not touch the cubes for an entire week while they're in the dome. I want them to dry to a point where, at 7 days, they will need a watering but only be a day or two from the roots popping. It's a fine line that I lost many a clone trying to reach. But once you get it down, it becomes a second nature and really makes production cloning with this style work really well.
If you grab a cube and give your wrist 5-6 good snaps, this is about the wetness you want. The cube is still colored like it is wet...but you know that it's not full of water because you just almost dislocated your elbow slinging water out of it. Now doing this for more than 10 cubes is insane...ENTER:
THE SALAD SPINNER! - Again. Al B. Fuct, if you happen to be lurking. Thank you.
Save your elbow. Get a spinner if you plan on doing this more than once. You'll get the feel for your spinner and know how many times you need to reach the desired level of saturation.
Place the Cubes - Toss your cubes in your tray. A normal cloning tray can fit 50 2" cubes in it. I use a checkerboard pattern (tighter than this in the picture) to fit 25 cubes in a tray. It reduces the chance of mold forming on your new cuttings and, without a ton of transpiration from 50 plants, it helps dry the cubes out when it's time.
Selecting a Cut
If you plan on keeping a mother plant for more than 3 or 4 rounds of cuttings, it is important to select the first round or two of cuts carefully. If you're too aggressive with the cuts, the plant will take a long time to produce viable cuts again. Don't be afraid to NOT clone the first set of cuts. Although I really like a clone produced from the main stem (the top), and the 3 or 4 subsequent sets of nodes, it may not be worthwhile to take the time or space to root them. But by cutting them, you will begin the process of creating more available cuts as each branch that you cut, will start branching even more. This is why it is best to start cutting or even just topping the plant as soon as possible.
Cutting at the Node - I've made cuts everywhere on a branch, they all root. I personally prefer to cut RIGHT at a node.
I've read that there are more "growth" hormones at nodes but I don't know if that is 100% accurate. The reason I like it is because it makes like a "barb" that I can sink into the rockwool and really create an anchor with.
45 Degrees! - A 45 degree cut will expose a good amount of surface area and allow you to still insert into the rockwool with no problem.
I like to start in the "arm pit" of the node and make my 45 down and away from it.
Strip It
I then take the scalpel and strip the bottom nodes off of the cutting. I like to leave 2 or 3 nodes up at the top as it makes the clone look more like a plant once it's rooted.
I don't stress too much on grabbing the hairs with the scalpel, I just pull them off with my fingers. Just make sure to remove them as they are a big culprit when it comes to mold. Also, if a node is small, sometimes I'll just rip it off. Remember, it's an easier healing process from a tear than it is from a cut!
Scrape It - Alleged to reduce rooting time by creating a path of less resistance for the new roots. I dunno. It's a habit now and it doesn't seem detrimental. So I do it.
I scrape all around the opposite side of the node.
Dip! - Always put your gel or powder in a small container...don't use the original container because bad stuff will grow in there in between uses. Come up about an inch when you dip and coat the living hell out of it.
Plant It!! - I believe this part is where many people who have tried to clone with rockwool have gone wrong and end up blaming the medium for failure. NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER...EVER...EVER use that shitty pre-drilled hole. EVER. The hole you put your cutting in MUST be AIR TIGHT!! I'm pretty sure that Embolism (LINK) is the leading cause of rockwool based clone death. (If you are taking multiple cuttings off the mother plant all at once, drop them into a cup of water to prevent air from getting in the stems.)
Always "test" the the cube for a hard part you can push the cutting in to.
Two reasons for this - One is that it serves as a checkpoint, if your cutting is not strong enough to press into rockwool, it does not deserve to be a clone. The other reason is that it will create an airtight seal around the stem.
Keep in mind that your cuttings will start to droop if you're doing a lot of them...don't worry...as soon as you get them in a dome...they'll pick up in no time!
Cuttings in the Mist - Some people mist cuttings directly before popping the dome on top. I prefer to just mist the dome itself. It seems to cut down on mold growth quite a bit. Twist the vents close and give it some misty lovin'!
Keep the dome on, but visually check for signs of mold or mildew. If during the doming, any shows up, get in there and either remove the infected or clip off the infected portion of the plant to keep the mold from spreading to other cuttings.
After 3 or 4 days I open the side vents half way. This will lower the humidity in the dome and aid in the drying out of the cubes. We want the cubes to slowly dry out and the roots that are forming to start looking for water. Around 7 days I open the vents all the way.
This is another area of importance! If the cubes become too dry, then the cuttings will obviously die. If you water the cubes too soon, it will take longer for them to root. It all ties in with how saturated the cubes were initially. Eventually you will be able to just lift a tray and tell, by how much it weighs, if the cubes need watering. At 7 or 8 days though, it's usually time for a watering. I feed them just plain water, as there's usually no roots by now (check each one because there just may be some roots!). I'll fill the tray about 1/4 of the way and then immediately drain all of the water out. Keeping the vents all of the way open on the dome, I'll mist it again and replace it.
Roots should begin forming around day 10 on most of the cuttings and it shouldn't take longer than 14 days for all of them to form roots. This is for most strains. I have had strains that did take up to 3 weeks to root.
Roots on a BlackJack clone @ 8 days.
Please feel free to leave feedback and ask questions. I made this guide because I still see so many questions about cloning and was hoping I could shed some light on one of the many ways to take cuttings and produce your own clones.
Grow Safe
