cloning issues...should i be concerned!

well hello, i grew 8 beautiful girls and took 2 babies from each momma...i understand that not every clone will be ok and you have to be prepared to lose some. but if i can save them then i want to, if not i would like to know how to prevent it for farther babies. i've noticed the tips of some of these babies turning yellow and looked burnt.

these burnt tips have not spread throughout the leaves its just the tips of the leaves. i have them in a humidity dome. they are in micro infused grow plugs. the only thing i've added to the water is clone max, and its 2 tsp per gal. the leaves are growing big even after i trimmed the leaves they have grown back out. i have thought about trimming again but i would like to figure out whats going on before i start cutting more.

just so you know, i searched a long time and couldn't find a solution to my problem. the clones are growing but no roots are visible. i thought about adding cal-mag but i'm not sure so i dont want to add something that would make it worst.

Don't feed clones. It can take upwards of 2 weeks for them to start rooting. I keep my lights on them 24-7 and covered. They will sometimes wilt and droop but generally will come back in a few days at most and lift back up. I myself just use CloneX rooting gel and Root Riot plugs. and so far have never lost a clone. Some did look limp like they were going to die but they always come back. Just keep the plugs moist with ph water and good light and should be fine. Then when they root I transplant them into some foxfarm ocean forest soil or other good soil and just give it water for about 2-3 weeks. Then start feeding.
JMHO.

no i havent fed any of the clones. i saturated the plugs n water w/ clone max, and there is water in the tray but other then that i haven't fed them. although they havent wilted nor have they drooped its just the leaves frying and curling up thats bothering me. the waters pH is between 6.5 and 6.8, they are on 18-6 light cycle. i'll watch them over the next few days to see what happens to them. thanks for your input...always appreciate the help.

Keep your humidity high and make sure they aren't too close to the light, what lighting source are you using and how far away are they from it? What is the temperature inside the dome? You may also notice they root faster under 24/0 or 20/4 if you prefer some darkness.

Cloning gels and powders aren't really necessary

PH'ing water with clones isn't necessary either which is probably what's doing it. A lil bit off with the ph down, and you fry delicate clones. All you need is a spray bottle with tap water. I use clone gel or powder which ever I have and tap water. No root boosters or nutes needed until roots form

If they're growing they've rooted. Have any pics?

hey all thanx, i really appreciate everyones advice.

i haven't pH'd the water i thought i did but i was playing around and found out that the water was sitting at 7. i have only used clone max and rooting gel. i did this because i'm on my first grow and have taken on my first clones, so i'm simply doing things the newb way...ie the most commonly mentioned way on RIU. this was just the safest way for me.

i was using a single bulb t5, today i moved them under a 4 bulb t5. i also have taken them out of the hum dome today. i stopped spraying them about a week ago, the reason for that was the leaves were growing to big and pressing at the top of the dome.

KryptoBud said:

If they're growing they've rooted. Have any pics?

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they are growing and the stems have went from a light green to the edges turning slightly brown. they are dying because the leaves continue to get bigger, or growing more shoots. i cut them right below the nodes and then i gel'd the stem and stuck them in the plugs and now i guess the shoots are growing up out of the plugs from the bottom nodes. i dont have pics sorry boo, i'm doing a grow journal so all my focus has been on the mothers. i'm thinking about going ahead and transplanting them anyways. they been in the plugs for about 2 weeks and haven't died so i'm assuming they are going to live.

for me i found if i feed the mother plant prior to taking my clones. within a day or two. the parts i cut will generally hold high amounts of nitrogen and clones during that phase usually tend to take longer to root. i like to either starve my mother by not feeding for a week or so before i snip, or take clones after the first stretch of flower from the bottom of plants. the cuts most people discard i have found to root the fastest and hardiest. just my 2c

j00ster said:

for me i found if i feed the mother plant prior to taking my clones. within a day or two. the parts i cut will generally hold high amounts of nitrogen and clones during that phase usually tend to take longer to root. i like to either starve my mother by not feeding for a week or so before i snip, or take clones after the first stretch of flower from the bottom of plants. the cuts most people discard i have found to root the fastest and hardiest. just my 2c

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I always give my mother plants just water as I also notice if I have been feeding then they take alot longer to root

wow guys i almost fucked up royally. i had to leave for the weekend so i didn't expect to be home. i watered my mothers and flipped them and then i looked at the babies. i had them in humidity domes or greenhouse domes for the last 2 weeks. i fed them nothing but clonex gel and clone max to help boost the root development. i have fed them once, and put about a once of water in their trays.

right before i left for the weekend i popped off the dome and figured that they would make a few days, since i only fed them once in the last 2 weeks. i was wrong....so wrong...horribly wrong. i came back home and the plugs were dried out. i freaked out, i went a head and transplanted them into cups. right now i'll be paying attention to see how many die over the next couple of days.

i will say this, i had 8 Sour Desiels, out of the 8 probably 6 had white roots showing so i'm assuming as long as the roots are white then i'm good. i also had 6 bubblegums and 2 special kush. there were 1 or 2 bubblegums that had roots (also white) and no kush had roots. right now they are under a 4 bulb T5 lamp and are getting water nothing else yet. if they take off then ill start them on a low nute diet.

i would talk about how lucky i am but i'm not in the clear yet so i wait before i start bragging lol , what do you guys think? is there anything else i can do to insure they stay alive.

yeah bout all ya can do is just wait a week and see if they take off. I'm willing to bet they surprise ya. I've done some haneous shit to mine before and they are super resilient!

i went to check on my babies and it doesnt look good. i'm not saying they are dead, but they don't look good. the tips look fried, and one baby looks like she is starting to shrivel up. she hasn't died yet but i'm giving her a day or 2. as for the rest of them i'll probably wait a week or 2. the burnt tip, the color is like a rust red...i'm thinking it's a deficiency issue. i'll try to post pics tomorrow

I find the clones do better if you use trace amounts of NPK. I soak the rockwool and everything in the green room with spent res water from the budders. Clones aren't like seedlings. they really do need something added.

I am currently using a ten gallon res which gets topped up every 24 hours. The mix at the start is 1/6 NPK of outside per gallon of water. Instead of adding more and going with the same water as some people do this mix gets put in two gallon jugs every 5-7 days and used in the green room, drain to waste.

I find this works just as good as making a separate mix for everything. All bloom mix...no veg. I always dump any gundge in the bottom of the res, if any.

Once you got your snips in the bin don't open the door for seven days and when you do open it at the appropriate time any unrooted clones and rooted clones want some fresh/spent res water in their RW cubes or rapid rooters etc. If your bin ain't got one put a drain/air hole in the lowest corner for drainage, about about 1-2 square inch for every 4-5 cubic feet of cloning bin. I set hard rock wool, correct side up on a single layer of gravel in the bin.

I'll bet I could take a pot of soil, do up a snip with it, toss it in the bin and it would root.

blackflag_demo said:

i went to check on my babies and it doesnt look good. i'm not saying they are dead, but they don't look good. the tips look fried, and one baby looks like she is starting to shrivel up. she hasn't died yet but i'm giving her a day or 2. as for the rest of them i'll probably wait a week or 2. the burnt tip, the color is like a rust red...i'm thinking it's a deficiency issue. i'll try to post pics tomorrow

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If the tips are burnt/rotted the clones are done and dusted ,fucked.
The original yellowing/necrosis is due to overwatering and high rh or poor quality health of the mother plant.
Clones should be watered about once a day after the the first 2 days.
Have them in a dome for the first 2-3 days then remove the dome. Have them on heat mats and they should be due for a 50%(dont saturate) water the same time each day.

i grabbed some pics for yous guys today. so an update on the clones i have been having trouble with. @bird mcbride your process sounds intriguing and i would like to know more. unfortunately i had already clipped, set, and started on them.

*BUDS said:

If the tips are burnt/rotted the clones are done and dusted ,fucked.
The original yellowing/necrosis is due to overwatering and high rh or poor quality health of the mother plant.
Clones should be watered about once a day after the the first 2 days.

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even though the tips are burnt the babies are growing and as for the mothers they are looking really healthy. although the mothers are my first grow and the babies are my first clones...overall i would say they turned out ok. if anything this was a learning experience for me and something for me to better myself or teach someone else.

pic 1- this was the baby that i originally was concerned about which opened my eyes to paying attention the other babies. this is her in the cup

pic 2- this was after i pulled the baby out, and what she looked like at the roots. so the roots were forming but they just couldn't take hold

pic 3- i'm afraid this is the next baby to go. i'll fight for her as long as shes green but i'm not holding my breath.

pic 4- this isn't a good close up pic but this is all the babies together. as you can see they look like they are responding well.

thanks for all the suggestions and advice.

Looks like rot from too much water in your soil. Your soil looks really wet in the clone that is still struggling too.

Rooting is stimulated when the clone is searching for water... so let the medium dry out a little more before you water.

blackflag_demo said:

i grabbed some pics for yous guys today. so an update on the clones i have been having trouble with. @bird mcbride your process sounds intriguing and i would like to know more. unfortunately i had already clipped, set, and started on them.



even though the tips are burnt the babies are growing and as for the mothers they are looking really healthy. although the mothers are my first grow and the babies are my first clones...overall i would say they turned out ok. if anything this was a learning experience for me and something for me to better myself or teach someone else.

pic 1- this was the baby that i originally was concerned about which opened my eyes to paying attention the other babies. this is her in the cup

pic 2- this was after i pulled the baby out, and what she looked like at the roots. so the roots were forming but they just couldn't take hold

pic 3- i'm afraid this is the next baby to go. i'll fight for her as long as shes green but i'm not holding my breath.

pic 4- this isn't a good close up pic but this is all the babies together. as you can see they look like they are responding well.

thanks for all the suggestions and advice.

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Yea, my tips got pretty burned and the whole thing turned orange and yellow, I let it go just cuz I thought the colors were pretty and one day it actually pulled through, so I don't think they're fucked just yet. I'm surprised by the abuse these things can put up with, my clone looked REALLY shriveled and then one day it just picked itself back up again and started new growth.

loftygoals said:

Looks like rot from too much water in your soil. Your soil looks really wet in the clone that is still struggling too.

Rooting is stimulated when the clone is searching for water... so let the medium dry out a little more before you water.

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Thank you, your assumption was right. i wish you had said something earlier. i had 5 plants drown and a 6th was on the way before i saved them by putting them in fabric pots. now they are all recovering and growing nicely. i caught it when i was talking to my mentor and was telling him my issue. he said basically the same thing you said @loftygoals. i changed them out and within a day they were showing signs of recovery, with a week they were strong and had new development. i'm down to 11 but they are pulling through.

thanks again for the help guys