Cloning with rockwool trouble

I have been cloning with rockwool for about 8 months ago and my success rate is only about 30 percent so clearly am doing something wrong but i cant figure out what.

i start by getting a bucket of water and ph-ing it to 5.6. i rinse the starter cubes under sink water to get the nasty stuff out of them and then toss them in a salad spinner to get water out then in the bucket they go for 12 hours or until i am ready to clone. i have clonex gel i dip the stem in first before putting in rockwool. i use a new razor blade that i wipe with rubbing alcohol before making a 45 degree cut. after i place them all in rockwool i give them 25 ml of water ph-ed at 5.8 with olivias cloning solution in it. i then put them in the tray and put the cover on it and give it complete darkness for 12 hours and then 24/7 until roots appear developed.

the problems i have or questions are as follows:

the vents in the dome should be opened or closed. i usually leave half way. which one is the correct?

how often to water. i generally check twice a day taking cover off and if they are light i give them water but not too much.

with the dome on it seems like they are dying after the wilting phase or some dont root. usually 4 of 16 will root and not die.

can anyone see anything i am doing wrong. i have good air flow and i do not use a heat mat but i do have one with control and the temp.

thanks in advance

What's ur humidity at? Clones need 95% humidity for the first week or so. Only mist the clones twice a day.

g00sEgg said:

What's ur humidity at? Clones need 95% humidity for the first week or so. Only mist the clones twice a day.

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the huimidity is about 55% outside the dome but i dont know inside. i am sure its higher becuase of the mositure. are you saying i should mist the plants with the water and cloning solution or water only or should i just mist the inside of the dome?

water only...def. figure out what the humidity is inside.

Some strains are harder to clone than others in my experience. The Olivia's gel I never had very good luck with. Try Dip-N-Grow, I think the gels are not as good.

g00sEgg said:

water only...def. figure out what the humidity is inside.

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Based on what you're doing, it should be working for you. Let me tell you what's worked for me. I have basically the same environment as you. Last time I cloned, I had a 95% success rate. I did almost the exact same thing as you, but what I noticed was I actually was using too much light. It may not seem all that much, but I backed off of 24 hours of light, went 18/6 instead, and moved the light higher up. What I tried to do was give the plants a very low stress environment so that they could root in their own time. It worked. I left the vents in the top open at 50% just like you as well. On warmer, drier days though, keep an eye on them. At night, take the lid off. During the day, periodically, take the lid off too, and let them "breathe" a little. Mist the plants only once in a while, and only to keep them from drying out. In about 7 days, I saw roots coming out the cubes. Good luck bro.

hey i had trouble with rockwell bad the squares would screw me all up......but rockwell made a new product that made it easier for me....rockwell macro plugs.....cheap too i think 30 r like 5bucks they are round with slits in them make a cut from the plant and slide it in, it def helped me......gl