direct to soil cloning

i've never cloned directly into dirt before. i have always used rockwool cubes and waited until roots were showing out the bottom before placing into soil filled party cups. am out of cubes for now, so i'm experimenting with a direct to soil method.
these plants are "Thai Super Skunk" freebies from attitude, all 3 are clones of the 2 females i have flowering and are really getting too big for my little veg box. instead of clipping and throwing the tops away, i'm doing this...

A: choose the site to cut from
B: cut close to a node (at a 45 deg. angle) this is where new shoots will start growing from
C: place cutting into a small water filled glass or jar while trimming the bigger leaves. you want the plant to have enough leaf growth to support photosynthesis, but not enough to take away the main goal... which is growing roots...
D: dip wetted end into cloning powder, about 1/2 inch deep or so
E: place cutting an inch or so into damp soil. (i used a smidge of cloning powder in the water and PHed it before wetting the soil.) pack dirt firmly, but not too firm, around the base of the cutting
F: put humidity dome (in this case a cloudy plastic cup) over top of the new plant and keep it under 24/0 lighting schedule
G: keep plant soil moist, mist leaves occasionally, while waiting 10 days or so...

check back in a week & 1/2 when i have pics of new growth...

pic1: a plant to clone from (this one is #4.2)
pic2: after the cut
pic3: after a dip in rooting powder
pic4: the new clone next to it's mom
pic5: the clone cups in their humidity domes

Exact same procedure I use, except I use gel instead of powder. You should be good to go.

i use a tray filled with dirt and let the roots grow wild than to the 3 qt pots

i can now see new growth just starting to form. can gently tug on the little plants and tell that they are rooted because they don't come right out of the dirt. i'll post one more update in a week to show further growth...

Why do you clip the edges of the leaves off?

magnus666 said:

Why do you clip the edges of the leaves off?

Click to expand...

you clip the tips of the leaves because you want the plant to concentrate on growing roots, not going through transpiration. the leaves would basically be sweating water into the air that would otherwise go into root production.

it also helps to identify when new growth has started.

Would a seed starting soil be good for this? I have some clones I want to take and this would work perfectly for me.

MrBlanco said:

Would a seed starting soil be good for this? I have some clones I want to take and this would work perfectly for me.

Click to expand...

yes, seed starting soil would be perfect. in fact if you have it that makes this even easier because the seed starting stuff should not have any time release nutes. when the plants are just cuttings, meaning before they root, you do not want them having any type of nutes except the rooting hormone. remember the plant doesn't have roots to suck up those nutes and disperse them through the plant. you would burn the roots or prevent them from ever growing by having nutrients in the soil before the plant has established itself.

Thanks, man. I have some MG seed starting mix (5-1-5) that I'll just flush the crap out of, and then let dry out a little, before taking my cuttings.

MrBlanco said:

Thanks, man. I have some MG seed starting mix (5-1-5) that I'll just flush the crap out of, and then let dry out a little, before taking my cuttings.

Click to expand...

no problem. good luck and maybe post some pics when you get 'em goin'...

since there has been a few replies/questions from this thread, i've decided to try something... going to do a side by side experiment of 4 clones taken at the same time, from the same plant, using the same process, same lighting, same nutes, etc. 2 are going to be done in dirt, 2 in rockwool cubes. i want to see if there are going to be differences or problems, or not. these cuttings come from my Party Cup Competition entry, which is a "dumpster" female 10 days into 12/12. again, this is a process and i'll be updating again in 10 days...

pic1: the "mom"
pic2: where the cuts are from
pic3: the tops of the new cuttings 4 hrs. after the cut
pic4: their side view

Bravo for experimentation!!!

Pretty helpful stuff I am about to try my first cloning Ill try mimick what you did although are you using a himidity dome thing and if so how long do they stay under that?

Very nice... + rep for you. I will definitely stay scribed to see how this works out.

I'm doing a similar thing, although leaving the clone attached to the plant (soil layering) until the leaves develop. You can click my link to see what I'm doing. But, your way is much simpler and cleaner, and doesn't have the limit on numbers that my approach has. Leaving the branch on the plant like I'm doing gives it life support, but also keeps the clone actively doing other "non-rooting" things, like transpiring, growing the tips, etc.

My soil-layered clones should be ready to be detached and outplanted this Saturday. I'll let you know how that goes.

tonymontana187 said:

...although are you using a himidity dome thing and if so how long do they stay under that?

Click to expand...

i keep the cuttings under the clear/cloudy cups (the mini domes) for 3-4 days. i keep the cups sprayed with water to give the plants all the moisture they need for this time, nice and humid with no need to water and/or disturb the soil at the base of the fragile new plant. the cups were $1 at the cheapo store. they save you from having to use a big cloner dome when you only have a few clones to do, saves space, easy to let the plants breathe, easy to move around...

some important things (imo) to point out about my test already... the 2 plants in rockwool need more attention than the others. forgot to take into account the loss of moisture is much faster, the cubes need frequent spraying to keep them from drying out completely. the soil ones haven't dried out at all yet... removed the "domes" from the soil only cups, seems to be keeping them TOO humid. the plants are turning a really dark green. which, from what i've read, is a symptom of overly humid conditions...

pic1: the clone box
pic2: trying to show the difference in color

when i went to mist the rockwool clones today i lifted one up and roots were coming out... not bad, only 7 days, the other cubed one isn't showing yet... one bad thing about direct to soil is you don't get the mild satisfaction of seeing this happen.

pic1: a terrible shot of the roots
pic2: the tiny little clone

I take it that the above-ground plant material on the soil clones still looks good? That would be a good sign, I would think.

3 of the 4 test clones have very obvious growth showing. the 2 in rockwool and 1 of the dts... the other soil one looks about a day behind. all in all i am 9 for 9 using direct to soil cloning and have concluded it is as easy if not easier, than using the cubes. hopefully this has helped somebody...

so basically, i'd be wasting my money on rockwool? i mean, if its just as good to stick clones directly in the soil, i'm not gonna bother w/ getting rockwool, was gonna have to order over the net anyway and will be glad to avoid a delivery to the house.