1st clone please help! Rapid Rooters...

solarguy

Active Member
this is my first time cloning, wish me luck....

i have my freshly cut clones dipped in water, then the gel, and into the rapid rooter. do i need to water these or put water in the bottom tray? i am confused.

*i do have a humidity dome on it.
 

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
just keep an eye on the rr's.. they are mostly made out of coco, and will dry out just like any other medium will over time.. i usually like to water mine from the bottom and let the water wick up when they get dry..
 

solarguy

Active Member
how do you water them from the bottom? i have the tray that goes inside of the tray with the dome...if that helps

they have been in the RR's for a hour now, when should i water....i have not added any water...
 

solarguy

Active Member
please help! when do i add water and how? do i pour ontop of RR's or into tray, if so how much?
 

TaoWolf

Active Member
There isn't a set amount of water or a set schedule someone can tell you - you'll just have to monitor them and keep the medium moist (not bone-dry and not water-logged). It could be days between needing to add water... or less. Depending on things like humidity, heat, airflow, using a dome or not, etc...

If you add water to the tray instead of pouring it directly onto the rapid rooters, you are watering 'from the bottom'.
 

solarguy

Active Member
word should i fill the bottom tray until water touches the rapid rooters? how much water is too much? i have heard too much water will rot the roots...i am using a dome.
 

stiffla

Active Member
spray the leaves on a morning and the inside of the dome, do the same dinner and tea!

dont let the rapid rooters dry out!!

just lift them out and have a feel if the feel dry spray the cubes, the cubes should feel moist not soaked!!

for the first week nothing will seem to be happerning and the the leaves will start yellowing buy the end of the week thats how u know the cuttings are using there own plant food sorce

just chill out and let them do there thing, it also helps if u use a heat mat roots root faster in warmer medium temps.................:-P
 

solarguy

Active Member
so spray the cubes? dont pour water in the tray?....aaaahhhhh thanks for your help but im struggggglin
 

stiffla

Active Member
the clones dont have roots so the cannot up take water top or bottom , clones take between a week or two to grow roots so thats why you have to spray the leaves so they can drink, until they grow a root ball its bollocks.... if you have watered the cubes lift out one buy one and lightly squeeze the cubes till the water runs out of them.... soaking and over watering cubes will only cause problems such as the stems rotting

i clone using the same rapid rooters and clonex gel everytime, but my humidity dome has a heat mat built in to help roots grow faster, did u even leach the mother plant?????
 

solarguy

Active Member
i didnt have a mother, this is my first grow...

i didnt add any water to these guys yet....they have been in my little clone cabinet for a few hours inside the dome under 4 26watt cfls 2 feet high. its about 75 degrees in there. they are in a dome. i have 6 of them in the 72 count tray, i didnt want to waste a lot on my first attempt.

the RR's came moist and fresh from the store, should i add water now? if not when do i know to add water? i understand misting a few times a day...i will only be able to do it two or three times bc of work.
 

stiffla

Active Member
i didnt have a mother, this is my first grow...

i didnt add any water to these guys yet....they have been in my little clone cabinet for a few hours inside the dome under 4 26watt cfls 2 feet high. its about 75 degrees in there. they are in a dome. i have 6 of them in the 72 count tray, i didnt want to waste a lot on my first attempt.

the RR's came moist and fresh from the store, should i add water now? if not when do i know to add water? i understand misting a few times a day...i will only be able to do it two or three times bc of work.
DO THE CUBES FEEL DRY OR MOIST??? :idea:
 

solarguy

Active Member
right now they are moist! i just dont understand the right way to water these, besides misting.

a few of my clones are just tipped over right now....will they be alright?
 

stiffla

Active Member
right now they are moist! i just dont understand the right way to water these, besides misting.

a few of my clones are just tipped over right now....will they be alright?
if the cubes are moist thats good keep them this way,

the dome vent wants to be opened a slight bit so the humidity still stays inside the dome,

everytime you open the dome the air will exchange with fresh air, just keep the clones misted as much as you can and it normal for the clones to tip over at the end of the week they should of picked them self up right again......
 

stiffla

Active Member
have a look at this little info


CARE AND FEEDING
INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Once you have your cutting(s) in the growing medium mist them with the spray bottle filled with water and place them in the tray. Mist the inside of the clear humidity dome and place dome over the tray. (NOTE: The cuttings need some ventilation and a couple of small holes in the dome will usually do the trick).
  2. Remove the dome and mist the cuttings 2 or 3 times a day. This keeps the cuttings from drying out and also changes the air under the dome. This step is critical, the cuttings have no way to replenish lost moisture because they have no roots. Mist the inside of the dome and replace on tray. The humidity under the dome needs to be about 90 % until roots appear on the cuttings. (NOTE: Be careful that the air under the dome doesn't get too warm, if it is, you may have to increase the amount of venting, and increase the number or mistings per day). Cuttings need to be kept between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. To hot or cold will inhibit root growth. If you live in a cold climate you may need a heated propagation mat.
  3. The cuttings are going to need light, you need bright light, but not too intense. Dappled sunlight if you are leaving your cuttings outside. Indoors you can use a double tube fluorescent fixture with both a cool white bulb and a warm white bulb in the fixture (or two "grow" tubes). This will give a good, balanced light spectrum. Fluorescent light doesn't penetrate so you must keep the lights very close to the cannabis plants (1-2 inches above the cannabis plants).
    If you are using a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium fixture you must keep the cuttings much further away (2 - 3 feet away for 175 - 400 watt bulbs and 4 - 6 feet for a 1000 watt bulb).
    The lights should be turned on for 18 to 24 hours a day.
  4. To water the cuttings you can use either plain distilled water (or other Good Quality Water), or you can add a very mild fertilizer such as Olivia's Cloning Solution or Wilder's Clone Root Concentrate, you can also use a 1/4 strength general purpose hydroponic fertilizer solution. Don't forget to adjust the pH of the water / nutrient solution (5.5 for rockwool, 6.5 for most everything else).
  5. Water the cuttings every 2 days unless you live in a very dry climate then you should water every day. Never let the growing medium dry out. Do not let it set in water either, or the stem will rot. (NOTE: A great way to water the cuttings is to use two trays, one with holes and the other without. Fill the tray without holes about half way with water and then slowly lower the tray with the holes (and cuttings) into it. Let sit for a few moments and them slowly raise the tray back out and let it drain). Small Hydroponic systems are available to automate the watering cycles of the cuttings, greatly reducing the amount of manual labor.
  6. After about a week you can test to see if your cannabis plants have started to root. Remove the humidity dome and leave it off for an hour or two. If the cannabis plants have not wilted at all then they probably have enough root development to support themselves. If no wilt is noticed leave the dome off, if they are wilted, spray the cuttings and dome and replace the dome on the tray. Once you have determined that the cannabis plants can support themselves, stop misting the cuttings and leave the humidity dome off. (NOTE: Once the cannabis plants have roots, constant misting can actually be harmful to the cannabis plants).
  7. If the lower leaves start to turn yellow and die, don't worry, it is perfectly normal. It is the cannabis plant feeding off of itself to sustain life, moving valuable nutrient and water from the older growth. Do not remove any dead growth until the cannabis plant is well rooted. If you remove the dying growth the cannabis plant can starve and die completely.
  8. When the cuttings are completely rooted you can move them into your hydroponic system or the soil.


FINAL NOTES

"Cloning" is easy once you get the hang of it. You must always remember that every step must be done properly, if anything goes wrong you will get less than satisfactory results. We suggest that the first time you take cuttings take twice as many as you need (if possible). With a little practice this method of propagation should produce a 95 to 100 percent success ratio.
The use of distilled water can drastically increase your success ratio, especially if you don't have good quality water where you live.
This is one "Tried and True" method of propagation that works well on most types of cannabis plants. There are several other ways to "clone" your cannabis plants, including, air layering, dividing, and tissue culture. There is even a hydroponic system that does a good job of rooting cuttings that uses no growing medium at all, once the cuttings form roots you simply transplant them to whatever growing medium you will be using.​
 

solarguy

Active Member
Thanks Stiffla

i guess since my dome is 6 inches high and my 4 CFLS are 2 inches abover the dome....my lights are 8 inches above....is this ok?

i am using 4 26 watt cfls over my cloning tray, right now i have 4 clones in it.
 
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