DubB83's Method of Easy Cloning W/ ZipLock Bags and Rockwool (NOT DIALUP FRIENDLY)

This is a common question, "how do I get reliable clones", well this is my method.

Just a heads up, this thread will be redundant to try and answer any questions. Many pictures of similar things will be in the thread. I will be taking a total of 4 clones from two plants just to demonstrate.

Before you do anything, wash your hands.

Store root gel in the fridge, if you use powder do not worry so much. Powder will work with this method also.

Please refrain from posting your method. I will be glad to answer questions about my method.

Thank you.

On with the great picture show:

My work bench

Assemble the troops!

Fresh dry rockwool

Rinse the rockwool before soaking

Shake off tap water and add to the rockwool conditioning solution, do not squish the rockwool at all!

Let them soak for 24 hours

I fill up the bottom of a cut 2 liter bottle with the solution

Shake out a rockwool cube to remove as much solution as possible without squishing it.

Set the cubes up and sterilize a blade.

Select your cutting.

Take your cutting and immediately place it in the 2 liter bottom with the solution over the cut you just made(submerge the cut). Don't worry about getting the leaves in the solution.

Trim off the lowest growth and scrape the stalk, this is called sacrification. I then make another 45* cut and place in the solution for another 20 seconds.

Scraping the stalk.

Making a 45* cut.

Dipping in Rootech cloning gel, cover all damage to the stalk.

Place the clone in the shaken out rockwool cube until it rests in the bottom, no air pockets is important. Pinch off a portion of rockwool and place it around the stem to seal the top.

Blow in your clones new bio dome to fill it with goody CO2.

Take your clone.

Place your clone in a bag.

Seal the bag.

Sterilize the blade between cuttings and especially between plants. This keeps disease down.

Select your cutting, this one is a might bit smaller than the last.

Be sure you soak your clones in the solution for at least 20 seconds.

H3 is finished with the torture known as pruning and is now taking on the needed shape of a mother, topped 3 times and cloned twice.

Cleaning the H3 clones to prepare them for the rockwool.

Scraping

Cutting at a 45* angle, soak for 20 seconds in the solution.

Placing in rooting gel...

... and immediately in rockwool. Here you can see me pinching off the corner to use to seal the top of the cube.

Sealing the cube. It is very important that you do not squish the cube.

Place your clone in the bag.

Line 'em up

Second H3 Clone already scraped and being dipped in the gel.

Sterilizing the blade to go back to H1 and lower the canopy.

Selecting a branch on H1.

H1 clone in the solution.

Top view of H3.

Side view of H3, it will now grow 4 main branches for cloning purposes.

Cleaning off the H1 clone.

Dipping the H1 clone.

H1 clone in it's new medium.

Another view of the H1 clone.

Shove it in the bag.

Clean up your mess.

I hope this helps someone.

At this point place the clones under two 100w equivalent CFLs 6700k and they will sprout roots. Open the bag and breath in it every once in a while.

I will be continuing this thread with exact pictorial updates.

wow the breath for co2 idea is cool. ill go pick up some rockwol and try this. have you tried trimming the lower leaves? thats what subcool and a lot of other posts did they said more growth distracts from the rooting process

your not sterilizing that metal blade at all with that alcohol... your only killing staph germs which i doubt you have in your home alcohol is a antiseptic. sorry i work in the field and could not help but correct you... and this is from Wikipedia...

Alcohols

Alcohols, usually ethanol or isopropanol, are sometimes used as a disinfectant, but more often as an antiseptic (the distinction being that alcohol tends to be used on living tissue rather than nonliving surfaces). They have wide microbicidal activity, are non corrosive, but can be a fire hazard. They also have limited residual activity due to evaporation, which results in brief contact times, and have a limited activity in the presence of organic material. Alcohols are more effective combined with purified water—70% isopropyl alcohol or 70% ethyl alcohol is more effective than 90% alcohol, because the higher water content allows for greater diffusion through the cell membrane. [3] Alcohol is, however, not effective against fungal and bacterial spores.[3]


heat will sterilize metal... i never clean my scissors when i clone and have no problems....

Sterile or not sterile, it's still not really rocket-science. Excellent post, very simple and informative as well! Everyone has their own ways of doin it, but for anyone lookin to get an idea should see this, super simple, and super detailed. Good job.

LOL, I just noticed somethin familair in kid's signature... think I'm a bit low on N again...

hahaha my catheter is still hooked into my iv..... its a supper effective drip system
its the perfect hydro setup

..... so u got the catheter on a timer or what man?

no just nature it flows when the wind blows
haha i could talk about my fountain of N all day but lets not jack this mans thread
hes doing work haha

True... matter of fact, thanks for reminding me +rep for this guy, once again, good work!

Thanks for sharing the knowledge, Dub! This method looks great.

Ha ha, you guys and your talk of urine!

kid cannabis said:

Have you tried trimming the lower leaves? thats what subcool and a lot of other posts did they said more growth distracts from the rooting process

Click to expand...

Personally I have tried both ways, I may trim off the lower shoots but I believe it was Al B that said something about the bigger the clone the faster the rooting. If the plant takes a while to root (as some strains do take a bit more time) it will consume the lower sets of fan leaves to stay alive while trying to develop roots.

It is very important to not turn or move the stalk in the rockwool once you have it in place under the CFLs, pick it up gently by the rockwool to keep from squishing it and to avoid turning, do not pick the bag up by the top as this could uproot your clone from the rockwool causing root rot.

Thanks for the positive comments, and +reps!

About the alcohol, albeit not sterile, but still better than nothing. I just do what I do and it works. "If it aint broke don't fix it."

Stay tuned for updates with pictures.

If the clones seem to wet, leave the bag open for a little while, if you get stoned and leave it open too long just gently dip the corner of the cube back in the solution.

My temps are a bit low right now, but in optimal conditions I see tap roots in around a week.

Another thing I do on clones that are hard to root is take the scalpel and cut directly into the stalk only where I scraped the stem. I then make the cut continue through the stem all the way down the stalk to the 45* cut. Be careful not to split it in half entirely and try to make that cut as straight as possible and less than 3/8" long. I also recommend Rapid Rooter plugs over rockwool for a higher success rate. I just have rockwool so I'm using it.

This is an example of a clone using the nutrients stored in the leaves to create roots.

This is a "woody" clone or main stem clone.

Looks interesting, whats the solution you soak the clones and rockwool in made of?

Fantastic picture show, a must for any newbies wanting to try their hand at cloning for the first time, +reps

can you please note : What is the solution consist of that you are using to soak in??

pH corrected to 5.5 after adding ingredients.

Info on the side is per liter, nearly 3.75 liters in a gallon.

Thank you great post, cheers!

Maybe I missed it...do you open the bags to spray the leaves with water during the coarse of the day ? If so how many times?

And If the rockwool doesnt seem to dry up would you open the bag more often or one good amount of time to let things dry out a bit?
I know clones need alot of humidity but isnt it bad if rockwool stays soaking wet?