Lighting for clones

what is the best schedual (lighting for clones? and how holng should it take for them to root?

I would also like to kknow the answer to this question

18/6 promotes rooting by allowing there to be a long dark cycle. This is what I keep my clones and vegetative mothers in, and they seem to do much better in this lighting than 24/0.

I think it's even more important to keep your clones under a lighting cycle like this as they are so fragile after being cut, and need to focus the majority of their growth on the root system and not the foliar system.

so on that note, they dont want alot of light to promote photosynthsis?

I tried 24/0 and 18/6 for cloning and had better results with 18/6. I also use 2' T5 flourescent tubes with 4 tubes for cloning. Not alot of watts but the clones love it. The most signifigant change I wade was to put a warmer under the propogation tray and it keeps the inside of the propagator 10 deg F higher than the ambient room temp. My success rate went through the roof. Costed about $39.00 at the hydro store.

I do 24 on under 2 tube 40W regular fluros, 18" above. Soil temp seems to be the key to faster rooting, IMO.
Takes 1-3 weeks, depending on temp.

If clones need darkness to root fastest, then why add any light?
Seems anti-productive. Plants, especially seedlings, do their stretching in the dark, which would imply that vegetation grows fastest in the dark, not in the light . . . so what's growing during the light? Roots?

18/6 works fine. So does 24/0.

MrFishy said:

I do 24 on under 2 tube 40W regular fluros, 18" above. Soil temp seems to be the key to faster rooting, IMO.
Takes 1-3 weeks, depending on temp.

If clones needed darkness to grow fastest, then why add any light?
Seems anti-productive. Plants, especially seedlings, do their stretching in the dark.

18/6 works fine. So does 24/0.

Click to expand...

It's proven that plants do the majority of their root growth during the dark cycle. My 18/6 rootballs are always much larger than the 24/0 rootballs.

In fact... My 18/6 rootballs for 2 months are bigger than 24/0 rootballs vegged for 3 months and flowered for 2.


If you haven't tried 18/6 on your clones, you should... It makes a big difference.

No doubt about it though, having a heating pad in your clone tray definitely helps a bit.

I also do 18/6, saves power and i find it also works better I use to do 24hrs but made the switch and never looked back.

GrowTech said:

It's proven that plants do the majority of their root growth during the dark cycle.

Click to expand...

Then why not clone at 17-7, or 16-8,etc . . . since/if the less on time allegedly prompts thickest, fastest root growth?

In my 40 years of messin' w/this, I'm sure I've cloned at 18/6, yet for some long forgotten reason, I've settled on 24. In my case, it could be lack of central heating.
To each their own and all that rot.

All in all, I'm convinced soil temp is #2 in cloning, right behind strain/stock, and the rest just a matter of preference. I mean, more than one clone has rooted after having been stuck in dirt w/o any rooting hormone and set by a sunny window sill.

Clone on!