100% clone death.... wtf

I cut from a healthy mother. Usually clones about 4 to 6 inches tall, trim them down to about 3 leaves. Dip them in Rootech then plant them about an inch down in the little Root Riot cubes. I have tried with, and without the humidity dome with no success. Tried humidity ranges between 60 and 80% and 80 and 100% same success with both.

im in the same exact boat. im putting 2 HUGE healthy mothers into flower because of this! i have cut a total of 25 clones, and only 2 have lived. WTF is totally right!

what kind of lighting do u use??..i have found great success cloning using rockwool

do u cut the 45 degree angle? cutting right below the node? scrapping a little?

yea i do and i use a rooting powder and super thrive heres a how to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmsfnUXM9Ho&feature=related

I use a 27 watt T5 tube fluorescent. Shave and split the bottoms.

i use:

120w cfl bulb
large unheated propagator
clonex gel
root riot cubes
jiffy tray to hold the cubes
razor blade

my clones never die, some take a while but if you leave them to it and don't let the cubes dry out they always root. usually within 7 days i see the first roots.

i wouldn't split the stem, that could be your downfall

ghb said:

i use:

120w cfl bulb
large unheated propagator
clonex gel
root riot cubes
jiffy tray to hold the cubes
razor blade

my clones never die, some take a while but if you leave them to it and don't let the cubes dry out they always root. usually within 7 days i see the first roots.

i wouldn't split the stem, that could be your downfall

Click to expand...

do you use r/o water or just regular water?

Ehh, I would not call it 100% death.. but more like 0% Success.

Have found through trial & error that these things increased my sucess rate way up .... I PH my water to around 5.6 - 5.8 as the clones seem to root faster and more agressively in a slightly acidic range as compared to my untreated well water at around 6.8- 7.0 PH .... I set my trays on top of seedling heat mats to warm the cubes .... I keep the air temp in the room on the cool side (65F - 68F) Hope this helps -RockHopper

humm, you dont really need that much light, i do best with indirect light (like near a window but out of the sun)

actually doesnt really need to be more than just vague light lol. just enough for the plant to know its daytime, the plant isnt going to use any sunlight.
it uses the old leaves to form roots.

therefore its best to put the least stress on the plant, blue light is better than red for this purpose. (plant out of direct sunlight, receives more blue)

once i see some yellowing in the leaves (or bit of stretch if i forget them) its time to up the light. (you could try putting a white paper on top of the humidity dome, then removing it once you see some yellow or stretch) (or just do it in about 3 days)

experiment with temps also (though 75F is probably fine for most plants)

straight into soil works fine for me (no rooter or anything)
but a bubbler works great for many.
its best to use razorsharp knifes to cut the stem, make sure no air gets in (stick it in water quick (or straight into the medium of choice if you prefer not to use rootgel or powder) (air can form a bubble inside the stem, killing the plant eventually (looks great for a few days)

make sure everything is clean or you will invite mold. (terrible bugger to deal with and kills clones)

with clones its really best to just set them and forget them. (at most check them every three days)

some do take 2 weeks (some 3 days, its rather strain dependant it seems (And technique)

i spray them at least three times a day with ph'd water super thrive and a very lite dose of 10-15-10 fert at 1/4 strength the cuttings will hydrate and intake ferts thru the leaves until roots show and i keep them in a dome i have had 97% success rate hope this helps.

use some rooting hormones like rapid root or clonex... works the charm. also you should get a heat mat or even a aerocloner

Alpha492 said:

do you use r/o water or just regular water?

Click to expand...

tap water no added nutes and i dont ph. i spray them once with tap water, that normally works for my humidity and i want them to search for water with the roots. then check them in 3-4 days, usually after this time the best cuttings will have roots and their cube will be slightly drier so i wet them again.

anyone got issues cloneing pm me i will help you i prob clone in the excess of 15,000 clones a year with 90 percent rooted other 10 percent is clones dieing from being to big or dryed up

I had this previously cut loads and never had any root or last, found using clonex and then a very dilute solution of the bio bizz root juice worked for me. Planted them all in rockwool plugs. Took them in the summer and put them outside with the tomatoes in a non-heated propogator and had 100% success rate this time.

i made a hydro cloner for about 40 bucks. I use clonex gel and gently score the stem with my razor blade all the way around this helps the gel soak in dont cut into it you just want to scratch it. If you cut below a leaf node and cut the leaf tips on that node, you can get roots to come out of the nodes.i never take a clone smaller than 10 inches. and one more thing never dip a clone in the container that has the root hormone it will contaminate it. i did that once and ruined a full bottle of clonex.

ismokealotofpot said:

i made a hydro cloner for about 40 bucks. I use clonex gel and gently score the stem with my razor blade all the way around this helps the gel soak in dont cut into it you just want to scratch it. If you cut below a leaf node and cut the leaf tips on that node, you can get roots to come out of the nodes.i never take a clone smaller than 10 inches. and one more thing never dip a clone in the container that has the root hormone it will contaminate it. i did that once and ruined a full bottle of clonex.

Click to expand...

Never knew about the contamination thing although I guess it makes perfect sense, Thanks.

No problem. I forgot about this thread. You've uncovered it.