Clone questions

kherios

Active Member
When my baby grows big and strong, I'd like to clone it, because I only got 1 plant growing, And I can't have to tall of plants..

If im correct, to clone is to cut the top of the plant?
and plant it?

Should I use that rooting stuff?
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
This is a method that was passed on to me by an old grower friend. I have found this method to work with the most difficult and stubborn cuttings, including the strains that are labeled "difficult to clone".

Materials Needed



terrarium/old fishtank (I picked this one up at a garage sale for $0.25)
waterbed heater w/thermostat (same garage sale, $2.00)
fluorescent light
peat pellets
spray bottle
saran wrap (not shown)

Optional:
No-Damp
2x4's, plywood, light switch

Hang light to the desiered area, a 20 watt is reccomended for this project.
Now that my light is hung and ready, the next step is to lay out the waterbed heating pad. The pad is laid out so that the terrarium will be sitting directly ontop of it.



The thermostat is placed near by for easy access, and it is set at 80deg F for most cuttings. If rooting tropical varieties, I would suggest a setting nearer 90deg F.



The next step is preparation of the terrarium. I took mine down to the laundry sink and scrubbed it clean using detergent. I would not recommend using bleach, for bleach leaves a residue toxic to your plants. Once it is thoroughly cleaned, and dry, fill the bottom two inches with soil. I prefer to use Sunshine Mix #4. Once complete, place the terrarium ontop of the heating pad and beneath the light.



I mix the required amount of No-Damp into the water, before moistening the soil within the terrarium. Dampen the soil, do not leave it dry and do not make it wet. This will keep the peat pellet at the correct moisture.



Now is time to take your freshly cut clones and place them into peat pellets which have been expanded. The trick here is to bury the pellets most of the way into the soil, this will keep the pellets moist, warm, and will allow the roots to grow into the soil.

The pellet on the right is sitting ontop of the soil, the pellet on the left is correctly buried into the soil.



Once you have all the pellets in place, you are ready to place the temperature probe from the waterbed heating pad. I like to place the probe just above the soil, but not touching the soil, terrarium, or any plants and pellets. This will regulate the temperature within the terrarium to keep your new cuttings happy.



Mix up a spray bottle of cold water and the appropriate amount of No-Damp. Give the plants, the soil, and the inside walls of the terrarium a good misting. Mist everything without making the water bead and runoff.



Cover the terrarium with saran wrap to maintain humidity and temperature. Ensure to leave a one inch gap for fresh air.



Now you are all set to get started. Plug everything in, turn on your light and waterbed heating pad. The pad will warm your environment to optimum temperatures, plus you have just made a high humidity environment for your plants to root.
Now, just watch it go. There is really nothing more to do, the pellets will moisturize themselves from the soil and the temperature will remain the same. Check it daily, and give the inside of the terrarium a light misting, if needed. As long as there is still moisture on the terrarium glass, misting is not needed.



As long as your cloning methods are solid, in seven to ten days you will have roots running through the soil. The cutting pictured is shown at day ten, and some roots had to be broken to remove it from the soil.

 

OhioGrown

Well-Known Member
no its not just cutting the top. i mean you can take the top cola...but you can also just use a branch or node. cut them at a 45 angle.
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
An internode is the place on the stem where the leaf (plus its stem)
intersect the main stem.

When taking a cutting you must cut it long enough to have at least one
trimmed internode under the medium. Try to take a cutting that is at least 3 inches long. I visualize where to cut first.

I'll cut the branch about a half inch below the node I plan on
being below the surface of the medium (more than one node can be under
the medium surface).

Once the cut has been made, I trim off all leaves and branches except the top two fan leaves and the growing tip of the branch. This will leave a nice stem for planting.

Introduction
Most folks (including me) take only main growing tips as cuttings, but occasions arise when you want to preserve the maximum number of growing tips on the mother plant. Sometimes it is better to remove only one complete branch and make it into multiple clones. Occasionally, while training a plant, you will break off a branch. Here's a way to turn that branch into multiple clones.

Just as an aside, I discovered this technique when my knife slipped, and I cut across a node instead of trimming off the leaf and secondary growing tip at that node. I was surprised when the bottom half rooted faster than the main growing tip.

According to several sources, cuttings taken from below the main growing tip will usually root faster (and in my observation better) due to lower nitrogen levels and higher carbohydrate levels. I also find the stiffer woody stems from lower on a branch easier to deal with than soft green ones near the tip.

The smaller secondary growing tips will take a bit longer to develop into full fledged plants, but they will have a great set of roots to do it with.

Technique
Cut off the main growing tip by making a 45 degree cut through the main stem just above a node and prepare it as you normally would.

Cut up the remainder of the branch by making a succession of cuts through the nodes at 45 degree angles. You will end up with a bunch of short stems with a 45 degree cut at the top and the bottom, and a leaf and growing tip near the upper edge of the top cut.





If the cutting is too long to fit entirely inside your cloning medium, trim the bottom end of the cutting.






Holding the cutting by the leaf stem (petiole), scrape away some of the outer layer of the stem tissue to expose some phloem (the white tissue underneath). Dip the whole stem into your cloning gel or rooting hormone, be sure to cover both the bottom and the top cuts. Avoid getting any on the growing tip.



Insert the stem into the cloning medium, you may need to open up the hole in the rockwool or latex plug a bit first.










Use a sterile tool (a chopstick, q-tip stem, etc) to push on the top of the stem to push it inside the cloning medium. The leaf may tilt up as the stem goes inside the medium.
 

ViRedd

New Member
Mogie ...

What an excellent tutorial. Just great. All these guys should be thanking you with their applause! :)

Vi
 

headofpot3186

Active Member
when is the best time to start cloning a plant. I have a plant that is about 12" to 14" Is that too early to start cloning?
 

headofpot3186

Active Member
this is awesome, as a first timer this forum is the best tool to learn to grow and I have learned so much and am excited to see how my clone turns out. My buddy has a plant and is going to let me take a clone from it to take back to my apartment at school. Thanks to everyone here I am fairly confident that I can turn this clone into a successful personal yield and I can't imagine the satisfaction of smoking YOUR bud.
 

Survolte

Well-Known Member
yah im sure you can clone a clone, the question I was wondering is does your strain get better if you keep cloning the main growths?
 

epixbud

Well-Known Member
yes you can clone clones, thats how people keep a certain strain for years, as for when to clone, well, you want the branch's you gonna clone to be mature, good and thickish stems, if the stems are too green they won't work. just look at the colour change between the main bottom stem and the ones you wanna clone, if they are big time lighter green then they still to young, if they somewhat match the darkness of the main bottom stem then they are ready. the harder the stem is the better for growing roots, thats the way i judge clone stock. as for taking the top cola only, some say thats best, but personally i think as long as it's a good healthy looking branch then it will work :leaf:

Check my grow AK47xSSH
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/107075-ak-47-x-super-silver.html :leaf:
Check out my DIY 80 site cloner
https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/118234-my-dyi-80-site-aero.html :leaf:
 

repoocbd

Active Member
ok this is an awesome tutorial indeed and what's better is I have all this stuff from recently upgrading to a larer aquarium for my fish. All I need is the water bed heater (awesome inginuity there btw) and the No-Damp. I just have one question about the final stage where you plant the new clone after it has rooted. You showed yours and how you needed to cut some roots to get it out of the soil, but do you leave it in the pete pellets when you plant it in your new soil or do you need to remove the pete pellet? If so how do you do that with out hurting the plant?
 

Survolte

Well-Known Member
you can take as many clones as there are branches with new growth. Remember to cut on the main stem not the branches. I just fucked up my 2 month old super lemon haze. heh. Its ok Im going to quit growing pot for a while sense its illegal in my state.

I guess the plant is probably going to be more ready for cloning in about 3 weeks, but if you got branches with new growth it should work.
 

NewHiddenGrower

Well-Known Member
you can take as many clones as there are branches with new growth. Remember to cut on the main stem not the branches. I just fucked up my 2 month old super lemon haze. heh. Its ok Im going to quit growing pot for a while sense its illegal in my state.

I guess the plant is probably going to be more ready for cloning in about 3 weeks, but if you got branches with new growth it should work.
What do u mean from main stem? that sounds worse :(
 

GypsyBush

Well-Known Member
yah im sure you can clone a clone, the question I was wondering is does your strain get better if you keep cloning the main growths?
nope...

It's the same exact DNA and it will not change... for all that the plant knows.. it's still the SAME plant... same exact DNA...

:joint::peace:
 
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