tyke1973
Well-Known Member
I use rockwool cubes or the root it ones, they all do the same job, i soak the cubes in a flowering feed i use advanced sensi a and b a small amount though but any flowering nutrient will do or you can leave that bit out it will still work but they root faster with the nute added and it has no bad effects on the plants in fact the oposite they love it.Soak them in water with the smallest dose advised on the tub for 24 hrs this will allow the nutes to penertrate the cube and the chlorine to evaporate out of the water.If your water is good enough for you to drink then it will be fine for the clone's if not buy spring water.I like my clones to be not too big about 3/4 inch but make sure there is a node at the very bottom of the clone you have just taken,because this will be taken off with a stanley knife and this is where the roots will idealy come from although i have taken clones with no node at the bottom and they have still taken as good.Cut the clone away from the mother plant at a 45 degree angle then put it straight into water this will stop any air getting trapped in the stem.While they are in the water put some rooting gel i use clonex in a small jar only a bit will be needed any extra left over shall be thrown so use sparingly.take the 1st clone out of the water on the oposite side to the 45 degree cut just take the outer skin of the clone no more than around 2/3mm this will help the clone get roots faster although it is not nessessary but i always do it.Put it back in the water till you have done the next step get a cocktail stick i have found these idael for the job make a hole in the cube that goes all the way down but stop about 1 cm from the bottom make the hole big enough for the clone each clone will have a different sized stem so do the hole a tad bigger,Put the clone into the rooting gel or powder and make sure all the bottom is covered i get gel on about 1 1/2 cm of the bottom of the clone then place into the hole and use the cocktail stick to push the sides in to give the clones stem a good seal.The hole in cubes is always to big so i never use them the last thing you want is for the clone to be moving around in the hole.Repeat the process has many times as needed once they have all been taken place in a propagator get one with air vents that open and close,This part is important leave the vents closed for the 1st 48 hrs mist the plant 2 times once in a morning and once at night place under low intense light like t5 or cfl or plain old fasioned flouresent tube lighting daylight cool daylight spec try and have at least a couple of cfl warm daylight spec these will give you the warmth needed for the clones have them close to the top of the propagator.The following day or the same night the clones will look bad they will all have fallen over but within 24 hrs they will be up right again so do not worry they will bounce back mister is another important tool in cloning well a necessity in cloning you need a really fine mist though but most misters you can alter the misting strength you need a realy fine mist.when misting the clones while the vents are closed during the 1st 48 hrs leave the lid off for a few mins each mist so the clones can get some fresh air.After the 48 hrs of the vents being shut it is now time to open them this will lower the humidity and sometimes but not very often the clones will wilt a little but like i say this is rare,still mist the clones at the same time has you did when the vents were shut as long as they get a couple of mistings a day they will be fine this is just for the 1st week.Now we are at the start of week two by now the clones will have a hold even though the roots might not be showing yet you can mist what ever time suits but make sure that the cubes do not dry out but they should not with all the water being used from the mistings but if they do then just dip into water nothing else and squeeze out any excess water or the roots will not be able to breathe this should be done after the cubes have been soaked before the clones go in the cubes,you are looking for a damp cube not too wet.Keep misting once a day still with the propagator lid on do not take it off until you have roots showing,if you have a propagator that has no vents then put something under one side just to lift i a cm.After about 12 days the clones will now start to have a great white root structure but leave until they have a little more, transplant at about 14 days.This is when the clones are strong enough to have the lid taken off i have never had any problems using this method and have 100% success but i always take a couple of extra clones just in case i suggest you do the same.I will be doing a seed germination soon the clam method stay green peace tyke..........................
