Where's those fish bone roots?

Hydrowannabe said:

Thank you all for the encouraging information. I'm still a little confused on what the difference is in peeling vs. scraping. Im guessing,....you pull down on a fan leaf slowly that

I also prefer thicker, woodier clones...maybe because they look better when roots finally show....but ive heard that people have an easier time cloning thiner, less woody stems. i havent really noticed much of a difference other than cosmetically...like i said, the thicker clones tend to look better, thats all i know lol

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Hydrowannabe,

On the peeling vs scraping method, basically on each clone cutting there are a bottom set of leaves that grow from off the stalk of the mother plant, depending on how much stem is left on the cutting you take, will be how much fiber gets removed from the cutting as you pull it downwards, typically an 1"-2" inches, maybe 3" if it's a stretchier cutting, but all we are talking of is removal of the outer layer of fibers on the bottom of the cutting, depending on how much fiber is removed more rapid growth can be achieved, it is up to us to figure out where the sweet spot is in our own grows to see how much provides the most benefit, typically plants even out their growth (various pruning methods produce similar harvest weight etc) but some methods may provide more explosive growth than others.

Thank you all for the encouraging information. I'm still a little confused on what the difference is in peeling vs. scraping. Im guessing,....you pull down on a fan leaf slowly that . i meant to post this like an hour ago lol

SchmoeJoe said:

Lower growth clones easier but once you've got it down top growth will always produce a stronger growing vegetative plant faster and the difference between success rates ofclones from new/old growth should be next to nothing. I do find that more mature growth (thicker and/or harder stems) always roots better.

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i completely agree with that

SchmoeJoe said:

I have found that it's a bit of a pain with cuttings that have thinner or weaker stems.

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Agree. They might not peel if they are small. My last test batch the cuttings were made 8 inches tall. With just 3 inches of it below the foam inserts. They were very woody. Still rooted very quickly...

SchmoeJoe said:

It's pretty normal for them to develope a thick callous before rooting. Especially when using rooting compounds.

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I have always used the gel for rooting. The swelling I get is hit or miss. But when I do get it, they take longer to root. My last 2 batches of clones have had zero swelling. Rooted ultra fast. Just an observation...

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

BobBitchen said:

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

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yo, i believe you, but i had a diy aeroponic cloner that was on 24/7, but could never get the kind of roots i get in rockwool or bubble cloners. do you use a chiller in your aeroponic cloner or anything special. i tried many recipes,...nutes and no nutes.... with my aero unit and never got any impressive results. i thought it was because i had the water running 24/7

BobBitchen said:

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

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btw, i think those are justttttt about ready to transplant lol. maybe they are ready now. you might as well grow those clones aeroponically through the whole grow

BobBitchen said:

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

View attachment 4385921 View attachment 4385920 View attachment 4385922

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it looks like you have a premade cloner. Im wondering how it operates. whats the water pressure like as the pump is on 24/7. I'd love to get my diy aerocloner back up and running, but i never got anything like those roots in mine. my unit is a 27 gallon HDX tote with 23 cloning sites. my pump is pretty agressive. it really sprays hard at the stems. I'm wondering if yours is a low pressure sprayer....as ive recently read that low pressure aeroponic units are best

The cloner is a Clone King:
http://harriganshydroponicsandsupply.com/shop/aeroponics-cloner-systems-accessories/the-clone-king-36-site-aeroponic-cloning-machine/
also available on Amazon.
It' s worked much better than any DIY unit I'v done by far

I don't use a chiller/heater, no special recipes at all,
straight tap water, no need to PH, I think my water is high 8's.

good luck

BobBitchen said:

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

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You sure you havent just cut off miss piggies hair and stuck that on Bob?

coreywebster said:

You sure you havent just cut off miss piggies hair and stuck that on Bob?

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im just barely old enough to know what you are refering too. but i dont know who bob is. i know kermit is a racist drug addict, and i wouldnt trust him with my roots.

BobBitchen said:

The cloner is a Clone King:
http://harriganshydroponicsandsupply.com/shop/aeroponics-cloner-systems-accessories/the-clone-king-36-site-aeroponic-cloning-machine/
also available on Amazon.
It' s worked much better than any DIY unit I'v done by far

I don't use a chiller/heater, no special recipes at all,
straight tap water, no need to PH, I think my water is high 8's.

good luck

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My aeroponic system seems to work almost identical to the ones i see at grow shops, but it seems the sprinklers seems to spray harder at the roots than what i see in the store, maybe that the issue with my diy aeroponic cloner. i would by a premade one if i new how it worked differently,....because when the cutting are in the aeroponic unit, they form the fastest roots without any yellowing,....they just dont produce very dense roots

im asking all these questions about cloning even tho i can form good roots (as seen above), is because i want to find one method and stick with it.......and to form fish bone like roots originally, but now im not so worried about that as it seem they will form on their own in time

BobBitchen said:

I like the keep it simple method.
I take a cut, put it in the puck, then into aero cloner,
non PH'd tap water
24/7 timer
T5's @ 16" or so
Don't F with !... then come back in a couple weeks, ready to go
Fishbones...........

View attachment 4385921 View attachment 4385920 View attachment 4385922

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do you really let your cuttings get that established before you transplant them? of course they are already vegetating in whatever you have them in, so im guessing you do some form of dwc???

Hydrowannabe said:

do you really let your cuttings get that established before you transplant them? of course they are already vegetating in whatever you have them in, so im guessing you do some form of dwc???

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Strain dependent , but they are usually good to transplant by 7-10 days, I time mine for a 14 day stay in the cloner, but have let them go much longer, 21 - 28 or so.
They will tell you when you've gone too long, yellowing of bottom leaves or new growth starting.
I never feed in my cloner, just me.



I then ram them into a solo of soilless

2 people can do the exact same thing with different results. Not all tap water is the same.

I think being sterile is the most important thing of all.

Mechanicalbuds said:

I have always used the gel for rooting. The swelling I get is hit or miss. But when I do get it, they take longer to root. My last 2 batches of clones have had zero swelling. Rooted ultra fast. Just an observation...

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I've found that with Rootech gel I'll get huge, translucent callouses but they take forever to root. It's even more frustrating because I can usually see what looks like trapped root tips in the callous. With Clonex the exposed tissue starts off with a bit of a bulge that gets a white sort of crust that almost looks like veins of white quarts or agate in a river rock. With Clonex most strains put out the first few root tips in the tray on day 4-5 and most are transplanted by day 6-7.

Mechanicalbuds said:

2 people can do the exact same thing with different results. Not all tap water is the same.

I think being sterile is the most important thing of all.

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I've fond PATIENCE to be the most important....



ie...don't fu*k with

Mechanicalbuds said:

I have always used the gel for rooting. The swelling I get is hit or miss. But when I do get it, they take longer to root. My last 2 batches of clones have had zero swelling. Rooted ultra fast. Just an observation...

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i probably should have mentioned this earlier...the stem isn't swollen,....but there is a reason why it looks chunky on the bottom. I was checking a batch of clones (in rockwool), and all my cuttings were well rooted, except one cutting didn't have any visible roots. that rock wool cube was ripped open and there were a good amount of shorter roots. So I pulled the cutting out of the rockwool and stuck it into a little bubble cloner. seemed to work out. and i guess the stem could be swollen also, but what you guys are seeing is just the rockwool that didnt come off the stem.