Why Did My Clones Shrivel Up And Die?!?!?!?

okay!! so i cut some cuttings from a plant i know is a female. here is my procedure:

1. pore Clonex into a shot glass
2. cut cuttings at 45 angle (OR GREATER)
3. dip into Clonex and cover end of cutting
4. put clone into a 16oz Solo red plastic party cup filled with Sunshine Mix Advanced #4 (pre-moistened) about 3/4" inch down.
5. push down surrounding soil and make cutting stand up snug and in place.
6. mist leaves with water

no step #7 i did NOT do before with the last round, but i will be doing this time. so lets say up til #6 is how the last batch were. cool? cool!

7. put in propagator

now with these steps should i have any problems at all? how long should the cuttings be? i think the last round may have been way to short and that is why they shriveled up and died on me.

and advise will be highly appreciated!! thanks in advance!!

do you cover them with a dome to keep the humidity really high?

What burr said. The clone has fully functioning leaves which are transpiring water into the air but there are no roots to supply them. Raising the humidity slows down the rate at which the leaves lose water.

Most people find propogaters to be a failsafe method of cloning. You can make your own for very little. There are lots of DIY plans out there.

that is why i separated step #6 and #7. i just bought the propagator today. i plan on hooking it up tonight and getting to work with some new sets. i guess that was the missing link! thanks for the replies!!

I can't see how by doing what you're doing and with the new propogator you shouldn't get near perfect results. good luck

I think the propagator will do wonders... I've done exactly your steps in cloning up to #6 with a 50% success rate, so it is possible, but I'm curious to see the improvement with step 7 added...

yeah i had 8 cuttings. im down to 2. they started out rather short though. at least 4 sets of leafs, but they were all the bottom cuttings. that is another issue i think that was contributing to my bad luck. i am going to give it a go here in a few. i will post results! thanks for the tips!!

there are many factors when cloneing first and for most good advice feed plants 2 - 3 yrs before , taking cuttings from a healthy plant most important part of cloneing if your plant has diefiencys and or struggling then so will your clones
most cloneing mistakes not having proper time preping your medium for rockwool it sgood practice to place them in a screen dunk them in a ph'd water of 5.4 to 5.8 with light nutrient starter food , once done placed under a light for 24 hrs so medum is pre heated
in soil havin ph @ 5.4 to 5.8 and having enough moisture so when you make a fist light water comes out of it also good practice to have medium under a light for 24 hrs prior to placing cuttings
cutting your clones useing a steril razor i like to use scissors cut longer stem and cut back with razor
everyon thinks cutting just a 45 degree angle is all you need you should also do this lighting slicing into most ppl wil 45 degree then cut up the middle i found that not to good as you place it in medium you can damage the stem and or create a air pocket
for those trying to get it to happen look at pics will post clones just taken and all stnding up look at the way i made a fish hook as you place it into the medium you cant damage it when making your ph'd water make sure its @ room temp for placing cuttings into prior to cloneing doin the above will give you a more percentage of cloneing take your time be clean and you be ok

also a dome is a must for 90 + percent

ifit sounds like it should have worked other than you should have use a humidity dome as said above and if i may recommend next time you do this i suggest using decomposable cups it helps a lot with re potting them when they get bigger and you have to spray them with a mister at least four times a day

some strains i have had very stressful issues with trying to clone, others easy. i now single bubble clone all cuttings 1 at a time and each strain still has very different results. be patient and remember your reward for the outcome

oh yeah!! i also slice up the bottom of the stem about a 1/4-1/2 inch, depending on the size of the cutting. i think not having the propagator was my issue. i cant wait to get into here in tee minus 107min.

ok!! update!! its been 2 days since i made my cuttings and nothing has died or shriveled up on me. i think they did okay! my next question is: how long til they start growing roots? when will know they are no longer just a cutting and are an actual plant. when does the cloning stage end and the vegetation stage begin? anyone?

well once you got visible roots remember to lightly spray clones and dome atleast 2 times a day once you got roots coming out then you no longer have a clone but a plant )

You didnt sterilize scissors/scalpel ,wash hands and cutting area. Also a cup full of soil is too much medium for a clone and stays too wet, fill that cup about 1/3 way up only.

It will take anywhere from seven to ten days for roots to "strike" (show at the gottom of a 2" rockwool cube). It will take a week longer to get "profuse" roots which is self explanitory. when you have profuse roots you can transplant. I do things just a little different than most up here in my own private Idaho so I fill the bottom of my tray with an inch or so of moist coco. I feel this helps keep the humidity constant and it doubles as a place for profuse roots to go besides into the light. I have like virtually 100% success so you don't have to do it my way but don't try to change my mind cuz that ain't gonna happen.

lol!!! ok, since my methods are far from perfect you will not hear me trying to convince you. but i need to spray the leafs...cuz thats the only way they get water, correct? and too much soil? really??? so less soil is better for clones? how often should i water them...?? i really need to perfect this. i have a ton of seeds, but this knowledge i need under my belt.

i aint using them rockwool cubes. straight soil in a red solo cup!

*BUDS said:

You didnt sterilize scissors/scalpel ,wash hands and cutting area. Also a cup full of soil is too much medium for a clone and stays too wet, fill that cup about 1/3 way up only.

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no, i have the same pair i keep for the same things. one pair for clones, (i use a razor blade anyways), one pair for cutting tops, one pair for dry herbs. i have several pairs, they all are for the same purpose. and yes i wash hands, i just thought that went without saying. and on the too much soil part...really? i will give it a try, since it could only help at this point. i can not tell though if they are growing roots or not yet, because i am using the Sunshine Advanced Mix #4, not rockwool cubes or anything of that nature. i will be posting a pic here in the next few minutes of what they looked like about 30 minutes ago. seem better then the last batch, there still alive. other batch died quickly! the stems seem to be stronger, there standing up straight. but they just do not have the life i thought they would have at this point.

ok...they look weak!!! could i be making the cuttings to small? im really starting to think i will be a "from seed" only kind of grower. is it true that with clones, you can shave a few weeks, possibly a month off of veg? i hear about clones being in veg for 2 weeks then thrown into flower. is that a unique strain that does that? or will most clones have minimal veg time if cut correctly? im not really looking for a shorter veg times, i just want to preserve this genetic. planting seeds are very uneven, i like looking for different phenotypes. well here is a pic of the poorly looking clones of my second attempt. i can't believe i suck so bad at this. my buddy a few years ago gave me a crash course on clones. we made about 50 cuttings that night, and to my knowledge, the ones i made all lived.

so do you see any roots yet ??? i will clone a few today and make pics as to show you kinda simple cant see how your having so much dificulty