Still Cant Clone

[420 grower]

Ok I've tried everything, I've decided to blame the water. When I started my grow I got a brand new well but maybe the softner? Bought a bunch of distilled water tonight with the clonex in the bubble cloner. Wish me luck...

[knottwhole]

Ok I've tried everything

That's not true. You haven't found success until you've tried the last thing.

Good luck and let me know if you want a fool proof method. Only works with fools though.

[Grow Thread]

if you need any help with the bubblecloner, feel free to start a p.m. to me.

 

foolproof?? right here

 

ROCKWOOL CLONING

 

the last time i went to the hydro store to buy some they were out of stock so i purchased one of the big 6" x 6" x 6" cubes and cut it up myself. i think i ended up getting 48 cubes out of that $4 block so thats like 8 cents a clone or something. thats budget. i am using r.o. water just because i have it, but tapwater would work just fine here as long as you set it set out overnight in an open container to let chlorine evaporate.

 

 

some cubes:

 

 

many people say to soak them for 24 hours or whatever, but this isnt necessary IMO. i do soak them for about an hour though. no need to do anything crazy with the ph. 7.0 is fine. if using tapwater, assuming its not nuclear waste, your ph will probably be in the mid 7's. this will work as well. remember, this is budget cloning and will take an extra couple days compared to an expensive aerocloner. we are cutting corners, and saving tons of money, but at the expensive of a little time. this strain will show roots in 9-11 days using this method, but may show roots a bit quicker if you drop the ph to around 6.

 

1/2 hour soak: (note: 2ml of Humboldt Roots in a gallon of R.O water will speed things up. dump 1/3 of the gallon in a bowl and soak your cubes in it. then add your cuttings. then use the remaining 2/3 of your gallon to water them until they root)

 

here's some soaking in the Humboldt Roots:

 

 

 

obviously, the bowl has been cleaned and so have your scissors right?

 

ok, im taking the bottom set of branches:

 

 

 

i make the cut with scissors right at the main stem and put the cutting into a cup of water (r.o., or day-old tapwater again).

once we have both the bottom branches we are ready to get to work:

 

 

 

both of these branches are pretty good sized with thick strong stems so i am going to take 2 clones off of each one. i could take more probably, but they would have thin stems and would take longer to catch up to the others in growth. as far as prepping the rockwool, just take it out of the bowl and let it drip/drain. if you have pre-packaged cubes they will have a hole already in them. i find this hole is usually too small so i widen it a little. since i cut my own cubes off of one huge one, i dont have any holes. this isnt rocket science. i just take the scissors and stab them about 3/4 of the way through the cube. a hole that is a little too big is better than too small. ok, lets cut up the branch.

 

you can see where i cut this one:

 

 

 

cut off/strip any fan leaves or extra branches that are not needed. then we are ready to take the actual clone. make those cuts (above) at a 45 degree angle with the sharpest, cleanest scissors or razor knife you can find. i also try to make that cut under water if possible. after making the cut, i take the edge of the scissors and scrape at the flesh over the entire bottom 1/2 inch or so of the stem. this can be a little scary, but once again, it isnt rocket science, and less is better. i just scrape the very top layer of flesh off. scraping too much will do too much damage and cause the stem to become limp and unusable.

 

very difficult to get a picture but just a light scraping is all you need:

 

 

 

 

ok, we are just about there now. insert into the rockwool cube.

 

 

repeat, and with less than a dollar you have a little family of clones ready to root.

 

as stated above, humidity and rockwool moisture are KEY from here on. if your natural room humidity is too low, you may opt for a tray and a dome. the humidity can stay as high as 95% inside the dome. good stuff. if your natural room humidity is less than 60% i would be getting one.

 

 

 

keep them clean and moist..... not soaked...... and with some practice, you will be looking at this after a week or two:

 

 

at this point you are ready to plant in soil or hydro or hempy or outside.... or wherever you want

[knottwhole]

if you need any help with the bubblecloner, feel free to start a p.m. to me.

 

foolproof?? right here

 

 

Thanks for coming to the rescue so fast. (And it is foolproof).

If 420 tried this and failed, he should try again!

Only difference between your method and mine is I use clonex gel instead of humbolt.

I'm also old school, and firmly believe the final cut of the clone should be done below water to keep air embolisms out.

Great tutorial!! Always forward, never strait.

[rambozo420]

Air cloning is what I do. I've had 100% success rate.It also allows You to root clones without increasing Your plant count. How it works is You nick the stem then cover in clones rooting gell then put damp rockwool around the stem then cover with aluminum foil.keep rockwool damp untill you can see root growth then cut from plant.

http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss120/rambozo420/?action=view&current=100_0358.jpg

[Kingdiamond]

Patience grasshopper rooting clones is a tedius task that takes time to master at first just dont get in a hurry it seems to take eons but its not difficult after you get the hang of it.

[grewett]

420 grower, with this I think you will have success. I just burned one as an offering on your behalf to the aroma Gods.

 

Bubblegrower and Rambozo--to the rescue. You guys are part of the reason this is the most valuable board for mj instructions I'm aware of. Congrats and thanks for riding to help.

 

Bubblegrower I think you have found your mission in life, to instruct those flailing in mj production. I think you are one of the few fortunate people in this life who finds what they love to do as work and are able to do it and are great at it and also feel called to do it and it is a labor of love?

[Guest finallyfree09]

Air cloning is what I do. I've had 100% success rate.It also allows You to root clones without increasing Your plant count. How it works is You nick the stem then cover in clones rooting gell then put damp rockwool around the stem then cover with aluminum foil.keep rockwool damp untill you can see root growth then cut from plant.

http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss120/rambozo420/?action=view&current=100_0358.jpg

what do you mean "nick" the stem? how much and where do you nick it?

 

i tried this once but had no success. i just rubbed some of the outer layer of a bottom branch off, cut the two leaves off like you would on the bottom of a cutting and tied a peat pellet around it. sprayed it with earth juice rootstock for 2 weeks and got nothing.

 

admittedly, i chose a rather large branch which probably didn't help anything. i have some rockwool pellets and want to try this again. how many sets of leaves should the branch that i am going to root have on it? i got a million questions i suppose

 

help me out man

[Guest finallyfree09]

i can't sleep so i went huntin... check THIS out

 

 

and this...

 

Edited December 27, 2010 by finallyfree09

[bigbudsnewbie]

I just tried my luck at cloning... Its been a few days now.. 4 blue moonshines....

[kruztydj]

if you need any help with the bubblecloner, feel free to start a p.m. to me.

 

foolproof?? right here

 

ROCKWOOL CLONING

 

the last time i went to the hydro store to buy some they were out of stock so i purchased one of the big 6" x 6" x 6" cubes and cut it up myself. i think i ended up getting 48 cubes out of that $4 block so thats like 8 cents a clone or something. thats budget. i am using r.o. water just because i have it, but tapwater would work just fine here as long as you set it set out overnight in an open container to let chlorine evaporate.

 

 

some cubes:

 

 

many people say to soak them for 24 hours or whatever, but this isnt necessary IMO. i do soak them for about an hour though. no need to do anything crazy with the ph. 7.0 is fine. if using tapwater, assuming its not nuclear waste, your ph will probably be in the mid 7's. this will work as well. remember, this is budget cloning and will take an extra couple days compared to an expensive aerocloner. we are cutting corners, and saving tons of money, but at the expensive of a little time. this strain will show roots in 9-11 days using this method, but may show roots a bit quicker if you drop the ph to around 6.

 

1/2 hour soak: (note: 2ml of Humboldt Roots in a gallon of R.O water will speed things up. dump 1/3 of the gallon in a bowl and soak your cubes in it. then add your cuttings. then use the remaining 2/3 of your gallon to water them until they root)

 

here's some soaking in the Humboldt Roots:

 

 

 

obviously, the bowl has been cleaned and so have your scissors right?

 

ok, im taking the bottom set of branches:

 

 

 

i make the cut with scissors right at the main stem and put the cutting into a cup of water (r.o., or day-old tapwater again).

once we have both the bottom branches we are ready to get to work:

 

 

 

both of these branches are pretty good sized with thick strong stems so i am going to take 2 clones off of each one. i could take more probably, but they would have thin stems and would take longer to catch up to the others in growth. as far as prepping the rockwool, just take it out of the bowl and let it drip/drain. if you have pre-packaged cubes they will have a hole already in them. i find this hole is usually too small so i widen it a little. since i cut my own cubes off of one huge one, i dont have any holes. this isnt rocket science. i just take the scissors and stab them about 3/4 of the way through the cube. a hole that is a little too big is better than too small. ok, lets cut up the branch.

 

you can see where i cut this one:

 

 

 

cut off/strip any fan leaves or extra branches that are not needed. then we are ready to take the actual clone. make those cuts (above) at a 45 degree angle with the sharpest, cleanest scissors or razor knife you can find. i also try to make that cut under water if possible. after making the cut, i take the edge of the scissors and scrape at the flesh over the entire bottom 1/2 inch or so of the stem. this can be a little scary, but once again, it isnt rocket science, and less is better. i just scrape the very top layer of flesh off. scraping too much will do too much damage and cause the stem to become limp and unusable.

 

very difficult to get a picture but just a light scraping is all you need:

 

 

 

 

ok, we are just about there now. insert into the rockwool cube.

 

 

repeat, and with less than a dollar you have a little family of clones ready to root.

 

as stated above, humidity and rockwool moisture are KEY from here on. if your natural room humidity is too low, you may opt for a tray and a dome. the humidity can stay as high as 95% inside the dome. good stuff. if your natural room humidity is less than 60% i would be getting one.

 

 

 

keep them clean and moist..... not soaked...... and with some practice, you will be looking at this after a week or two:

 

 

at this point you are ready to plant in soil or hydro or hempy or outside.... or wherever you want

I use this same method but put them in soil cups or small pots instead of just setting them on the tray. Water with plain ph'd water once every day for the first week and your done. Pull them from the dome in 10 days and water them with a low dose of bloom nutes and slam them to veg. Yer done.............

The soil/rockwool method is fool proof and is the way I tell ALL new grows to clone. I use the small 4 inch pots for this and dont have to transplant till they're ready for bloom as the girls can grow dam big in that sized pot, and saves from transing to many times.

Being your on a well you'll need a good r/o system and not the watersoftner. Bypass that for your garden and get a good r'o filter system or buy r/o water. You'll be glad ya did as you'll be fighting that well water the whole grow. Prolly the reason ya can't clone. Use r/o water only for cloning and do the soil/rockwoll method and you'll not loose another clone.... :devil:

[Grow Thread]

 

Bubblegrower I think you have found your mission in life, to instruct those flailing in mj production. I think you are one of the few fortunate people in this life who finds what they love to do as work and are able to do it and are great at it and also feel called to do it and it is a labor of love?

 

im not sure that i could have worded it better

[420 grower]

I've tried that wth and without a dome. I keep getting gnat larvae in the rockwool that way. Now I'm using a bubble cloner, and have some in rockwool. They usually look good for over a week then die...

[rambozo420]

Thank You grewett I help when I can everything I know about indoor growing I learned from this site.Finallyfree09 looks like You found some good videos to help.My technique is different because I leave the top of the rockwool open to air and the bottom of the aluminum foil loose enough to leak water.I add water daily to each potential clone.Also I would add that now I only harvest clones from the bottom of the plant here is a video that shows how to clone and reveg.

[StonedPlanet]

I used to have great luck with cloning in the past! It seemed as though I could just make a cut with my fingernails (pinch it off) and pretty much just put it in the dirt and water it once.. a few days later they would look beautiful!

 

Havin a hard time lately myself but I think I am not keeping the soil warm enough

[Danielshemp]

I built my first bubble cloner more than a year ago. Instead of using rockwool, I use neoprene inserts. Change the water in the bubble cloner at least once per week and wash your cloner after every run.

 

If your cuttings are not surviving the rooting process, then make sure you:

1. Take your cuttings from a healthy mother plant. Do not give your plants any nutrients for at least a week before you take your cuttings

2. Keep your cloner warm. I use a seedling heating mat. The water in your cloner should be around 70 degrees.

3. When taking your cuttings, make sure you do not crush the stems. Use a new razor blade rather than scissors.

 

There is really no mystery in the rooting process. Good luck.

[Cannastyle]

I would definitely not use the softened water. I used softened water in my fish tanks many moons ago...and the plants hated it.

 

As previously stated, check your water temperature. I like to keep it a lil higher than suggested around 75-78..I think this allows for faster rooting.

 

I use pure water...maybe a drop or two of superthrive and thats it. I usually see roots in 5 to 7 days.

[Mr. Wilson]

I try to keep the cooler cloner water between 72-76 (use a heater if you can afford it), using un-softened well water. PH about 6. Air temp in low seventies. Use a couple of air stones. Turn the sprayers off and check to make sure all the plants are being hit. Adjust sprayers as necessary. Trim off dead or mildewed leaves.

 

You have to have some patience with this method. I think you do get faster roots using cubes if you have experience, but not as much consistency in the long run possibly. You may have to wait 14 days for roots. There are dozens of different things you can add, making thousands of different combination's of additives available. Experiment until you find the best ones. Some may work better with certain types of water, ph and varying temps, adding to the complexity of getting the "mix" right.

 

Results can vary. You may get some with incredible roots and others with barely nothing. Some strains clone easy, others only work on a sporadic basis.

 

Cloning can be very hard until you get that "mix" of variables correct. I think most people who say they get 100% are not giving you the complete truth. 100% of anything is very rare. Some can do it, most can not. Don't worry about numbers. Cuttings are easy to get, just start again and change "one" thing. Don't change several factors at a time or you'll never find out what works.

[rambozo420]

The reason I get 100% success is the rooted clone is still part of the mother plant untill I choose to cut it off. LOL

[badrobbie]

[quote name='

I use this same method but put them in soil cups or small pots instead of just setting them on the tray. Water with plain ph'd water once every day for the first week and your done. Pull them from the dome in 10 days and water them with a low dose of bloom nutes and slam them to veg. Yer done............ :devil:

 

A very important point here to anybody imitating this approach described here by devil ... if you put a RW cube in soil, you have to be VERY careful to water it constantly. Moisture will equalize OUT of the RW cube to whatever the soil is .. in other words, dry soil will pull the moisture out of the RW cube (which normally will retain moisture for days).

 

I killed a batch of clones by doing exactly what devil describes here (think "oh cool, it'll just root straight into the dirt) ... but beware, this approach can go very wrong if you don't tend it constantly. Once roots are sticking out of the cube, no problem.

 

Ergo ... I keep them in a seedling tray, with a cover, until they root, just like Bubblegrower shows. I add a flouro shop light over the top and a mini ebb and flow reservoir under the tray so I don't really have to touch it until they root.

[GanjaWarrior]

Air cloning is what I do. I've had 100% success rate.It also allows You to root clones without increasing Your plant count. How it works is You nick the stem then cover in clones rooting gell then put damp rockwool around the stem then cover with aluminum foil.keep rockwool damp untill you can see root growth then cut from plant.

http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss120/rambozo420/?action=view&current=100_0358.jpg

this tech rocks! and if u have a low plant count its the way to go....it will allow you to share your genetics with others, while not counting towards your total

[Grow Thread]

a little off topic now........ the poster is using a bubblecloner and has had probs with rockwool........

 

but here's some info on air layering:

http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/18150-need-your-grow-questions-answered-come-on-in/page__view__findpost__p__174326

[Grow Thread]

back on track

 

anyone seen the new mondo block from grodan? its literally big sized. 8" x 8" x 8"

 

i just cut 72 cloning cubes out of one block:

 

 

 

WAY cheaper than buying 72 prepackaged and precut cubes.

[Beans]

I would definitely not use the softened water. I used softened water in my fish tanks many moons ago...and the plants hated it.

 

As previously stated, check your water temperature. I like to keep it a lil higher than suggested around 75-78..I think this allows for faster rooting.

 

I use pure water...maybe a drop or two of superthrive and thats it. I usually see roots in 5 to 7 days.

 

I love well water

 

Almost all homes have outside faucets with hard water only and those of us lucky enough have another valve near the well tank

 

Soft water is way to salty

 

In my neck of the woods it ph's at about 7.9

 

and I like 6 for all applications

 

 

The reason I get 100% success is the rooted clone is still part of the mother plant untill I choose to cut it off. LOL

 

 

 

LOL yeah if ya wait

 

I guess it has to be 100%

 

Great Job As usual BG

 

 

Pics really help

 

 

It is just a temperature/moisture thing warm being good

 

Keep at it OP you will be close to Rambozo's percentage, in no time

[GanjaWarrior]

srry to get off topic. While i feel the other method is cool for people with low counts, I myself have switched to a bubble cloner due to ease. I just dont have to keep them moist by hand. Id say to keep an eye on ur temps.... as long as they stay warm i have no problems with a bub cloner and rock wool. In fact my first try with the method i got 100 percent and most are ready to go at 8-9 days. i never get more than 30 percent using just rockwool...with cooler temps. As my clones get only ro water in the cloner, i feel the difference has to be the temps.