# I have never cloned before, help



## poop-dog (Sep 5, 2009)

Should I build a bubbler or clone the popular way? It cannot find rockwool but can easily get rapid rooters, not sure about cloning gel, I figure if they carry rapid rooters they carry a gel. If I go rapid rooters once they grow some roots can I place into dirt? I do not have a tray to hold them, is it worth buying one, or can I use foil or something to hold it upright? I am only looking to start two clones to be dirt grown.

It seems everyone has a different preferred method. I just need to get these going asap. I am like 4 weeks behind starting to flower this girl. She is way to big.

thanks


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## Hick (Sep 6, 2009)

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?p=18056#post18056


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## 4u2sm0ke (Sep 6, 2009)

hello  ******...:giggle:   yes you will get a lot of diffrent ways..I use a bubble cloner from the DIY  section here on MP..works for me...otheres  like rapid rooter..some like dirt..I  like the bubble cloner for its the easiest for me and cleaner..remember the most important thing is Paitence...be sure to take the cutting  with at least 2 node sites..now  get to it befor she out grows ya:rofl:  take care and be safe:bolt::bong:


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## poop-dog (Sep 6, 2009)

Drove out there and they had rockwool. I got 1.5 inch cubes. I also got a jar of Olivia's cloning gel. I made a little tray and that tray will be at the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket with a 12" 6500K 15 watt flourecent tube vertically next to them. I will then place a piece of glass on top. The whole thing will fit under my fish tank next to the refugium where its warm and humid all the time.

Questions - Some say to soak the rockwool for 24 hours first. Others say just get it moist in stick it in - hehe. Some say use light nutes. Others say no nutes at all for a several weeks. The cubes have plastic around the side, not top or bottom. Should I remove this? After a couple weeks or when the roots are shooting out can I transplant straight into dirt, the whole cube and all?

Oh, I also am going to try 1 or 2 straight into dirt cups as well.

thanks!


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## dman1234 (Sep 6, 2009)

you will do as you please but this is what works for me 85%-95% success rate.

soak peat pucks
take cuttings and put in water
make 45 degree cut on clone under water
dip in rooting gel
poke hole in wet peat puck
insert clone stem
place on dome with 4ft floro
mist with water twice a day
8-14 days you see roots poking out of peat bag
plant in dirt
you may need to allow them to adjust to having no dome so watch for this.

JMO


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## poop-dog (Sep 6, 2009)

Cool thanks. how long do you let them soak? Do you squeeze any water out before you insert the clone?


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## dman1234 (Sep 6, 2009)

they can soak for as long as you want, 2-5 hours because you can squeeze em.

your next question is where it gets interesting, and becomes more like experience or personal preference.

i squeeze about half the water out of them before i poke the hole ,
stick the stem in and spray 2x a day in a dome, after about 3-4 days i give them a lite squeeze to remove some water and continue spraying 2x a day until i see roots, they need to be wet or damp but not compltely soaked.

its a lot of judgement calls.


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## poop-dog (Sep 6, 2009)

Awesome, I gotta start somewhere. First grow, ended up with a girl after almost killing her 3 times, so if the clones are like her. I might just have a shot.


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## dman1234 (Sep 6, 2009)

Well they are clones, so they should be Exactly like her.

Peace and Good Luck


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## purplephazes (Sep 7, 2009)

Soak them in a low ph water 5.4 i've heard ! because these rockwool cubes make the ph rise again ! This is only what i;ve heard though I would do some reading and searching before i'd attempt anything ! Take care !


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## dr pyro (Sep 7, 2009)

purple is right soak them first. i have had the best results with rockwool. leave the plastic on till transplant time.when you take cuts do it at a 45 degree angle the put cutting in water.you dont want that stem to take up any air. when you take them out of water dip in gel then insert in rockwool. you want alittle bit of humidity so i do mine in dome with 24 hrs of light with about 1/4 inch of water on the bottom of tray.4-7 days you should see roots out the bottom. then just take plastic off and transplant. also a heat matt helps but i never used one yet with about a 95 % success rate


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## dr pyro (Sep 7, 2009)

i only use cfl to clone them


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## poop-dog (Sep 7, 2009)

Thanks, I did exactly that 24 hours ago and they still look perfect. I am surprised. They don't look saggy, or shriveled, or anything, just normal. I lightly misted them a bit ago.

So you are saying you have the rockwool in a container partially submerged in water the whole time? I have read you do not want them to moist.


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## dr pyro (Sep 7, 2009)

i had saggy results before the rockwool. ya i keep 1/4 of water on the tray and let the m soak up as much as possible once bottom dries wait 2 or 3 days soak again and there just about done. not saying my way is the best it just works for me and so far my best success over all other methods.i tried just about everything before this. go figure it was the least expensive 45 cubes for 7 bucks


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## poop-dog (Sep 7, 2009)

Here is a pic. Two clones in a 6 or 7 gallon bucket. 1 12" 6500K flouro tube. Just misted them. About 32 hours since cutting. I keep a top on them, rite next to the hot water heater.


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## ozzydiodude (Sep 7, 2009)

Green Mojo just be cool and :watchplant:


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## poop-dog (Sep 7, 2009)

Thanks for the mojo... I also have one in dirt like your grow, and one only in water on the window sill. I appreciate all the help I have got on the forum. Everyone has a different experience and its great to base my future after all the knowledge.


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## ozzydiodude (Sep 8, 2009)

As far as cloning goes I keep trying new way to find what works for me. The plants want to grow we just have to make the condition the best we can in each of our inviroments.


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 11, 2009)

****-dog said:
			
		

> Thanks, I did exactly that 24 hours ago and they still look perfect. I am surprised. They don't look saggy, or shriveled, or anything, just normal. I lightly misted them a bit ago.
> 
> So you are saying you have the rockwool in a container partially submerged in water the whole time? I have read you do not want them to moist.



NO, NO, NOOOOOO  Never leave rockwool in water.  It won't be able to take up air and you'll rot your cuttings.  In fact, if it is a flat plastic bottom, you need just a bit of perlite under the rockwool.

To quote from the 1989 (?), SSSC catalog "... On a flat plastic surface without perlite the blocks would suck themselves fixed as it were.  The water/air ratio in the blocks would then be seriously out of balance, which would result in rotting at the base of the cuttings."

They also say that the cfl should be about 2' away from the cuttings.

My super duper cloning machine and mommy area is nothing more than a shop light suspended from a sawhorse with a timer.  The 2 grow bulbs cost about as much as everything else together.

The 'cloning chambers' are clear plastic storage boxes (about the size of a shoebox), from the dollar store.  I leave the lids on for perhaps 48 hours max, then just open to the air, no misting.  Might lose 2 out of 50, usually less.

The trick is, good stems on the cuttings.  Keep the mommy's on a low N diet for nice firm, strong growth.  High phos is good.

Besides all the high tech stuff, I use:
Clonex rooting gel
Clonex rooting solution
3"x3"x2 1/2" (no hole) rockwool cubes, 4 cuttings/cube.

I've used the 1 1/2"x1 1/2" cubes and they work fine, it's just easier for me to handle the 3" cubes since I water by hand, dunking them in the rooting solution.  Plus, I only need to water every second or third day with the larger cubes.

Hope this helps.  If you have any ???, sing out.

DD


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## poop-dog (Sep 11, 2009)

Thanks! My cubes only soaked for a couple hours before I even inserted the clones. I mist them twice a day. I have actually used some toothpicks to make some legs for the cubes. So the roots have about an inch to hang down before they touch the plastic. They are looking great so far.


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 11, 2009)

****-dog said:
			
		

> Thanks! My cubes only soaked for a couple hours before I even inserted the clones. I mist them twice a day. I have actually used some toothpicks to make some legs for the cubes. So the roots have about an inch to hang down before they touch the plastic. They are looking great so far.



A couple of hours is all I've ever done.

I saw that you got the cloning gel, did you also get the cloning solution?  I've only used Clonex gel and Clonex rooting solution.  Mild mix of nutes and when mixed, gets the Ph just right for the rockwool, around 5.6 or so, whatever it calls for.  If you didn't get it, I'd snag some. Very important to use both in conjunction with each other.

Olivia's or Clonex, I doubt if it matters, or if there is any real world difference between the 2.  Clonex is what I used 20 years ago and is a known quantity for me.

You may want to check into a bit of perlite. The toothpicks will work:holysheep: , but if you start doing more clones at once, may become problematic.:shocked: 

DD


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## poop-dog (Sep 16, 2009)

:holysheep: It worked!! 11 days and roots. Only misted once or twice a day. Roots probably actually showed a day or 2 ago. Great success!!!

How long can they "chill" like this. I would like to wait a couple days until planting?

thanks


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 17, 2009)

OUTSTANDING!!!

Yes, they can chill for a few days till you're ready to plant. I do the same thing.

I'd quit misting so that they can harden off a little bit, but keep an eye on them.

I also take them outside for a little sun to harden them off.  No more than say an hour, early morning or late afternoon sun only.

This is REALLY a 'feel' thing and can toast the cuttings real quick, so you may want to hold off on this till you do a few more.:hubba: 

Good job.

DD


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## poop-dog (Sep 17, 2009)

Well fail! 24 hours later and they look like this. Haven't changed anything. It was kind of warm in the room today. Could this be from lack of water? The cubes are pretty light and dry. Should I try and add a tiny but of nutes to the mist? I can plant them into dirt asap if that might help. They looked flawless everyday until today.


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## ozzydiodude (Sep 17, 2009)

Just use PHed water no nutes those plant are just dehydrated(?)To is my undering standing that with rockwool you have to water 2 or 3 times a day It does not hold water so there is no water available for the plant to use so it uses the stored water it has. Water and mist til the plant perk back up then transplant. Let them recover before shocking them again.

Green Mojo for a quick recovery


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 17, 2009)

Yep, they look dried out.

Soak the cubes and give them a mist and I bet they perk right up.

No Fail, but you do have a lot of leaf on there.  I usually trim the big leaves back to about 1/2 size.  They don't transpire as much water that way and can still utilize the light.

DD


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## stillsmokin43 (Sep 17, 2009)

yeah like ozzy said after they perk up TRANSPLANT  they dont "chill" well in dried out rockwool cubes


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 17, 2009)

LOL  These computers are so helpful, and at the same time a pain in the butt.

My Bad.  When I said to stop misting to harden them off, I also should have added that you still need to keep watering/feeding via the rockwool.  Dried out rockwool is a no no, so is constantly saturated rockwool.

Dunk em, when they start to feel light, dunk em again.  That might be once every other or third day when the clones are first started (no roots), to maybe twice a day when you have good roots but haven't transplanted yet.

Again, it's a feel thing.  Get used to the feel of a fully saturated cube vs a dry one and you'll be able to tell when it's time to water when the cube starts to get light.

I totally submerge mine (just the cube, not the cutting too), in a bucket with my cloning solution.  Like a manual ebb&flow.  They will be fully saturated in a matter of seconds.  Then, let the excess drain and back into their container, under the light.

DD


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## poop-dog (Sep 17, 2009)

Thanks, I did trim the lower leaves but left the middle ones untouched. I noticed after a bit that I should have trimmed the middles also. I just didn't want to further mess with them after the where already in the wool.


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 17, 2009)

Did they perk up?

DD


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## dman1234 (Sep 17, 2009)

you shouldnt panic they sinply look dried out.

 a big drink should fix em.

if they were in a dome, they needed to be hardened, and may have came out
to fast. ya gotta ease em out if the dome is really humid.


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## poop-dog (Sep 18, 2009)

They are still pretty pissed off but the smaller one is def looking better.


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## Droopy Dog (Sep 18, 2009)

****-dog said:
			
		

> They are still pretty pissed off but the smaller one is def looking better.



Pissed off and alive will work.:hubba: 

You just learned something and the girls didn't die, so, good on you.:watchplant: 

Most of the learning involves screwing up.   Hopefully, you can learn without killing too many plants.   

I've killed plenty, and not just smoke. :holysheep: 

The more you know what NOT to do, the more you know WHAT to do.  

You're doing fine.  De Nada in spanish, "It's nothing".

DD


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## poop-dog (Sep 19, 2009)

Yea I agree. They are not dead but they are very, very, angry at me. It is totally my fault too. Oh well, this is my first attempt and overall I am so far satisfied with the whole process. 

Here is an update of the mom and the clones as of today. 9 days into flower. All cfl and T5 grow.


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## poop-dog (Sep 20, 2009)

I planted the clones today. The lower branches blew off during plating / misting once planted. Will post some pics once I feel they have taken off. 

Thanks again for everyones help!


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