Rockwool cloning

Here is my attempt at explaining my rockwool cloning technique. there are many, but this is what works well for me. Very Well

The following pics are the tools of the trade. I do have a couple of more, but I will show those later in the thread.

btw Hick, sorry man, I stole your "format" for the tutorial, only be cauae I cant figure out how to post a pic, then a comment, then another pic. Sorry bro!

The first pic is shows the Gel and Scissors I happen to use. I have been working with Clonex for the last year or so with no complaints. But most Rooting Hormones will do the trick. One is not far superior then the other, imho.

The scissors I use are ABS and are really for Grape cuts and pruning. But they are sharp as hell and give a real sharp, clean cut. As long as you get a good,clean cut, any good scissor or better yet, a razor blade will work. I take alot of cuts, so a razor takes too much time for me.

The next thing is the solution I use to soak my rockwool cubes with. Olivias Cloning Solution. Pretty cheap and I have been usuing it for years.
I use a little under what they recommend per gallon. I also use this to feed the clones if they start to dry out. I do not adjust my ph AT ALL when I mix my cloning soulution. I feel any extra ** you add to adjust the ph is more harmful then good when it comes to rooting clones.

The next are the Rockwool blocks that I use. I have gone thru MANY brands and styles, but Grodan mini cubes work best for me. I have noticed a quicker rooting time also by usuing wrapped cubes rather then the unwrapped.
This is a little harder to explain, but the Grodan brand also has a better "feel" when you stick your cutting into the cube. Cmon now, don't blast me, I know it sounds funny!! There is a certain "touch" when you fell the cut snug into the rockwool.

The next 2 pics are the trays I use. A standard 12"x24" tray with a meshed insert. I perfer usuing inserts for a couple of reasons.

The main reason is you can lift out the meshed insert with the clones in it and place that into another tray with water to water the clones. This way, you are watering them from the bottom up. If you top water your clones, you are just washing away the rooting hormone faster.
I hope this makes sense. Another reason is you can lift the insert out and look to see if roots are blasting yet.

The last pic is my little technique of squeezing out the excess water after you first soak the cubes. You DO NOT want your cubs soaking wet. You need to squeeze out a little water. This will increase your rooting time by days. If the cubes are too wet, they will not only take longer to root, but could get stem rot fairly easy.

Now we are on to the Mom.

This particular mom, shown in the first pic is my OG Kush. She is about 8 months old right now. She is a good girl!

When I pick a cut from a mother, I look for a good cut 4-5 " long. I also make sure I only take cuts that will leave new growth to come back strong.
So, in Pic 2, this is what I will cut into a clone. If you notice where my thumb is, I will cut right at that, leaving the 2 new shoots underneath to grow out for my next clone taking event!
Pic 3 shows the cut.

Pic 4 & 5 shows how I trimmed up the stem, leaving only the top portion of the clone. Cut away all node growth under that. The top veiw shows how I "round" off the leaves a bit. The less big leaves you have, the faster it will root also. But mainly, I do this to fit all the clones in one tray.

Now, before I dip the Cut into the rooting hormone, I will cut the end of the cut at a 45degree angle, as shown in the first pic.

Then I will dip the end of the newly cut clone into the rooting hormone. I use a shotglass myself.

Then, simply stick the cut into the rock wool. This is where the "stick it in till it's snug" feel comes into play. I do not stick it all the way thru the cube, only snug, maybe a half inch to 3/4's.

double thanks to you ! i'll keep this in mind when i start cloning.....i love my new E&F setup btw....more people should try it.....very fast growth...i'm sure i'll have lots of questions for you in the weeks to come.

Well, thats almost it. That takes care of the initial "taking of the clone".

For those of you that take clones or have tried, the real trouble starts now.

First off, here is a pic of the mom after I took about 24 cuts off of her. Plenty of new sites that will take off and be ready to cut again in about 2 weeks.

The second pic is the finished tray of clones. Aren't they pretty!
Third pic is a side view of the tray.

OK. I use a heatmat and thermostat for my clones. I actually picked up the thermostat at my local hydro store, along with the heatmat.
As you can see, you basically stick the probe into a rockwool cube and set the desired temp. I set mine to 80 degrees.

Once the Thermostat probe is inplace, I put my humidity Dome on top. I keep the top vent fully open ( small vents).

The clones are cooked under a regular flouresant garage light. 40 watts.
That is all the light they need.

There are a few other little things to add, and I will. For now, Enjoy!

Any questions or comments, jump right in!

just wanted to give many thanks...this will help me tremendously already see a couple things i'll be doin different. lucky me, stocked up on cubes a few days ago and the right ones. can't wait to try this:yay:

OK folks, I have had my second cup of morning coffee and am ready for more.

Lets talk rooting hormone. As I stated, I currently use Clonex. I have used MANY other brands, and one is not better then another. Powder,liquid or gel. I used plain old roottone for a long time and it also worked well.
The key, imho, is to not use too much. More is not better, it will jtake a little longer to root, imo, if you use alot of hormone with this cloning method.

Feeding the clones.

After I take the initially take the cuts, the cubes are good to go for around 5-7 days before they start to "dry" out. By then, they have already started to root and 90% of them are "rooted" but not quite blasting roots out of the cubes. So, I will take an empty tray, fill it about 1/3 with my Olivias/water mix and "dunk" the meshed tray into the "watering" tray. As I stated, it will feed the clones from the bottom up, not top feeding. Any questions on this, and I can take a pic when I feed them later this week.
There are also a number of different things you can feed your clones besides Olivias. I used a WEAK GH 3 part solution for a long time with good success. I am sure you can use a number of different "WEAK" nuit solutions for this. And I am talking WEAK solutions. Clones don't really need any Nuits.

About the Humidity dome. If I see ALOT of condensation on the dome, I will take the dome off for a couple of hours. Ususally, I only have to do this MAYBE once or twice during the first few days. Sometimes not at all. Living in California, it is naturally pretty dry, so I don't get alot of condensation. And when I am talking about condensation on the dome, I mean to the point where the whole dome is covered. That, imho, is not a good thing. A little condensation on the dome is fine.

After 6-7 days, when I feel the clones have started rooting, I will remove the dome completely. If you leave the dome on too long, it tends to "rot" the tops of the clones. Not all, but some. So by me taking off the dome, I keep a higher success rate.

I have been doing this cloning method for a long time now and acheive a solid 95% rate.

I cannot stress enough about not overwatering your clones. you want them moist, not soaked. It is a fine line to know when you must water them. Start checking them around 3-4 days after you initially take the cuts. Then check them everyday, until you feel they need a little water. You really shouldn't have to water them more then twice before they start to shoot roots.

IE. I took clones a couple of weeks ago. After I took them, I watered them 6 days from the time I took them. Within 2 days after that, they were showing roots. I watered them a day later, and they were all blasting roots. With that said. Once they do show roots, they will need to be checked EVERY day after that. They will dry out quick once roots are shown. Or, transplant them into a medium of your choice and they are good to go!


When I take cuts to replace a room that is going to be harvested, I will "overshoot" the clones that I need by about 50%. So, If I need 40 clones, I will take a good 60. That way, I can take the best 40 to flower.
It is like anything else. If you have 60 kids, some of those kids are going to be rotten and give you nothing but trouble. I toss those out!
Keep the best of the best and your flower room will give you love!

Great thread NorCalHal...i have used these.befor and have some success. I am trying a new experament on cloneing in straight perlite,, and air stone..looks like a way I have stick with..Its been 9 days today and my clones are still standing..I checked one the other day and it has the nubs ..so a few more days...I will check on them all this weekend..it will be 14 days..they should be ready for soil i hope...I too take more clones then needed just so i can get the ones i need and the best growers..I have 38 clones but only looking for 12 at most to get to flower.. Thanks for shareing with us..take care and be safe

Thanks for looking 4u2smoke!

My domes do have vents on top. 2 vents. I actually leave them half open from the start., then, if condensation gets too much in the dome, I will open the vents all the way.
I will keep the domes on no longer then a week or so. As soon as I see a few roots out of a cube or so, say about 20% of the clones, I will remove the dome completley.


As soon as they are all rooted, I pick the winners and the go into 4" rockwool cubes under a T5 to veg.

Sorry Norcal I asked quesstion and dont know how i missed the answer you had all ready left My bad..I did remove my Dome today see how they react..Thanks KEEP M GREEN

I am having a real problen with having my clones droop over approximately 6 hours after cutting I threw them out and tried again with the same result will they come back or am I doing something wrong?

mine usually wilt some also.just give them time.

thanks for the info man....ive been lookin for some good cloning techs.

I saw that it said keep at 80 degrees but whats the ideal humidity for the clones?

70-80 percent. Good luck and happy cloning!

Hey NorCal..its been ten days how are they now? any updated pics avail?

00pecky said:

I am having a real problen with having my clones droop over approximately 6 hours after cutting I threw them out and tried again with the same result will they come back or am I doing something wrong?

Click to expand...

Sorry NorCal..this is your thread but just couldnt help not help here....

00pecky....i never get rid of them untill they are brown and laying down...rule of thumb my friend is ...if they are green there is hope...they will wilt a bit going threw shock but they should stand tall in a few days..JMO..take care and be safe...KEEP M GREEN

Thanks alot guys but I was wondering if you knew what your humidity is in your dome? I have light condensation but I was in the 80's temp wise. I'm going to turn it down into the mid 70's but out of 50 only 5 are drooping from yesterday thank you so much for help.

00pecky....I dont check mine..sorry..I do just as NorCal here is doing with a propagation mat..the most inportant thing is.....patients..try diffrent ways and find what works 4U..good luck my friend

bump,this is a good stickie