Anyone with any cloning tips or tricks to share

[HappyDaze]

I just completed a cloning cycle and was curious if anyone had any tips or tricks to exchange. Also, I was wondering how long it takes other growers to get from a cutting to a rooted plant and what sort of success rates you consider acceptable.

My "system" is like this.... I start by trimming the fan leaves while the clones are still on the donor plant and giving the plant a light fulvic foliar spray on the day before taking cuttings. Pics below begin June 27th, four in Rapid Rooters and six were bare stems inserted in my home made aero-cloner. Cuttings were taken with trimming scissors, no alcohol swabs or razor blades. All cuttings were inserted in a jar of Wilson Roots cloning liquid and left to stand for five minutes before being put in cubes or the cloner. Plugs and Aero-cloner just got RO water and 5ml per gallon of 1-3.5-0 ``Green-Up``, it`s a cheap humic extract.

Of the four Rapid rooter cuttings, three had roots penetrating the cube within 12 days but the fourth still wasn`t showing any roots when it was transplanted to soil on day fifteen.


Two of the six aero-cloner cuttings went in the trash on about day 5 when the stems started looking mushy and no calluses had formed. The four surviving aero clones started to develop calluses after seven days and by day fourteen were ready to go into 3 1/2 net pots with hydroton.

So looking at my clones, I was 8/10 for survival, but one of the Rapid Rooter clones is looking shitty and will get yanked, so in reality I only had a 50% success with the Rapid Rooters. I really don`t have a use for the Rapid Rooter clones, this was a trial. I don`t know how well I`d like them in DWC, they don`t seem to drain very well, but I`m sick of conditioning RW cubes. I was only batting 0.66 with the aero clones but they`re fairly consistent, healthy and ready to rip at 2 weeks old.

Ten fresh new Blue Dream cuttings June 27th


Bumpy stems July 4th


Little fuzzy July 7th


Ready for a bigger basket July 10th


Rapid Rooter clone...not sure if this is what success is supposed to look like.



$20 pond pump c/w $10 worth of sprayers and tubing = HappyDaze Aero-Cloner



If anyone has any tips or tricks or advice to share...feel free.

[oldjarhead100]

If I have a mother plant and I know i'm going to take clones I start giving her clonex solution in with her nutrients this gives the rooting hormone right in the plant they seem to root faster by doing this . it takes about 10 days to be ready to plant , I usually do clones when Im setting up for the outdoor grow , ill take clones then in 10 days I take more while planting the first set when the second set is at 10 days the first set is ready to top and use them for more clones

[Obi-Wan]

I’m generally between 80-100% with my Aeroponic cloner but I always take twice as many as I need so I can be selective. I prefer not to use rooters or rock wool when I transplant into DWC. I let the roots grow out 5-6 inches long in the cloner so I can run them through the bottom of my net pots. Ive found that having the roots start off in the nutrient solution let’s them take off quicker. The hydroton in the net pots gives them enough stability until the roots really grab the net pot.

[HappyDaze]

I've had a couple cases of stem rot from cubes that stayed too wet, so I just started eliminating the RW. Are you using anything in your cloner solution in the way of nutes / gels?

I throw away more cloning gel than I use, if it's more than six months old, I toss it and buy the cheapest, smallest container of stuff available at the Big Box.

[Obi-Wan]

I use clones gel on the cut stems, straight water in the cloner. I got a fistful of clonex packet samples from my local hydro shop about a year ago. I use them because I have them but I probably won’t buy it when the samples are gone.

[Toker1]

Mothers must be healthy to creat successful clones. Keep water temps at or just below 70F. You may need to add a small aquarium chiller this summer.
I find I get the best results from my aero cloner when I use plain tap water with no other additives.
How long it takes depends on strain. I get little root bumps in 3-5 days mostly. Full on roots 7-10 days.
I have had a particularly fussy strain take 3 weeks to develop roots before.

[HappyDaze]

You're right about the mom, if she's growing really strong, the clones will too. I LOVE growing from clones because the plants develop so fast when things are going right.

I remember struggling so much when I first started to grow. I'd have this pathetic little overfed, under lit female that was barely surviving, and I'd try and take a clone off of her before I managed to completely murder her. Then I'd have two plants to nurse and be completely baffled and frustrated by...overzealous...haha.

[SoOrbudgal]

All I use is clonex gel on the cuts. I put mine in 2x2 soil cells. I cut a black 6pk empty plants container into 6 individual cells. Take 3 cuts from each healthy mother bottom, middle and one close to the top. Soak my cells with clonex gel mixed in my well tap water 1ml clonex 5ml water squirt that on cuts after they've been dipped in gel and placed into soil cell. Cover them with a clear dome there sitting on a warm sunny window sill. I do take too many and do have to give away at least 6 extra or trade. It's not perfect method but I get at least one clone per plant and try for 6 different varities. Takes about 5-7days for roots. Thanks for the topic

[HappyDaze]

Do you notice a better success rate taking clones from the top or the bottom? I've read that cuttings from the bottom of the plant will root faster, but I've never really experimented. I almost always take clones from the bottom of my donor, because it's usually a plant I'm pruning and getting ready to flower and the timing works.

[oldjarhead100]

HappyDaze yes the bottom is supposed to be the best place to collect clones but I'm like you I take them when trimming the plant so they come from all over , I dont keep mothers anymore I now have to many seeds if that can be lol ,I am planing on taking some the beginning of Aug for the next grow I'm going to take them from the best plant I have in GH I did 8 different strains and 4 gorilla cookies

[oldjarhead100]

HappyDaze yes the bottom is supposed to be the best place to collect clones but I'm like you I take them when trimming the plant so they come from all over , I dont keep mothers anymore I now have to many seeds if that can be lol ,I am planing on taking some the beginning of Aug for the next grow I'm going to take them from the best plant I have in GH I did 8 different strains and 4 gorilla cookies

[HappyDaze]

I'm certain I can do better than 4 out of 6 in the aero-cloner. Sometimes the spray head tips over in the bucket and only a couple of clone sites will be really well irrigated. The clones in those sites just take right off, so I know if I fixed the sprayer arrangement to soak every site more consistently, I'd get a lot better results.

[SoOrbudgal]

I'd have to say bottom ones seem less prone to stem rot. I am not sure why, I do feel the cell structure of the stalk from the bottom is more hardy? The middle is my 2nd choice. I'm taking them a tad early they are no in preflower yet, these ones that make it will veg for over 3 months and I will only use 4 photos for the tent the rest will be given away or traded.

[HappyDaze]

I'm hoping to find some folks nearby who'd be interested in trading just for the entertainment. I think it would be a blast to pass some plants and some joints from those same plants back and forth with people and compare grower skills and favorite strains.

[oldjarhead100]

Dam SOBG you veg longer than I do lol I have been manifolding lately and that takes time but why so long
I have a friend who grows and we are always giving each other extra clones , we met at the local hydro shop ,it is nice to be able to trade like that so make a new friend lol, unless you live in Mass. then I will trade with you lol

[SoOrbudgal]

oldjarhead100 I just figured these 4 clones are early photos, just this a.m. I was putting some teas on the photos and noticed my WW is beginning to preflower. It did not look like it yesterday so this may be a sign of early harvest ?? These 4 different strains will be my tent grow come late oct. indoor. I got a taller tent and hopefully I can train them to spread out wider more practice. These will take me at least a month to see real growth, i'm slowing down. That funky looking heat stressed plant looked like my stunted autos leaves from 2 GDP held over from April. Crazy looking sugared up leaves very larfy buds I just pulled them this morning also, got tired of looking at them. Bad seeds not stable. I started the last 1 of GDP blast to see if all of them were bad.

[oldjarhead100]

the plants in the GH were pulled down a little and topped every time they were ready now I have plants 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide , all of my woods grow plants were manifolded in some way they are all much shorter but are wider as well

[SoOrbudgal]

I have topped all my photos and pulled away 4 large side branches on each plant with bamboo. Pulled down and LST center. My largest photo is a Mama Mia from seedsman. She is currently 5 1/2 ft not real bushy. Her tops are showing very slight preflower it's real close, one WW is showing preflower. The rest are still in adolescents fastly growing into adulthood. It's rained overnight and humid right now at 6am