Lets talk Cloning!

Cloning has been something I have a love/hate relationship with. I do the same thing every time, yet sometimes I will get 100% success with roots in 5 days, and sometimes they sit in the cloner for months and do nothing until they eventually damp off.

I have a homemade 24 site cloner that is a simple 16 gal tote with a 1/2" PVC manifold sitting on a pump that distributes water via ez-clone sprayers. I have this set on a timer running 15 mins on and 15 mins off.

I use plain tap water as always. I use pool shock in the cloner every couple of weeks when I don’t have a chance to fully clean it out. My success rate doesn’t follow the cleaning schedules at all. It seems extremely random when I have a batch of clones that just never want to root.

I’ve tried running a heater in the water to keep the temps stable, no change. I get better results at room temp generally.

I don’t really want to buy a bunch of snake oil because plain water has worked fine for 10+ years. It’s only now that I’m running into issues on a fairly regular basis. I’ll have maybe one batch of clones make it out of 4.

I’ve tried everything from a brand new razor each time, scoring the bottom of the stem, soaking clones in aloe beforehand, using cubes vs the aero, etc. Everything has the same hit or miss results. My only thing I can think of is maybe the plant health isn’t where it needs to be for optimal rooting. My question here is what do you guys do beforehand to make sure the plant is at it’s utmost health for providing clones? My plants are green and healthy with no signs of any deficiencies, but I’m wondering if there’s just something I’m missing that needs to be there to help the cloning along. I don’t use bottled nutrients, just soil amendments and plain water with compost tea and microbes.

What process do you guys do with high success? I know I said I don’t want to buy stuff for cloning, but if it’s working for you guys I’m open to try some new methods. I’ve lost too many phenos from clones that never rooted and I really want to prevent that.

5 Likes

Cloning is really primitive tech. The way of the future is In tissue culture for the preservation of genetics and mass production of clean plants. That being said the best way to produce clones on a budget is in an ezClone. The key to high success rates is maintaing the water at 65*. Cut your clones first thing in the morning for the moms and go directly into the ezClone.

8 Likes

I run a clone business for the last 8yrs.

There are many tricks that work for me and my system, but may not work for others.

I use an aero cloner. Clone king 25 site from ebay. I own 15 of them.

I use cloning powder bought from l0wes, h0medepot, w@lm@rt and the like. Its 4.95 a jar.
Dip cut clone, then into cloner.

TAP h2o!!!
Ph to 6.0
On/off timer set to 3mins on, 5 mins off. NO HEAT mat!
4000k led t8 lighting on 18/6

I have almost 20 strains on deck. I can get all to root and ready to pot in 7 days on average.

I’ve tested about 20 cloning gels. Most are junk. One secret ingredient I found works best. It’s the main ingredient in the above powder, or dip n grow is the liquid version of the powder. If you go the liquid route, its 3 days slower than the powder.

I take clones on MY schedule and have been for 8+yrs.

15 Likes

do the powders wash off in the aero cloner, or is a small contact time sufficient for absorption? How often do you do a full clean of your cloners? I’ll try adjusting my timer to 3 on / 5 off too and see if that makes a difference. I’ve been going with 15 on/off in hopes the longer dry period would encourage roots to grow quicker but it doesn’t seem to make a difference from when I was running it 24/7 without the timer.

2 Likes

EZ Cloner can be made easily out of a tote. Aloe works wonders as well if you just doing a few passively

17 Likes

I used to do 24/7 run time, but that warms the h20 up too much. 75* water is what I like.

And always set the timers by a stop watch, NOT the dials. Mine was way! Off.

If I have some time and remember, I’ll dm you my sop.

This is what I found best.
Take all cut
Put in solo cup with tap h20 untill all your cuttings are off the plant and in cups.

Set cloner up, water, pucks, etc.
Use shot glass, put power in shot glass
One by one, dip cutting into powder, tap excess powder off. Insert into neoprene puck. Do this untill all clones are done.

Plug in and sit back and relax.

I do not ever change my water. I only top off as needed. I do 1 run per cloner. I dont add fresh clones to a cloner that already has/had plants in it. Fresh is key.

Top off with 6.0 tap daily.

Heres some root porn.
Last pic is 16 different strains, all done at the same time
Results can and will be expected each and every time with my sop

30 Likes

now thats the kinda roots I dream of having!!! I’m going to pick up some powder and give this a try.

I run a perpetual garden where I’m putting plants in every 2 weeks so my cloner is always on and running. I’m betting this is part of my problem too. I seem to get better results when I trash what’s not rooting, shut it down for a couple of weeks, then try again.

Even so, I never get roots as nice as yours. Mine tend to grow fewer roots, much longer, then take a couple weeks to adapt to the soil once planted. I bet yours have barely any shock and take off quickly!

4 Likes

I have a major OCD cleaning process as well.

20% bleach solution per 2.5g h20 (my cloner size)
Run 24hrs
Rinse well
Add 25ml of 34% h2o2
Run 24hrs
Rinse well
Let fully dry

I do this while my pots, pucks, air line and stone, as well as my clone top are getting sprayed with the cloner while it runs.

NOW the above pic u used a bit more powder. Use too much and it stops root growth. I’m also a perpetual cloner. At least 8 are full and always running.

4 Likes

what type of timer are you using that can do 3 on 5 off? the shortest on/off i can find is 15min… thnx

i did find one… keywords are key… lol

Timer

Edit: add product

1 Like

Heres what inuse. Dials, I dont like digital timers. Some are not compatable with certain ballasts.

https://www.amazon.com/BN-LINK-Period-Repeat-Intermittent-Interval/dp/B0184CG9K0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=on+off+cycle+timer&qid=1565366125&s=gateway&sprefix=on+off+cycle+tiner&sr=8-3

6 Likes

sweet, thnx! i like that much better as well.

1 Like

Healthy mothers create healthy clones. Sounds like the issue may be not enough stored energy in the cuttings. You can always give them a liquid feeding.

Feeding your mothers a 2-1 ratio potassium to nitrogen is a way to create healthy growth. Also, cloning fr the center of the plant is best as those branches are next exporters.

I pH with a synthetic nutrient solution. It’s important to maintain water temperature below 78 degrees but can be difficult bc the of pump motor. Using the ez clone solution helps keep microbes out if temp is slightly elevated. :four_leaf_clover:

3 Likes

I can also clone with just plain ole tap h2o, ph to 6.0, and nothing else. Just takes 4 days longer.

Use tap! The chlorine helps keep things sterile.

7 Likes

a few tips on water cloners.
i used bottled spring water.
found best temp was 74-76Âş
after you pull your clones out… add bleach and let cloner run a while.
then clean cloner and pucks with water. then run some water down
drains. now spray vinegar on all the cloner parts except the pucks.
then rinse off. will be nasty fumes if you did not run water after bleach.
that is how to clean one well.

give your plants some bloom ferts week or so before cloning.

i gave up on water cloners a while back.
i use rapid rooters or just soil in cups now.
if you want to know how i do the rapid rooters just ask.
i have a very old plant that always been slow to root.
so i have tried every way to clone to keep her going.
i like powders over gels. the powders work best for me.
best of luck Lrus007

3 Likes

I’m an all organic no bullshit grower & make all my own feeds, foliar a, teas, compost, & will be making my own cloning gel, I have a mixture written up & will see how successful it is very soon(4-5 days) all organic & no name brand cloning gel. All home made tek from studying natural resources for horticulture. Just some honey & a few other key ingredients will suffice ladies & gents. If you want anymore knowledge on that you should know every good grower has a “cellar” to go to.

6 Likes

all organic, try willow water.
was the 1st rooting go to back in the day.
yes honey will work as a rooting compound.
Lrus007

5 Likes

Honey or aloe works as well.

This is what I do most of the time, in a 1020 tray with a humidity dome. Can fit 4 trays on a 2x4 shelf.

I ordered the Botanicare version in bulk a few years ago and got a drop shipment from a place in south Portland Maine. I wonder if they manufacture most of the grow plugs.

They are also useful when doing plant tissue culture.

1 Like

Coco pucks also work well with a humidome

5 Likes

I bought a humidome with my 96 site cloner. I never needed it. I guess if you are in a really dry environment.

When the system showed up in a box my seven year old son asked what it was. I said a cloning machine. He said “Clone me first!”

8 Likes