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Cloning 101: How to Air Layer

D

DJ_highst_

I have not seen this covered yet, so here is a little tutorial for everyone. Pack a bowl sit back and enjoy :)

1. Gather all your tools:

*Lee Valley Rooting pot w/ lid
*Angled siringe
*Razor Blade
*Paint Brush
*Rooting Hormone
*Shot Glass
*Cup of Water, Duh?




2. Find a nice branch with plenty of room for the air layer.This one was perfect. This is the ideal branch type to do this technique.





3. Take your razor blade and make a cut to expose the inner layer of the branch.



4. Fill the shot glass with rooting gel and use the paint brush to apply the gel to the exposed cut.





5. Take the rooting pot and wrap it around the branch to locate where it is going to sit on the branch



6. Fill the pot with medium, I used a perlite/coco mix.




7. Add water too the cup using the siringe, you can hand water too,but the siringe makes it a little more gentle to not disturb the gel on the branch. Once the lid is on, you will have to use the siringe to water it.

8. Place the lid on and make sure everything is snug.

9. It should take 1-3 weeks to root and check the water level every few days and add more with the siringe as need. Thats about it.

Here is the site for the Lee Valley kit http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2&cat=2,47236&p=46938
 
Last edited:
Delta9-THC

Delta9-THC

from the mists and the shadows .... there you wil
Veteran
am I right in thinking you can then take the "clone" (rooted) off of the whole plant once done?
 
D

DJ_highst_

Delta9-THC said:
am I right in thinking you can then take the "clone" (rooted) off of the whole plant once done?
Click to expand...


yup, you can take HUGE clones this way. Once they take root, cut right below the bottom of the pot and transplant. You have a clone the size of plant the would take weeks to get that big from a normal clone.peace_highst
 
D

DJ_highst_

thanks for the feedback and interest in the thread everyone.

stay tuned for part two when i cover water management and trasplanting.


i will show a few more air layers i set up with my japanese maples too
 
G

Guest

wow that is a awsome little device ,,,,i bet it roots so fast with the rest of the plant feeding it ..cant wait to try out ..thanks for sharing :joint:
 
D

DJ_highst_

Gardenstated said:
is there a DIY on the pot?
Click to expand...


why DIY? its $20 for 5 pots w lid, siringe, rotting gel and lots of extra cover labels.


you could just use saran wrap, peat moss and tin foil, which they have been doing for years, but this so far superior its not even comparable.
 
D

DJ_highst_

clstgrower- Clonex brand (they sell eveywhere), the root gel I used is made by the same company with different labeling

thagoat420- glad you like it, post some pics if you try it, I would love to see others results
 
D

DJ_highst_

invision said:
im trying this out, any idea how long it would take to root on a mother plant under floros?
Click to expand...

sorry for the lag on the reply. I would guess about 7-14 days to start to get roots and 3 weeks to get enough roots in the pot so there enough root mass to support the larger clone. Floros will work just fine for this. Take lots of pics when you try this and post them up for us.

When I do part two of the write-up I will cover when/how to transplant using this method and that might help you get a better idea for when you do it. good luck_peace_highst
 
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DeadlyFoez

DeadlyFoez

Active member
Hey, another method so you can get a lot more out of a plant is use rapid rooters or rockwool plugs and slice them on one side and then you can put that on your branch and just use a cut up plastic bag and a couple twist ties.

The upside to that is you dont need to worry about soil (especially if you're doing hydro) so its a lot cleaner, and you dont need to have a big plant and waste a lot of the plant so you could effectively get a lot more than just 4 jumbo clones off a plant.

Another thing in favor of this method is that when you try to clone such a big branch, it will take longer because you need to make sure that there is enough roots to support such a big branch before you actually chop it from the plant. So it could only take about 3 days before you need to chop it off the plant.

If you cut off a big branch like that you HAVE TO make sure that there is enough roots because if there is not then such a big branch will require to support life, but a smaller clone you could get away with cutting at 3 days no problem because a small clone doesn't require roots to stay alive for a little time.
 
D

DJ_highst_

If you cut off a big branch like that you HAVE TO make sure that there is enough roots because if there is not then such a big branch will require to support life
Click to expand...

*see previous post*

but a smaller clone you could get away with cutting at 3 days no problem because a small clone doesn't require roots to stay alive for a little time.
Click to expand...

why do the rockwool/rapid rooter technique? If you want clones that small, just take a regular cutting. The whole point of air layering is to make LARGE clones that cant be made using traditional cutting methods.

You can just put soil-less medium in the cup for hydro and trasfer that.
 
Last edited:
DeadlyFoez

DeadlyFoez

Active member
DJ_highst_ said:
*see previous post*
why do the rockwool/rapid rooter technique? If you want clones that small, just take a regular cutting. The whole point of air layering is to make LARGE clones that cant be made using traditional cutting methods.

You can just put soil-less medium in the cup for hydro and trasfer that.
Click to expand...

Because if you use the rapid rooter way then you have that whole plant to support life and you will get a %100 success rate that way. When you actually cut a clone off a plant normally, you aren't garenteed that the clone will take root. But you can do this even with hard to clone strains and it will work well. Th other advantage is that you could have a fully rooted plant in 5 days or less.

I do have to say though, I was not aware of that product and once I start up a tree farm I will certainly get a bunch. Thanks for the link
:wave:
 
I

invision

Member
well i have about 5 weeks left on my 3 flowering ladies so i figured when im down to 3 weeks left ill start to clone this way giving me just enough time to harvest and continue on with the new clones.....i hope anyways it sounds good on paper.
 
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