Cloning issues with rockwool

KaMoeKazee · Jun 1, 2013

Hi all,

I am new and have been hesitant to post due to my lack of knowledge and being a newb.
I have been having nothing but trouble trying to root clones in rockwool. I have read and read, and to be honest, I feel like pulling my hair out, throwing up my hands and just giving up, so I have finally got the nerve to ask what am I doing wrong?
The last attempt I made has been 35 days now and only 3 plants got roots out of about 30.
I soak my cubes in 5.5 pH water over night, take a cutting with 4 to 5 nodes dipping it in Olivia's cloning gel and then placing it in the rockwool cube. Then into the humidome.
I have tried with and without a heat mat. Without the mat there was not enough humidity. With the heat mat, it appeared to be too humid as the mat never turned off. I have read that the temps should be in the 80 to 85f range so I have ordered a thermostat to control the temps.
But other than that I just dont know. I have read to use r/o water then I read to use chlorinated water.
I just need a sure fire method to get these things to root.

I am tired of spending the high price for medication and would just like to grow my own.

If you have any advice that could push me in the right direction and make life easier for me, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Andyo · Jun 1, 2013

ok here we go

ok here we go

20 yrs of rockwool use mostly grodan
!st i found the root /seed cubes to hard and awkward
so i ended up cutiing up slabs ,drainage is not ideal either way all ways too wet needs be almost dry just small amount of moisture,
Then theres the ph issue soaking at 5.5 will leave you with a high ph cos it climbs probally to about 6.8 7.0
i soak at 4.7 ph is soft water or RO water ends up near ph 6.0 i used to cut slabs to make cubes 3 inch tall x 2iinch x 2inch square the 3 inch hieght help drainage n i still stacked them on 2 wet slabs to suck moisture out so theyre light just moist ,if mother plant had been dried out to almost wilting between waterings the cuttings root in 7 to 14 days then
the trick of drying mother plant out increases its rooting potential and brix level in leaves .A

Bluewidow · Jun 1, 2013

Are you squeezing the water out of the RW before sticking the clones in it? I give mine a good squeeze as I take them out of the soak. Clones don't want to be in a soaking wet medium as they don't have roots yet to draw any up.

foomar · Jun 1, 2013

Some usefull rockwool info and general observations in this active thread.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=262149

KaMoeKazee · Jun 6, 2013

Thanks everyone for your replies. I took everyones input and after following the link, I think I may have my rockwool cubes too wet. Also from what i understand is that cloning gel can go bad if not kept in the refridgerator. Other than that I can not see anything I am doing different from others having success. The only other possibility is having a difficult plant to clone.
I gave it another go today taking about 40 clones from 3 different plants and took cuts from different spots on the plant. Some thick stemmed to thin and some kinda woody to see if anything works better than another. I also got some cloning powder instead of the gel I have cause I dont know if it is good or bad. Also after taking the cuts I scraped the stem with a razor blade that was to be dipped in the cloning powder as I read that it may help them root. Hope it is not a bad thing. Finally I shook out as much water as I could so the cube was not wet but just moist and damp.
I have installed a heat mat with thermostat but I am not sure it is needed. Also others state they remove the humidome after the cuts can stand on their own without wilting. If anyone has thoughts on that if I should use a heat mat or not and if I should remove the humidome when they can stand without wilting? That would help me out.
I will try and get a picture up but have no idea how to do it yet.

Thanks agian for your replies!

DevilWeedSeeds · Jun 6, 2013

Only leave the dome on for a couple of days no more. They should be fine after that to go on their own. Try not to let the cubes get too warm this promotes many bad things. Stem rot is one of them. Don't squeeze out your cubes after you soak them. This also squeezes out the oxygen in the cube as well and that is bad you want lots of O2 in there for the stems and roots. Only give the cube a few good shakes after you take it out of the PH adjusted water. The water will come out easily with a few. Don't mess with them while they are rooting, no pulling, tugging etc. Just leave them alone. After a couple of weeks look for purple stems they will tell you most of the time if the clones cells are working again and the plant is rooting. After 3 - 4 weeks you should start to see roots coming out the bottom. Also remember low light is better then too much to start. I start with a 13 watt floruo and increase as I see the clones start to take off. Take twice as many clones as you need. If it doesn't work after a few tries maybe it's not for you and try a different method like a home made areo cloner, they never let me down and less maintenance.

KaMoeKazee · Jun 7, 2013

Thanks DevilWeedSeeds for the info and tips. Clones are looking good today. I have not touched them or anything. Do you know if I need to remove the dome daily for a while or just let them be for a few days before I check if they can stand on their own?
I am using a heat mat as well with a thermostat just warm enough to generate a little humidity in the dome. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing but thought I should have a humid environment for them. The cubes are in a tray above another tray that I have put a little water to create the humidity. The thermostat is set a few degrees higher than the room temperature. I hope that is not to warm for them. I really need these to root cause I dont have anything left to take cuts from. lol

Bluewidow · Jun 7, 2013

DevilWeedSeeds said:
Don't squeeze out your cubes after you soak them. This also squeezes out the oxygen in the cube as well and that is bad you want lots of O2 in there for the stems and roots. Only give the cube a few good shakes after you take it out of the PH adjusted water.

I've been squeezing them out for 18 years! lol just fyi :tiphat:

Hope you get better results KaMoeKazee!

KaMoeKazee · Jun 7, 2013

Thanks Bluewidow. Me too! I am having so much fun learning my new hobby. So much to learn. I am finding that reading and doing are two seperate things. Different strokes for different folks I guess as everyone's situation of variables is different. I am having a ball trying to figure things out though.

KaMoeKazee · Jun 7, 2013

Hi all,
It is day 2 for my clones. I removed the dome this morning and all were able to stand on their own. So does this mean I can leave the dome off for good or do I need to cover them from time to time? Also do I need to continue spraying water on them or water with nutrients so they can foliar feed? Another concern I have is if I should continue using the heat pad at this point or shut it off since I dont need the humid environment? Finally, how often do I check the moisture in the cubes and how wet do they need to be now?
I know I have a lot of questions and concerns but Ireally want to be successful at this. Please forgive me for not reading and reading to find these answers but time is limited and it is just easier to just ask and get specifics. I dont wanna piss anyone off either.
Thanks for understanding and I appreciate your time to help me out.

DevilWeedSeeds · Jun 7, 2013

Leave the dome off and just keep an eye on them. If they start to look droopy then spray a little water on them. Otherwise don't do it, you don't want to spoil them, you want them to push roots out to get the water they need. Also let the cubes get pretty dry before watering again. It's almost as if you want to punish them so they will root faster. Just eye the cubes when they start to look a little dry give them some water, rockwool holds water for a long time. Leave the heat mat it is fine to keep under them after the dome comes off, it will promote root growth. After you see roots out the bottom take it out. Also don't put the cubes directly on the heat mat, I like to put a layer of perlite in between. You don't need to foliar feed I never bother, I like to put a very weak amount of nutes(if you use them), B1, Kelp in the first watering after they dry out a bit. You want them to work to get what then need by putting down roots. Good luck dude hope this helps you be successful

KaMoeKazee · Jun 8, 2013

DevilWeedSeeds, thank you so much for your great info and support!

Andyo · Jun 15, 2013

Bluewidow said:
Are you squeezing the water out of the RW before sticking the clones in it? I give mine a good squeeze as I take them out of the soak. Clones don't want to be in a soaking wet medium as they don't have roots yet to draw any up.

Before putting cuttings in.
Agreed light moisture more air ,i wet a couple of cut off slabs to use as a drain, stick cubes on for a few miniutes.
7 to 10 days rooted dont bother with anything after 14 days too slow for my liking..A

KaMoeKazee · Jun 19, 2013

A little update on my cloning issues. Today was day 14 and found 5 cuttings with beautiful roots out of about 25 cuttings. A lot better than my last bout going 35 days and only had 3 cuttings root. The cuttings that have not rooted, I can see some have starter roots from the top of the rockwool and a few others I can see have white bumps just above the rockwool which I think is the begining of a root? I did run into an issue though. On day 10 the rockwool had dried to the point I had a couple of cuttings fall. I dunk them in a tub of water but found them to be too moist and shaking out the excess water was a bad idea as I disturbed the cutting causing them to dislodge from the rockwool. Any ideas on the best way to replenish the rockwool with water as to not get them too damp? I do not have any big slabs to sit them on to pull out the extra moisture. Any ideas are much appreciated.

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone for their input and ideas. I do believe it was having my rockwool too wet. Hopefully I am on my way to success.

Andyo · Jun 20, 2013

KaMoeKazee said:
A little update on my cloning issues. Today was day 14 and found 5 cuttings with beautiful roots out of about 25 cuttings. A lot better than my last bout going 35 days and only had 3 cuttings root. The cuttings that have not rooted, I can see some have starter roots from the top of the rockwool and a few others I can see have white bumps just above the rockwool which I think is the begining of a root? I did run into an issue though. On day 10 the rockwool had dried to the point I had a couple of cuttings fall. I dunk them in a tub of water but found them to be too moist and shaking out the excess water was a bad idea as I disturbed the cutting causing them to dislodge from the rockwool. Any ideas on the best way to replenish the rockwool with water as to not get them too damp? I do not have any big slabs to sit them on to pull out the extra moisture. Any ideas are much appreciated.

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone for their input and ideas. I do believe it was having my rockwool too wet. Hopefully I am on my way to success.

Well might try using a syringe with ph,d water 5.5 a tiny bit not dircetly where cutting touches rock wool about 1/4 inch away 1ml total in 4 spots per cube.
If theyre not totaly dry but i knew they were about to root i touch the bottoms on ph.5.5 water its a skill judgment thing a tiny weight difference most make to wet.A

VolcanicDirt88 · Jun 21, 2013

heres some thoughts on your situation i have succesfully cloned alot of plants in my dome using rockwool cubes both indica and sativa strains after alot of trail and error

so first when you start cloning the most important part is the clone itself !!!!how big are your clones that you are taking?

i have little dome so i take clones a couple inches long 3-5 inches

i soak the rockwool cubes for a minute or two in ph water 7.0 thats what my tap comes out at then i completly squeeze the water of the rockwool cube if its to wet the roots aint going to grow

so before you soak your rockwool cubes you cut your clones and i let them sit in the cloning solution for at least 30 minutes so that the clones soak up the cloning liquid then i take all my clones with the solution dripping of them and i put them upside down in a glass jar the part that was dipped facing up so the leaves are at the bottom of the jar

i do this for at least 15 minutes letting them be affected by gravity the stem should intake the cloning solution where you made your 45 degree cut

now you take the clones and you insert them into the rockwool cubes that arent soaking but are moist and you take a mister and you spray them twice a day once in the morning and once in the evening if you do this you should have roots in approx 7 to 10 days

now i use one floro bulb thats far away from the dome because you need to keep them in low light conditions i leave my light on 24 hours aday now in the closet there other lights but the dome gets very minimal direct light

i know we are talking about rockwool cubes but follow my directions and instead of using rockwool use minifridge liquor bottles cover them with ducktape and put one clone in the mini bottle and put them on a window sill 12-12 light cycle i got roots in 3 days idk how but i did ..big roots that amazed me hope this helps

keep growing SAFETY FIRST

VolcanicDirt88 · Jun 22, 2013

use minifridge liquor bottles cover them with ducktape and fill them with water and your $

wantaknow · Jun 22, 2013

try root roit cubes ,

G.Goo · Jun 22, 2013

Rapid rooters or cubes

Soak in ph 6.0 water

Cut 90 degree angle

Dip in clone gel or powder

Place into cube

Tare piece of cube to fill in any space around the stem and inside of the hole (No air)

Spray with a few drops of bloom fert to a spray bottle "daily"

Keep cubes damp ,but not soaked

VolcanicDirt88 · Jun 22, 2013

ima try some 90 degrees on some clones

Cloning issues with rockwool

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