Clone Cut Sterilization??

[foomar]

Several years ago on the original UKC i did a decent comparison in a proven bubble cloner of 24 clones from two strains spaced randomly , half carefully cut with a new scalpel blade and the other half rougthly hacked off with scissors.

There was no significant difference in rooting time , the blunt cuts had more but thinner roots but not much between them , a simple and fast experiment if anyone cares to repeat it.

It was sugested that hormones from damaged tissue could enhance rooting speed which seemed plausible.


A sharp clean blade can do no harm and is probably best practice but not the most important factor in getting a useable clone.

Getting the temp just right seems to be very important , more so than humidity and lighting regime , add a dash of peroxide as insurance.

 

[Mr. Stinky]

couldnt agree more. ive cloned dozens of different plants, and regardless whether its a tomato, blueberry bush, marijuana, or an oak tree, 95% of cloning sucess is in the bottom heat. all the other stuff is a waste of time if you dont have warm medium. it has to be above 75 and below 85 or not much happens. but if you can keep the temp at 80*, you can make roots on a rock

 

[thcrefugee]

a sharp blade does seem to help.

though for rooting it does not matter.

ive also noticed warmth helps, not necessarily heat..

 

[Wait...What?]

sterilization is to keep from spreading disease between plants. if you were a commercial cut flower grower, a disease in your greenhouse could bankrupt you. crop failures suck bad for the commercial grower.

ive never even seen a disease on pot except for one guy whose plants got tobacco mosaic virus [DONT SMOKE IN THE GROW AREA]

i use my trimming scissors to take cuttings with. ive not sterilized a utensil in years.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

What if you where taking 50 plus clones. Boiling water would work, but wouldn't a dipping solution be more practical??

Elite

Just use alcohol OR get a large pack of blades and switch to a new blade every 4-5 cuts.


Personally, I cut 15 clones the last round and only 4 have survived (due to not having a stable temp area for them yet). The ones that survived were NOT the first ones I cut.

I used the same blade for all cuts and only flame sterilized the blade at the beginning.

I'm not saying to do this, just putting in my personal experience for you to absorb.

 

[Cyber9]

Oh don't get me wrong here but I got a pack of razor blades, there were bought at a hardware store, not a medical supply store... they are wrapped in a lil piece of brown cardboard/paper.....

Who says these are sterile to begin with??

Dipping them in iso would probably be a good call.

 

[Babbabud]

I dont wash or sterilize blades. Just cut clones... been using the same blade for quite awhile. Prolly since last time i changed blades I go along with the if its sharp thats good enough. I think water and air temps are way more important in getting a plant to root quickly.

 

[Wait...What?]

the hardware store razor blades might have a light coating of oil on them to keep them from rusting on the shelf.

 

[alpinestar]

sharp scissors
iso alcohol on the blades once before using to take cuts

 

[lordbudly]

Hahaha I'm always buying and using new blades for my clones, not because i care about sterilization, I keep losin the damn things!

 

[TheMintMan]

Alcohol doesn't kill everything. I use it to clean off the oil the blades come packaged it, but not to sterilize.

A speaker at an orchid convention I went to said the best way to sterilize your blades/clippers is to use a propane torch and sterilize them with heat. And you should always sterilize between plants because you may have virus and not know it, think your safe, and spread it to every plant in your garden. Then you share some cuttings with friends and they share some and then the virus shows itself. Shit, meet fan.

I use one blade per plant every time I cut. Trash them after that. With razors it's cheap enough, and thesedays I'm not taking hundreds a week so it doesn't seem to be too much waste. I sterilize my clippers between plants.