coco cloning failure continues

[MrAwder]

This is the 3rd or 4th time I have tried to clone in coco and have failed again. I took 8 decent cuts, cut them stems at an angle in a bowl of water, scored the bottom 1/2", dipped in rooting gel and then into clear cups of moist coco. No dome. Looked great for 3-4 days then all but 2 started to wilt. When I pulled them out the stems looked black (maybe just from the coco??) and mushy. The coco has perlite in it at maybe 15-20%. I did not water much, just kept the coco moist but not drenched. Can anyone think of what I can try next time? I took 8 more cuts and put them in a bubble cloner to keep me going, but I would like to get this coco thing down. I'm hoping the 2 that are still alive make it but I need to get my success rate up regardless. Any suggestions would be great.

 

[Green lung]

Sounds like it was too moist, even though you said they were moist not soaked

every time I find a mushy stem it was from over watering.

I would try and cut back on the moisture content

 

[freeganja]

Try to keep the clones covered so they can survive long enough to sprout roots.

 

[Green lung]

Try to keep the clones covered so they can survive long enough to sprout roots.

If he has mushy stem there is plenty of moisture, I think adding a dome would only make his problems worse.

I have found no need for a dome........my dome is packed away

 

[ZENARCADE]

With the perlite, was the coco so airy that you had to water it before the roots had developed? Like the cuts hadn't rooted but the medium was already dry requiring water?
If that was the case, and you watered from the top you might have got the stem too wet and also washed the cloning gel off the stem, the cloning gel is a hormone that helps root the plant but also protects the fragile fresh cut of the stem from disease/ stem rot, etc.
Just a guess cause I've seen other people have this problem.
I would try cloning in 100% coco,in beer cups with a few holes in the bottom, no perlite, don't let the coco get to soggy. Water it with 1/3 sterngth nutes till you get runoff then give the cup a little squeeze so some more comes out the bottom.
Then make a hole for your cuts so you don't just jam it into the coco wiping all the gel of on its way in. Also make sure you're using a good strong cut so the stem will go almost 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the beer cup.
For the first few waterings you can water from the bottom by putting the beer cups in a nursery tray with an 1/2-1 inch of nute water in the bottom (not enough to drown them but just give them a quick drink, they'll wick it up over the course of a day or so).

Also clear cups can cause some trouble if intense light is hitting the roots. it'll surely speed up any problems you're having below the surface.
Also if it is super hot and humid you could be cooking that young stem, but if you're not using domes/heat mats I would tend to dismiss that possibility.

The need for domes, heat mats, misting, all depends on your environment.

 

[SCROG McDuck]

Wick cloner/germer

Wick cloner/germer

I will start using coco soon and have no idea,
just learning but..look at these.. for cloning/germinating..

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=191682

Turface = oildry>> Napa part#8822...$8/25lbs..

EDIT: forgot I put it in me Signature. high!

 

[stonedar]

sorry you are having issues does sound like you maybe kept it too moist
it goes against some rules but some people that have trouble with other methods could try the "whole freaking lotta stem buried method" I read it and tried it works, if slower.
20oz solo cup with a hole or 2. filled with damp coco or coco/perlite. poke a hole with a pencil to about 1 inch from the bottom, take a clone longer than usual dip it in your cloning gel and bury the stem deep as you can. stick it under floros. moisten coir every 3 or 4 days. seems to take longer than some other methods.
the article was in high times during the last year or so, if you know anyone with a stack of old copies. every once in a while there is something good in high times still, heh.

 

[Lazyman]

I JUST started using ReadyGro coco from Botanicare for cloning, and am quite happy so far. It's a mix of coco and perlite (lots of perlite!) and some humic acids for a light dose of food.

I use trays that have 50 ~3" deep holes, fill them with the coco mix (I don't add anything to it, straight from the bag.) Then I water it with either RO or well water, whatever I have on hand. Once it's all wet I empty the catch tray underneath it so there's no extra water under them.

Cuts Ihave been soaking in Dynagrow K-L-N for 1-24 hours, seems to make no difference in strike rates. I prefer woodier clones, soft stems rot too easy. I don't scrape stems, just cut off at a 45* angle an next to an internode that gets sliced off flush on the side. I dip in Clonex or Olivias gels, then stick them into the wet coco. Once all 50 clones are stuck, I water it again, to help compact the coco around the stem. This seems to be an important step.

Then I put the domes on them, open one of 2 vents halfway, put under dim fluoros 24X7, on a heat mat set to 80*F, and then wait. I open the domes once a day and blow on the clones with my breath. After 5-6 days I remove the domes for a few hours, and see how they do. Usually on day 6-7 I pull the tray out and water it again with a hose/shower, and again drain any excess out the bottom tray. The domes almost never have to go back on.

I never mist the plants. They get water only when I water the coco. I find that I need to rewater the coco at day 6, and again around day 10. After that I almost always get roots. Strike rate is about 95% so far, much better than I used to get in rockwool or Oasis.

Hope that helps someone!

Oh, and the Readygro is cheap, an $8 bag will fill about 14 trays of clones, vs $8 a slab for rockwool slabs. And the trays are reusable, plus the coco/perlite can go back into the garden, unlike rockwool.

 

[carson]

I literally fill a beer cup with coco, water it with apprx. .8 ec veg solution until it's thoroughly soaked, stick a pretty big cutting about halfway into the coco, and then put it 2-3 feet from my 150 hps. I leave it there and in 4-5 days it is usually starting to look a little dry on the top, so I give it some more water with veg solution. By the next time its looking dry the clones are rooted.

I don't use a dome or anything just stick it in and let it go. and I've had 100% success since I started this. Always in Canna coco.

 

[usda101]

I have had similar failuers with co co , keep in warmdome with root zone warm . If this fails rapid rooters there great .

 

[Tropic]

I've had 100% success since I switched to coco for cloning.
It is important, in my experience, to pack the coco tightly around your stem (don't worry about overpacking, coco will get back in good shape just like a sponge). This will release excess water/solution, and also make good contact between the stem and coco.
I never use a cloning hormone, I could gain a couple days with it but usually I'm not in a hurry.

 

[RedReign]

First time I tried cloning in coco, 8 of 8 didn't make it. That was with Botanicare bagged coco with 30% chunky perlite.

The 2nd time I tried, I went with pure Botanicare bagged coco. 8 of 8 rooted in 10 days.

I used 9 oz clear cups, no dome, 12" under a single 3' T5 (non HO). Room temps were high 70's.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

its hard to lose clones in coco you shouldnt need a dome.. i get 100% with just strait coco in clear cups... take a cut dip it in a root solution for the appropriate time and i always use clone x in the first watering for the coco....

 

[Herborizer]

I am also failing at using coco for cuttings. Using canna coco. Tried just about everything.

 

[GanjaPharma]

since discovering coco+heatmat+thermostat+Roots Excelurator...i have been 100% successful. before that it looked like the civil war in my clone room.
a few runs back my dad helped me with 100 cuts, i did 50 of em and he did 50....3 days later 30 of his 50 were mushy stemmed and laying down. the only thing we did differently is that i tamped the coir really well, squeezing out excess, and he was more gentle, leaving alot of excess liquid in the coir.

 

[jocat]

the roots excel has my vote, it's good for many things and it has replaced dip n gro, i had 100% sucess with coco for awhile ..but have had batches that get the dark stem mush in approx i/3rd the batch, i think it's temp related, there's a sweet spot and if your in it clones can root very fast, i now use a rubbermade container with a snap on lid big enough to mount a 2' plain jane flourescent fixture with 2 soft white lamps, i picked the size based on numbers, how many beer cups fit in it, i like 27 clones a shot & that's what fits in the red beer cups in my rubbermaid. i have a couple mom's to give me cuts enough to cover any failures, i cut and put in beer cup of tepid water for 24 hrs, i also drill a nice hole in each cups butt and fill with coco, i use bio bizz coco mix, i mix a couple gallons of tepid water and roots excel, i mix it stronger than called for and soak my cups to saturation with it, these are placed in the rubbermaid...oh ya, drill a drain hole in one end of rubbermaid, just a small one.. the size of the one in the bottom of the cups..i tilt it slightly and set it on or in a warm place, the next day l take the soaking cuts and dip them in a cup with a strong mix of roots excel and water, i make a hole in each filled coco cup with a thin piece of dowel then they get a 30 second dip, stick em in the coco cups and tamp the coco around the stem, i water with a turkey baster and dripple each one with the tepid, not to warm & not to hot, water/roots excel mixed to directions. the lid goes on and i mark the date on tape on the lid and i forget about them, make sure they stay in the 75 to 85 degree range and in 2-4 weeks you will have what you desire...i keep 'em in here for extra weeks sometimes if you feed them nutes you can hold them like this for???? don't give up...clones are like my teenager...like to be left alone..

 

[Cutty]

Proving once again that cloning is straight up voodoo.

After that I almost always get roots. Strike rate is about 95% so far, much better than I used to get in rockwool or Oasis.

and I've had 100% success since I started this.

I have had similar failuers with co co

I've had 100% success since I switched to coco for cloning.

First time I tried cloning in coco, 8 of 8 didn't make it.

i get 100% with just strait coco in clear cups

I am also failing at using coco for cuttings.

i have been 100% successful.

 

[GanjaPharma]

good point cutty. the common factor in the examples you quoted is the use of coir. coir is indeed a great medium for cloning guess there is more to the "perfect storm" involved in getting cuts to root all the time.
regardless of your medium i suppose that temp, lighting, RH, amendments, etc.. are all equally essential to getting it nailed.

 

[edgey]

i usually root my clones in peat pellets then transfer into 4" pots of coco , only water every 3 days or so until theres plenty of roots

edgey

 

[cyat]

I think problem is scraping the stem!!!It can cause mush and is not needed.Make sure the room temps are good.Try a heating mat too.Just like cloning in rockwool the moisture has to be right.Dont over/under water.No dome and I have low humidity.No scraping,good temps and air water ratio.Also water with true runoff!