Cuttings stems turn to mush.

[Loc Dog]

I have had a big problem with stems turning to mush again, just now. I switched from coco to hydro flood and drain. The cuts from coco were woody. The hydro are almost like straws. With the coco, could leave cuts in water for a week, changing water everyday. Had the hydro for 2 days, and most were turning to mush before even putting in rockwool.

Do hollow stemmed clones need to be processed immediately??? I could keep mothers in coir, since it would only be a couple of plants.

I have 4 spare plants that can be cut up for clones, from my hydro veg setup, to experiment with. Wondering if I would be better off with lower cuts, that are not as big.

 

[The_Real_OGKush]

Hallow stems is a good thing. You should be taking small shoot near the base of the plant for optimal cloning. You can take tops too but they are sometimes harder to clone.

This works everytime.

Light-High output T5,s for light. They dont get hot.
Cloning Gel: Name brand
sterile razor blade with alcohol.

Take 1-25 cuts at a time. Cut off a young shoot with scissors and place it in water in a cup. Then remove 1/4 inch of the stem with the razor underwater. Slowly pull them out till a drop of water sits on the cut protecting it. Then place in gel to seal the wound and promote roots.

Place them in rockwhool cubes inside a dome. You should use all cubes in the dome even if you arnt cloning that much as it helps to create humidity in the root zone.

Place a lid on your dome and get a heatpad. Place pencils on the heat pad to allow the dome base to not get too hot.

Close off vents. Spray with water. In 1 week you can check on them opening vents and slowly allowing air in(acclimating). Checking on them and giving some air helps with mold and fungus.

After three weeks in a not so hot nt so cold environment and you have healthy vibrant white roots all over the base of the plant.

If your roots are no good then its not worth growing the plant in my op.

 

[Loc Dog]

I have had really good results with this tek, using woodier cuts -

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=268211

Last time with the humidity dome, a few of the cuts got white mold on the tops after 3 days. After that I just spray them with mister when they look dry. His tek looks for rockwool cubes to lose 2 grams a day, until they hit 48 grams, then make them weigh 48 grams every day. Heating pad to get 80 degrees on bottom of tray. Roots as soon as 8 days, often 12 days, worst is 21 days.

Will try cutting under water with the hollow stem cuts. I had to take a lot off the tops due to getting too tall, too quick. Have been getting crazy growth since dumping coco for hydro.

 

[The_Real_OGKush]

I got some white fungus but it was ok and died when air was introduced to the dome.

The secret is to never have the cutting wilt or drop. If you can manage this the rest is temperature and humidity with air control.

IF a spot in the batch got to moldy or dead I trimmed them down.

 

[Tonygreen]

If all else fails I revert to the cup of water method my grandmother taught me, works every time! Just stick em in a cup of water and wait.

 

[Vanilla Phoenix]

Clone King.....ftw!!!

 

[ictiv]

If all else fails I revert to the cup of water method my grandmother taught me, works every time! Just stick em in a cup of water and wait.

This, and then dont worry about humidity, domes and stuff like that... i cloned one ina little cup of water, inside my tent. Took 16 days to show roots, but it works!

 

[Loc Dog]

If all else fails I revert to the cup of water method my grandmother taught me, works every time! Just stick em in a cup of water and wait.

That was keeping light away from roots, and changing water everyday?

 

[Loc Dog]

This, and then dont worry about humidity, domes and stuff like that... i cloned one ina little cup of water, inside my tent. Took 16 days to show roots, but it works!

The cuts I had with hollow stems, turned to mush in water after 3 days. I may just keep a mother plant in coco, which gives much woodier cuts.

 

[ictiv]

That was keeping light away from roots, and changing water everyday?

i do with a dark blue cup, and changing water in like 2 or 3 days. i keep the cup inside the grow in the cannopy shade, wich grants some humiddity and low light levels. It works even in flower 12/12 it roots and not flower.

 

[ictiv]

 

[Tonygreen]

Eh I dont worry about light at the roots when i do it that way. Set it and forge it. No need to change everyday, can go a few days or longer. Sometimes they go really fast sometimes two weeks or so. Dont even need gel, if you are not needing massive amounts of clones it works well, maybe start em a week earlier than usual. If you do it this way dont light deprive em. A windowsill or anywhere in the grow space is fine.

Question, you usin sterile shit to cut em? Also wash hands before or gloves, seems over board but cleanliness counts. I use a fresh blade every time.

 

[Loc Dog]

Eh I dont worry about light at the roots when i do it that way. Set it and forge it. No need to change everyday, can go a few days or longer. Sometimes they go really fast sometimes two weeks or so. Dont even need gel, if you are not needing massive amounts of clones it works well, maybe start em a week earlier than usual. If you do it this way dont light deprive em. A windowsill or anywhere in the grow space is fine.

Question, you usin sterile shit to cut em? Also wash hands before or gloves, seems over board but cleanliness counts. I use a fresh blade every time.

I use fiskars, soaked in alcohol for awhile and wiped off several times. Recently it is only the top cuts from my hydro plants that have stems like straws that are a problem. I am moving veg to flower tomorrow, and have 4 extra GG4's. Will go for bottom cuts, hopefully woodier.

Hope your back is doing OK. I screwed mine up cleaning out basement of old crap. I have pretty bad scoliosis.

 

[Tonygreen]

Me too but thats the least of my pains. My wife is having degeneration starting in the L2 as well, kicked in after the last baby.

One thing I always thought about is the low light thing. Most people say low light conditions cause better rooting. My thinking is big lights dont hurt, they say well you dont want your clone focusing on growing leaf mass but if you think about it an active growing tip is producing more hormones. Whenever I have stubborn clones that dont wanna root like the rest I throw em under the thouie and they always pop within a few days, usually after I see the tip expanding and growing some. Just a thought, dont mind my ramblings lol...

 

[Loc Dog]

Me too but thats the least of my pains. My wife is having degeneration starting in the L2 as well, kicked in after the last baby.

One thing I always thought about is the low light thing. Most people say low light conditions cause better rooting. My thinking is big lights dont hurt, they say well you dont want your clone focusing on growing leaf mass but if you think about it an active growing tip is producing more hormones. Whenever I have stubborn clones that dont wanna root like the rest I throw em under the thouie and they always pop within a few days, usually after I see the tip expanding and growing some. Just a thought, dont mind my ramblings lol...

I always try for double what I want to germinate, and usually throw out a few before going to flower.

Main worry is losing GG4. Have lost many others

 

[Loc Dog]

I am still losing large numbers of cuts from hydro plants, which have hollow stems. Might have to keep mother plants in coco, which I loathe. The established hydro plants are growing crazy fast, one week into flower. Will start posting pictures every week. Current coco grow is doing lame, but humidity has been awful this summer.

 

[suntracedpath]

I've seen this occur in the daywrecker strain more than any other - it also has thicker, hallow stems. From my experience(minimal), having the cubes too warm or moist, and especially a combination of those factors, causes the mushiness to happen. If you use a dome and a heat mat, try doubling up the trey or stick a plastic hanger between the mat and trey. Should keep the Rh and temp in a good range. I pull of the dome for 15 minute and give em a spritz at least once a day.
I get decent results

 

[Loc Dog]

I've seen this occur in the daywrecker strain more than any other - it also has thicker, hallow stems. From my experience(minimal), having the cubes too warm or moist, and especially a combination of those factors, causes the mushiness to happen. If you use a dome and a heat mat, try doubling up the trey or stick a plastic hanger between the mat and trey. Should keep the Rh and temp in a good range. I pull of the dome for 15 minute and give em a spritz at least once a day.
I get decent results

I have had problems with other strains also. GG4 I am used to, but have been growing in coco for 2 years. Sick of the coco and have been running hydro. With coco the stems are very woody. With hydro they are hollow, which is supposed to be much more desirable. Will probably keep one coco plant as a mother.

I had been getting about 23 out of 25 success rate. With the hydro cuts, been getting about 60% success. Starting a lot more than I needed then. Might go back upto 25 cuts again till I get them down.

I keep a thermometer on bottom of dome tray, and shoot for 80F, with a blanket between heating pad and tray.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Tonygreen]

More calcium bro! Not cal mag, calcium!
If my gg4 gets deficient i get holoow stems otherwise pithy stems dude.

 

[Loc Dog]

More calcium bro! Not cal mag, calcium!
If my gg4 gets deficient i get holoow stems otherwise pithy stems dude.

I will give that a shot. At what point do you start adding the calcium. Wondering if I could just use our tap/well water which is high in calcium. It also has high iron. It is about 250 PPM or .5 EC.

I have a couple of gallons of cal/mag. Would the extra mag cause problems?

Thanks.