Fresh cuts in water???

[cadillachydro]

i know someone who told me that after he takes his cuts, he throws them in a bucket of ice water for 5 minutes before he dips them in gel and plants them. I kinda thought he was crazy for this, but there was a guy in another thread that said he did the same thing, only he didnt specify "ice" water, he just said water.

I guess it kinda makes sense, maybe to help preserve freshness a bit longer or give em a little head start so to speak, i mean people store cuts in the fridge, be it our hobby or at a florist.

I was just wondering who is doing this, and maybe if you could give some more detailed reasoning behind this method. Thanks, keep it easy ~caddy

 

[m.steelers]

I used to do the ice water, but anymore i just use plain water. The idea with the cold ice is that it stabilizes the cut. The idea with the immediate submersion in water is to limit an air bubble from getting into the stem, which can kill the clone by impeding the water uptake. the plant stem will still try to drink right after the cut, so it's best to give them the water right away rather than air getting in there. honestly, if you are quick to plant in the medium, cloner, etc you will be fine. I have taken tons of cuttings without putting them in water and they take. It's a precautionary technique and habit for some growers. Mostly, I dont like to be rushed so placing the clone in water gives you more time to do the planting.

 

[captainjack]

the cold prevents them from wilting.
take your cuts and put em in a bag in the crisper drawer in the fridge
only needs to be done if you are takin lotsa cuts so they dont sit around too long and wilt before you get to them.
if your cuts are wilting in normal conditions your taking them too small
so no, a bucket of ice isnt necessary.
always make your final cuts underwater to prevent embolism. cant stress that enough.

 

[captainjack]

you beat me to it m.

how u been dooin bud

 

[m.steelers]

good advice ceege.

you get into that wilt proof ever?

 

[captainjack]

im afraid to use it ......does the stuff have an expiration date?
i think ill pick up a new bottle next time at the hydro store tho. no use in takin the chance.
i know you swear by it, and since i dont like to use a dome, itd be cool to try out

 

[m.steelers]

ahhh doin well.... been really busy lately broski. hope you are well.

i dont think it expires, i still have my original bottle and it is good. i dont use it all the time because i am lazy.... but it is fun to work with and test out. I think you will like it.

the bottles are so big that they last forever.... i might actually use it for what it's for, to winter over some outdoor landscape plants.... see how it protects them.

for cloning it is really nice.... the plants are so nice and shiny all the way through to rooting.

 

[cadillachydro]

Excellent replies guys. So what i get is that ice isnt super benificial, but can help in wilting... i just put a 3gal bucket of water in the fridge, ill do it inbetween. Oh and thanks for the underwater cutting technique...

One other question, do you guys split or skin the stem? Ive always just cut, dipped, and planted... with 75-80% success rate. Will spliting or skinning raise my rate? thanks

Keep it easy ~caddy

 

[captainjack]

i try to 'skin' the stems half-way up from the bottom or so.
and just use fresh tap water. fridge is overkill. does your tap have a cold side? :smile:

steelers - your cutz are always bright and shiny green

 

[m.steelers]

i've done skinning and scarification. from what I could tell, making a small shallow incision down the stem seemed to work best. when i skinned it seemed more plants got soft stem. it may or may not have been related to that... trying different ways is a good thing. no matter what you dont want to overdue it with this technique cause it can kill the cutting.

something that really helps is if you are using an aerocloner... the reason is you can study the stems to see how a plant roots, and what techniques work best... from what i have seen, the slit encourages the stem to pucker and eventually throw out roots. you can tell because it will start getting white, then you know it is going to root up. i also notice the end of a stem will kind of expand right before you will see roots. i think i am going to try making some cross cuts in the end of a stem to see how that works. next time i get out the machine i am going to test this scarification method.

 

[m.steelers]

cj - you've seen cuttings of mine go right down the shitter too! trial and error my man it's never 100% for me.

 

[captainjack]

nice.
'skinning' can get annoying because it peels up too high sometimes,
and others its hard to get going. also if you go too deep you need to re-cut and do it over
i like the sound of scarification better. i have unsteady hands so it gets frustrating at times.
keep me posted on how that works out for you. finally taking the ezclone plunge now hehehe

 

[captainjack]

you know, sometimes i scar actually
kinda scrape the skin off stem with a razorblade in a downwards fashion
and sometimes it gets a little nic here and there and i just leave it insteada finishing strip-job
never keep track of how i prep each cut tho..so dunno the difference..
hell i have a hard enough time keeping different strains seperated!

 

[m.steelers]

yeah, i sometimes will do the light skinning too... just run the broad blade down the end of the stem.

i had a few cuts last time.... sat in the cloner for at least 25 days and would not take.... i took them out, recut, and just stuck them in wet assed promix.... they wilted so i cut again...and replanted in promix with a dome.... 2 died but one made it... i swear it was like 40 days after the initial cut was taken. jack's cleaner... resilient little bitty.

 

[captainjack]

nice save!
definitely need to excercize those patience muscles in tryin to root the gifted cutz..
even if its from just across town, nothin compares to takin the cut yourself and usin immediately
check your pm's steelerz

 

[m.steelers]

heh yeah no doubt. clones taken and planted immediately are almost hard to kill. those cross town clips are the ones that are tough.

message received. response submitted.

 

[captainjack]

 

[Harry Gypsna]

i tried the cold water thing but TBH i think its a bad idea...when a cut stem goes in cold water it contracts and culs into a hook shape-you will have trouble getting this into your cube without breaking it due to the shape and the fact that it is sort of brittle. luke warm water however they stay straight and dont have the problem.
Whay dont you straighten em u say, well because if you force them straight when the fibres are tightly contracted like that, when they relax it will curl the other way.
Of course this is only my personal opinion based on my3 years growing(well 2/12 coz im just getting back after a 6 month unwanted downtime.) so i could be talking bollocks so please check it out fior yourself... i think you will find the bending thing t be true though...
Be lucky.

EDIT, you should always put ur cuts into some water as soon as you take them, but you dont have to make the last cut underwater- old wives tale IMO. ive never done it underwater and after i got temps and humidty sussed i can usually get 100% rooted.
the scarification thing, i also noticed the soft stem thing but i now make a slit in the bottom of the stem to open the cambium layer where roots come from. easiest way is hold ur craft knife sharp edge up on the table and push the cut end onto it so the blade is central and goes in about 1-2 mm.

 

[glasspackedbowl]

Excellent replies guys. So what i get is that ice isnt super benificial, but can help in wilting... i just put a 3gal bucket of water in the fridge, ill do it inbetween. Oh and thanks for the underwater cutting technique...

One other question, do you guys split or skin the stem? Ive always just cut, dipped, and planted... with 75-80% success rate. Will spliting or skinning raise my rate? thanks

Keep it easy ~caddy

I use plant water in a cup. I dont skin them or split them. I use cloning gel and have had a 100% on more then 40 clone since I started using it.

 

[glasspackedbowl]

one other thing I do is cut the leafs from the lower nodes and cut the clone just below the the node this seams to help rooting.