I did both cover cup and no cover cup. More roots without the cover cup in my tests.
I did both cover cup and no cover cup. More roots without the cover cup in my tests.
no, but if it makes you feel better it's not much trouble.Is the outter cup really necessary here?!
Yo Slow,
As per usual, my success with yet another cloning technique is mediocre at best. Are you cloning inside a rubbermaid tub or something?
Thanks, and sorry, this has become a long thread. I saw the tote in the periphery, but I din't see any detail of your actual cloning chamber. I'm doing everything according to your method, but I'm doing it in a tent. The temps are straight 80, but the humidity is low this time of year. Do you tack the cfl's to the lid of the tote?
I placed a dome over my clones, but it made no difference. They wilt, they straggle, they yellow. Out of any general run of 20 to 30 clones I get one, maybe two that take right off, a half a dozen close behind, and the other half a dozen some time after. The whole process is 2-3 weeks, and I'm dragging them across the finish line.
Cloning is my weakest link. Everything else works tops. This method so far has given me good results, but not great, not reliable, not bank. I think I might be missing out on the box, as it's own little clone dome. Is it ventilated?
And if my wording is strange, it's because I'm baked.
Cloning is really simple once you get the hang of it. My rubbermaid tub is not the key to success. It just works and is cheap to use. I use Saran Wrap on top of either a bucket or a smaller rubbermaid. I keep temps inside smaller rubbermaid 80 deg and. I spray the bottom side of the saran wrap with water, put the clones inside and put it on top...this is my dome. My CFL is a 23 watt bulb about 18 inches away from top of clones mounted to the rubbermaid.
The key is having stable temps and humidity. Your clones should never wilt. If they wilt, they will not do as well. That is why yours are not rooting right. Spraying the "dome" will keep humidity up. I leave them alone for a few days, then give them some fresh air for a minute now and then after that. If your clones are wilting, maybe your not packing the Coco around the stem tight enough.
What kind of Gel are you using? What kind of Coco? Are you pre-treating your Coco? Are you pre-soaking clones? If your clones yellow fast you could have too much light or too wet. What kind of light are they under? Answer these questions and I can try to help you out. Once you get it down they will always root fast. I see you are doing this in a tent, do you have vegging plants in there as well?
Thanks Slow, I use Clonex gel, I always have. I soak the cut clones in Clonex solution or roots excel before they go into the coco, which is pretreated with roots excel. They go into the tent with the mother plant under a 48" T5, about two feet away. I use a heat mat if the temps are low, but right now it's plenty warm at 82 degrees. If the coco dries down, I moisten with 50 ppm water.
The prior run didn't wilt, and I got a 100% strike rate after 10-12 days. The latest run wilted, and not all of them bounced back. The humidity hovers around 50%. That's why I was thinking the rubbermaid tote would be a good idea.
The clones don't always yellow, but if the run goes slowly, they'll start yellowing about a week in. A problem I often get is the clones show root nubs, but then fail to pop actual roots.
I pack the coco into the cups pretty tight, I have to stab a whole with a pencil to slide the clone in, and then I lightly tamp the coco back around the stem.
So maybe I have too much light and too little humidity?
Need 80-90%rh the first 2 days.
Herborizer is right, atleast 2 days if your humidity is low. I just keep mine covered the whole time...but check on them daily and get a bit of fresh air. In summer the humidity is much higher, I do not need a dome. Better to keep your humidity high when trying to clone. If you keep your humidity high they will not wilt or dry out at all. If your clones ever wilt or dry out, your success rate goes down or clones will take longer.
I'm already behind the 8 ball with this batch, and it'll be another week before the mother has any clones to take, so I'll get it all straight next time.
I did go buy some rubbermaid's at Target last night, the humidity went from 45% to 90%.
Winning formula is to follow slowandeasy's directions on the first page. Careful attention to ensuring the coco is not soaked (I squeeze the coco between both my hands, fairly hard, before putting into cup). Also, temperature is critical. The temperature in your rubbermaid needs to be no less then 80F and no higher than 86F (or it will delay rooting times). I use a heating mat and put a temperature monitor in my rubermaid (I have a remote display so I can monitor it).
Make sure the nodes you cut (where branches were) are under the coco and have gel on them by the time you are done putting the into your coco. You don't want it to suck in air.
Put in rubbermade container, spray lid of container (not plants) and seal up tight. I even tape the edges to ensure 100% sealed. You goal here is to leave them sealed for the first 48 hours.
I put a paper towel over the rubbermaide lid to ensure the clones don't get too much light.
After the first 48 hours of solitude, I open the lid for 10 minutes per day. Adding 10 more minutes each day. Each time spraying the lid (not plants) with water before replacing it. You want 80-90% RH when the lid is on. FYI, if all things are right, there are actually roots growing after the first 48 hours (not that you can see in the coco though).
By the 5th-7th day, keep the lid off as long as possible (as long as your RH is 50% or more). If they don't wilt after the 5th day leave the lid off. If they wilt, put the lid back on and try again later.
In the first 7 days you need to have 50%+ RH or it will delay things.
After 7 days or less you should see roots in the cup, start feeding. If no roots, after 7 days you might have to give a little water to the coco as it might be getting dry now.
Keep at it, you will get it. I did. I had the most impossible time too. Thanks to Slowandeasy I am a happy cloner now!