Method - Cloning in Soil by 420Legal

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This will be one of what I hope will be a series of posts about which methods work for me. I'll updated them as I learn from doing or from others, but everything here will be the results of my personal testing.

Cloning in Soil:

Day 1 -

Started with a cutting from growing mother plant. About 6" tall with about five nodes (leafsets).

  • Stripped - Pulled off all but the top three nodes.
    • As I pulled them down, I tried to strip off the outer stem. I ended holding the removed leafset connected to what looked like a piece of thick dental floss a few inches long. This was discarded.
    • The goal was to create a surface where roots would grow out from.
  • Scraped - Razor scraped the bottom 1"
    • Using a sharp and cleaned razor blade (cleaned with peroxide), I gently scraped off the top layer of the stem to expose the inner surface on the bottom one inch of the stem.
    • Hint: Angle the blade so sharp edge is facing toward the top of the plant as you drag it down the stem. If you drag the blade toward the direction you are scraping (angled toward the bottom), you will catch and cut through the plant. (been there, dumb that)
  • Rooting hormone - I rolled the stem through some Rootex gel spread onto a small dinner plate. Never dip them into the jar, as you can contaminate the entire container.
  • Bury enough stem - I planted them far enough down to cover all of that scraped area and one full leafset that was not stripped (but was cut off blunt to about an eighth of an inch from the stem - basically crating a hump on the stem where that node used to be).
  • Soil mix - I used FF Light Warrior soil, mixed six parts soil to one part vermiculite.
    • I spayed in some distilled water as I mixed the 6:1 ratio, so the soil was moist but not clumpy wet.
  • Trim leaves - I wait until the stem is buried before I trim the big leaves (really any full leaf). I just cut them in half width-wise, half way up the leaf so about the 50% of the original surface near the stem still remains.
  • Distilled water only - I then water with one cup of distilled, closer to the stem since there are no roots at this point.
  • Moisture dome - I use a translucent (normal milky clear plastic) plastic cup with a few small holes cut into the bottom (the part facing up as the cup is put upside down over the plant). Since the plant cant hydrate itself at this point, i want to minimize the lost of moisture through the leaves.
  • Mist the cup - I'm not sure if this helps or makes me feel better, but I use a mister to spay water onto the inside surface of the cup to increase humidity. I will do this misting every few days for the first two weeks.
    • This also helps me fight the urge to mist the leaves, which I also occasionally do but know it can cause problems.
  • Lighting - I use a CFL in the range/color of 6500 kelvin.
    • If you look at CFL bulbs you will see the "full spectrum" or bright white (blueish) bulbs are closer to 6500k or at least above about 5300kelvin. This is the color spectrum used by plants when they veg. The lower numbers, say in the 2400k to 2700k are more red/orange, and are better for flower.
    • I set the CFL bulb as close as possible to the cup, with my goal being about 1/2 inch away.
Day 3 -

I couldn't stop myself and sprayed the foliage with distilled, in addition to the inside of the plastic up.

Day 9 -

In addition to my spraying the inside of the cup every few days. I added one cup of distilled water.

Day 14 -

Removed the cup; Started feeding nutes.

Note that this may have been a dumb idea: I wanted to use some flower nutes to encourage roots, but also add veg nutes to support the foliage growth. I believe the veg nutes limit root growth and flower nutes encourage it, but I could be wrong.

  • 1/8 cup FoxFarm Tiger Bloom nute solution (mixed at 1tsp/gal)
  • 1/4 cup FoxFarm Grow Big nute solution (mixed at 1tsp/gal), and FF Big Bloom (mixed at 1Tbsp/gal)
  • Added distilled to the above to make one full cup of brew
  • Brew poured near the bottom of the stem, but also out a bit further so the nutes would be in the soil and she could reach for them.
Day 20 -

1/2 cup veg nutes (as mixed above with FF GB and FF BB) and 1/2 cup distilled.

Day 25 -

Very nice new growth. 1c of veg nutes, and this clone is now a plant.

Day 28 -

Hermione-Clone_1280x1170_.jpg

Comments

S
thanks for reporting technique and results. much appreciated. looks by far worth the effort.
 
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funtogow
Great method, I use a similar but less complex way. Very, very nice looking plant and so compact! Great Job! Love reading about other peoples success stories!
 
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funtogow
Got your message man! I tried responding but the system won't let me post private messages yet.

Here's my method:

I first begin by filling 2" pots (one for each cutting I am going to prepare) with seed starting soil, generally Black Gold brand. I water the pots thoroughly and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

I begin by taking about a 4" stem tip from the parent palnt using scissors.

I then strip off several leaves exposing the nodes. I dip the cut end and the exposed end into regular rooting hormone.

I then poke a hole into the soil in the center of each pot deep enough to cover the exposed nodes of the cuttings.

I carefully place the cutting into the hole and firmly press the soil around the cutting stem.

I then cut any latge leaves in half to reduce moisture loss from the cutting.

From there I place the 2" pots into a ziploc freezer bag, close the bag most the way then inflate with air and finally close the bag completely.

I have a heating pad (set on low) in a west bright window sill and I place the ziploc bags containing the pots onto the heating pad.

My cuttings generally take about 2 weeks to root well and be ready for transplanting. I also get about a 95% take on them using this method.

I guess I'm just not as careful as your technique is....I also don't do any stem scraping and I use plain tap water.

Cool!

I also couldn't help but notice your are from the Pacific Northwest! Rock on buddy!!!! I'm located just South of Salem, Oregon. You close to there? Just curious?

Later man
 
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420Legal
funtogow;bt1749 said:
Here's my method: (see above)

My cuttings generally take about 2 weeks to root well and be ready for transplanting. I also get about a 95% take on them using this method.

Later man
Click to expand...

Great to see others post their methods in detail. I'm all about Learn / Do / Teach, so the more methods that are documented like the two we posted the better.

You also make a good point that mine is perhaps too detailed. In truth my goal was to teach all the steps, but in reality I do what seems to make sense with the plant in my hand. The method above serves as a menu of techniques that I can use as appropriate.

I have had a success rate in the high 90's with my method above, but when I'm experimenting then I'm learning from my failures. I wouldn't want to give up those failures for anything. I do spend time trying to recover from my own stupid (and often interesting) errors. What I also do is learn how to recover.

My recommendation to anyone reading, and again I'm not claiming you should follow my advice in any regard, is try to get yourself to a place you can win some and lose some. The experiments are a blast, and in a way it's gambling. Our grows that go great maybe because of our expertise, or maybe just great genetics, maybe some of both. Since I grow for very specific traits (medical needs), I want to know how to fix a screwed up plant more than I want to only do it one standard way and hope the results will be as good as last time.

Just my two cents. Not telling anyone how to live their lives.
:rollit:
 
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