Azi's Cloning Adventures

[Azimuth]

It was "Thin the Herd Day" in Aziland today, otherwise known as "Worm Appreciation Day" as the cuttings taken in October were processed and most found their way into the worm bin.

One thing I really like about rooting more cuttings than needed is that I can select the best of the best to uppot. Every container I have rooted in has one or two that are appreciably better than the others, something I might not see if I only rooted the number I need so that will definitely be incorporated into the process going forward.

The best clone got potted into a 2G veg-to-flower SIP container, next best into a 1L SIP, and 3rd to a 9oz SIP cup destined for Limbo Land where it will get little light and nutrients and really just serve as a backup. Given my success rooting this way that one's likely unnecessary but old habits die hard.

Of the maybe 2 dozen cuttings, all but 2 had rooted and those two still looked fine and likely would have struck roots given more time. But, no matter, they clearly never would have made the cut so off to the worm bin they go along with the rest of the also-rans.

One thing that was very apparent is the group in the sand all had much better roots than those in the perlite. Those were among the better cuttings to begin with so nothing definitive there, but that's something I'll definitely be testing in a future round. All three clones that got up-potted came from the sand cup.

Now that colder, drier weather has set in it will be interesting to see how this approach works during winter. I haven't used a seedling heating mat yet but will probably need to in the coming months.

Have I said how much I'm loving this approach lately! It's hard for me to believe the consistent success I'm having given my struggles with every other approach I've tried, and that includes bubble cloners. So far it's been consistently successful round after round.

 

[Gee64]

Very cool! Clones mean freedom.

So exactly how do you do a sand clone?

Be specific if you don't mind please. Do you leave nubs on the cutting like I do?

Scrape them?

How do you build your sand cloner?

What kind of sand?

I'd really like to try this.

 

[Azimuth]

I used course builder's sand and didn't bother sifting out the fines this round. Worked great.

I used a Solo cup with a single small hole on the side at the very bottom, made with a soldering iron to let extra water drain out as I don't want any standing water at the bottom. Then put a small piece of used dryer sheet up against it on the inside to keep the sand in. Filled it up with the sand, misted it to moisten it and made a small hole with a tool just bigger than the stem for each cutting.

Prepped the clones the normal way, cutting off all of the nodes like you do save the small leaf cluster at the very top, lightly scraped a 1"ish section at the very bottom, stuck the clones and then tamped the sand on top to mush sand around the clones.

I have small plants and therefore small clones so I was able to fit 5-10 per 16oz cup as they don't really need much room around them. The roots do intertwine a bit but are easy to separate if you're gentle and don't rush it.

No cloning gel or powder, no domes, no heat mat, no direct light, no nothing. Once the clones were stuck I misted the top of the sand really well to settle it around the clones, and then misted the leaves twice a day about 12 hours apart. Environment is low 60's to low 80's F temps and mid 30's to mid 60's humidity (lights on vs off).

That's it. Super simple, easy and effective.

They start to root in 7-10 days and can be potted at 14, but I like to let them go 3-4 weeks for better roots. Got nice fishboning roots with multiple legs. They looked as good at 4 weeks as they did when I cut them. Misted with plain tap water, nothing else added. They only get fed when they make it to the Show.

Jump in! The water's fine!

 

[Gee64]

I used course builder's sand and didn't bother sifting out the fines this round. Worked great.

I used a Solo cup with a single small hole on the side at the very bottom, made with a soldering iron to let extra water drain out as I don't want any standing water at the bottom. Then put a small piece of used dryer sheet up against it on the inside to keep the sand in. Filled it up with the sand, misted it to moisten it and made a small hole with a tool just bigger than the stem for each cutting.

Prepped the clones the normal way, cutting off all of the nodes like you do save the small leaf cluster at the very top, lightly scraped a 1"ish section at the very bottom, stuck the clones and then tamped the sand on top to mush sand around the clones.

I have small plants and therefore small clones so I was able to fit 5-10 per 16oz cup as they don't really need much room around them. The roots do intertwine a bit but are easy to separate if you're gentle and don't rush it.

No cloning gel or powder, no domes, no heat mat, no direct light, no nothing. Once the clones were stuck I misted the top of the sand really well to settle it around the clones, and then misted the leaves twice a day about 12 hours apart. Environment is low 60's to low 80's F temps and mid 30's to mid 60's humidity (lights on vs off).

That's it. Super simple, easy and effective.

They start to root in 7-10 days and can be potted at 14, but I like to let them go 3-4 weeks for better roots. Got nice fishboning roots with multiple legs. They looked as good at 4 weeks as they did when I cut them. Misted with plain tap water, nothing else added. They only get fed when they make it to the Show.

Jump in! The water's fine!

Awesome! Thanks Azi. Do you ever rewet the sand? If so how and how often?

 

[Azimuth]

Awesome! Thanks Azi. Do you ever rewet the sand? If so how and how often?

Nope. Water will drip off the leaves and it keeps the sand pretty moist.

Once I saw they rooted (I used a clear cup inside an opaque one) I started misting it only once a day for week 3 and didn't mist them at all week 4 to see what drying it out would do. Took almost a week before one of the cuttings started to droop so I did rewet the sand and started misting again after that.

But, very forgiving.

 

[Gee64]

Nope. Water will drip off the leaves and it keeps the sand pretty moist.

Once I saw they rooted (I used a clear cup inside an opaque one) I started misting it only once a day for week 3 and didn't mist them at all week 4 to see what drying it out would do. Took almost a week before one of the cuttings started to droop so I did rewet the sand and started misting again after that.

But, very forgiving.

OK cool. I gotta get some builders sand. I use soil for small clones but its messy. This sounds simple. Thanks Azi, nice explanation!

 

[Azimuth]

I should add that the sand is very heavy so larger containers might be impractical, and to un-pot them I gently dumped the cup out into another container as the roots are too delicate to either pull out or go fishing around with a tool of some sort.

I didn't have any water drip out of the sand cups but I did with the perlite ones. I would tip the cups each time right before I misted them to vacate any standing water.

Also, I use a specialized Cannabis Misting Box. Because of it being federal illegal in the States, the big box stores actually market them as storage containers. I tilt it on its side, put the cup in the middle and spray away, turn the cup 180* and spray again. All the overspray is contained in the box. And the lip of the box holds the leading edge a bit higher than the back causing any runoff water to be contained at the back. When I'm done with all of the cups I tip the box on its corner and drain the overspray water into a cup. No mess.

Also, the sand is almost completely recoverable. Dip the roots in a glass of water and all the sand falls to the bottom. Pour out the water and the sand is ready to go again. I do microwave it between runs to kill off any potential pathogens but haven't noticed anything yet, just an over abundance of caution.

 

[Azimuth]

'Clones from Flowering Cuts' Experiment

Since I'm having quite good success with this cloning process I'm going to try using it to clone using cuts from a flowering plant.

I have a plant at day 21 of flower, so not quite halfway, and buds are forming and aromas are rising so this seems far enough into flower that one should be able to get an idea of that plant's characteristics if on a pheno hunt, for example.

I tried to do my usual 'trim on the plant the day before' but that turned out to be a bit challenging so I did as best I could and finished up after I cut the limb from the plant 24 hours later. I trimmed all lower limbs leaving only the top most cluster and then trimmed away the flower trying to leave as much leaf surface as possible. Then scraped the stem and stuck them in perlite and misted well to settle the perlite around the stems.

I suspect it will take longer than typical to root these but I don't really care how long it takes since they're destined for the worm bin. I'd just like to know if this process will work this far into flower.

Let's find out!

Roots!

Another test of this method successfully passed as I saw roots on the flowering cuts today at week 4. That means they probably rooted at least a week ago (21 days?) so maybe an extra week to root but not too shabby. These are in perlite.

I started with 5 cuts and only have 3 remaining so it looks like rooting flowering cuttings is a lower strike rate for me, but I'm still pretty pleased with the results. I'll probably pot up the best of them as I'd like to see the progression back to veg with the single bladed leaves and then back to at least 5 bladed ones up close and personal, but a-worming they will go since this strain is being retired.

Love, love, love this approach!