Cloning questions

[Ofis]

Hi all. Got a couple cloning questions. But first, some info about the donor plants. There are 6 regular Motarebel Apollo 13's and 2 Ace fem Panama. They are 53 days old, in soil and are 5 days into flower. First timer, so no training at all. Guess I just wanted to make sure I didn't hurt em and they stay alive. Just watered em yesterday and they should be hydrated for at least another 3 or 4 days. Started em on 18/6 for 9 days then went to the GLR light schedule. Only a couple A13's and 1 of the Panama fems showed pre-flowers before going to 11/13 but they are all established now. There's only 1 male and he has some big balls already. Need to get him out of there soon.

I'm gonna use the Ice Tube and vermiculite method for cloning because it seems like the easiest method for a newbie without having to build or buy more stuff. Got some Clonex gel to help things along. I'll take the bottom 2 branches from each plant for the clones. And maybe pollinate a bud on each A13 to get some seeds before getting rid of the male plant, but keep his clone for the future. He was the first plant to to put off an aroma and the most vigorous of the bunch until recently. I don't know jack shit about breeding, but he's probably an impressive specimen.

I know the plants should be freshly watered before cuts are taken. Now for the questions.

1) Is it important that cuts be taken the day after watering, or can I wait another day?

2) When should cuttings be taken? When the lights first come on, an hour or 2 after or does it really matter when during the lights on cycle?

3) Is the water pH important when cloning? Should I stick with 6.5 like they've been getting for feedings/waterings or give em something different?

4) Can aloe vera really help when used during cloning? Got some on order and it just shipped today so I'll have some aloe juice and aloe gel on Thursday. I'm gonna use it in a preventative insect spray recipe that DonTe posted (#645) in this thread Dr. Cannabi's Kali Mist - DIY Organic Soil - Medical Grow & Show. I've only read a few things about aloe being used in cannabis cultivation. Aloe looks like it could be quite beneficial to our favorite plant but I haven't found any info about how much to add to feedings/waterings or foliar for that matter, other than what DonTe mentioned in a few posts in that thread where he also quotes someone mentioning aloe and cuttings. So If anyone has any knowledge about the use of aloe, for any stage of growth, I'd like to hear it.

Guess that's about all for now. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[cannilingus]

if you are a newbie, you are diving too deep, too fast. lets get a few grows under you, using just basic stuff. basic principles. basic nutes. and basic technigues. i have a way to clone, that i do quite well. mind you, that different streins, vary in thier attitudes, tward how easy they will clone for you. also. start with streins, proven easy for beginners. its no fun, to lose all the effort, and feel blue, because things dont work out. stay simple. stay easy. and be happy! yield is a curse. forget it. wait till you have exp. go for simple completion. quality. one of the best weeds out there, is also one of the easiest to grow. i just got some more seeds. as my cut is ancient. try god bud. jordan of the islands. get it from herbies. i have not much luch, ordering from the breeders.

 

[cannilingus]

clones. i stay about 5.8-6.0. watering first? not really. just cut em, and place em in the ph water. what i do, is i use soiless. i pre mix it with some superthrive, and some kangaroots. and use small pots. and i poke a hole with a bamboo bbq stick, in the soil, dip the cutting in vita grow, for five seconds, and put em in, and tamp it down gently. i place all the lil pots, in a pot saucer, and put some of my water in it, so they sit it it. and,into one of those black trays, with a heat mat underneath, and a lid on it. leave the ports on the lid half open, for a few days, and then open. also, first few days, only a small cfl bulb. they cant take light! they have no roots. just a little. then, after say five days, slowly move the light closer, till its right over them. just a cfl. in a couple weeks, you will have lots of roots. i also sometimes us the root riots, instead of the lil pots, all else is the same. they sit in the water. after the clones...."come to", by lifting to the light, and you can see the difference, add a small amount of bloom food. just a smidge. slow but sure.

 

[Ofis]

Thanks for the response cannilingus. Good advice for a totally green grower. But I've been reading at the forums since 2004, just haven't had a chance to use my knowledge until now. So I wouldn't consider myself uninformed and in over my head. It's too late to consider other strains for now as these are in need of cloning right now. I just wasn't sure of a few things.

What I've read says to water the day before cuttings taken. Never really noticed how long into the day to take cuttings. Some people say pH isn't important for the water and others say to pH it, but fail to mention what that pH point should be. I've read as low as 5.7 and seen others at above 7. And the aloe thing is just an added bonus to the cloning gel.

Thanks for chiming in. I enjoy reading your posts cannilingus. I learn from you too so don't take my response the wrong way. I just need help on those questions. I'll try to take a pic or 2 of the plants and get em posted up.

 

[Ofis]

Just saw your 2nd post cannilingus. Like stated, gonna try the Ice Tube method since that's what I have ready. But your method looks like it works for you. Thanks for another method to try in the future. Guess I'll go with a lower pH, maybe at 6.0. Thank ya. I'll wait till tomorrow though.

 

[Weaselcracker]

I really doubt it matters when you take the cutting. Ph doesn't seem to matter all that much either but I usually keep it around hydro ph- 5.8. ish. Main things are temperature, low light level, and avoiding root rot caused by over saturating the rooting medium.

 

[Ofis]

Thanks Weaselcracker. Maybe over thinking this a little bit, but let's just say being cautious instead. So here's my plan.

Take the cuts while the plants are still well hydrated. Use the Clonex. I use carbon filtered water and will go with the lower pH at 5.8 to 6.0. Follow the advice cannilingus gave about the heat mat, propagation tray and 7" vented dome (used them to start the seeds) and his lighting advice. Try to keep the temps and humidity in the 70 to 72 range since that seems to be what most people in threads have suggested to avoid problems. Although some recommend higher temps in the 80 to 82 range, but that seems to be when the problems can occur. Go with the Ice Tubes and vermiculite to avoid over saturating the roots and everything should be fine. Pretty much what I've read over the years but it's nice to get direct and current advice on the subjects from those who know.

Guess I should have made it clear that when to take the cuts was in consideration of the donor plants. Think I'll wait to take the cuttings until the lights have been on for a couple hours to let the plants wake up a little bit and get their juices flowing, so to speak, and then have the rest of the day to recuperate after the cuts are taken. Still like to know more about aloe though.

Here's a pic of the group before I take the cuts in about an hour. They are at day 55 from sprout.

Group - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

 

[Ofis]

Finally figured out how to post a pic. Here's what I tried to post the other night.



And Here's the clones 63 hours after the cut. I ended up taking 4 lower branch cuts from each plant, just to make sure I'd get a clone from each plant. There's 3 of each in the ice tubes and 1 of each in stasis in the refrigerator.

Didn't take cuts till 3 days after watering, but they were well hydrated when cuts were taken and the buckets are still kinda heavy today. Took em after lights on for 4 hours. They're sitting in a gallon of pH 5.8 water at 72 degrees with 10 ml of aloe vera gel mixed in. Didn't wilt a bit. Don't know what the humidity is, but the dome gets covered with moisture and I wipe it down when giving them fresh air twice daily.




So far, so good. Thanks for the help. Later y'all.

 

[Regor]

How are they doing Ofis?

 

[Ofis]

Hi Regor. My apologies to the 420magazine community for starting a thread and not finishing it.

They all rooted. Just call me Mr. Lucky. There was really only 1 questionable (in the back row) and it finally seems to be going. I decided to add coconut water along with the aloe juice, both at 2oz per gallon.

Canned the cuts on 04-06-15 after 12 days in the cloner. Changed water/aloe/cocomut water mixture 2 times. The vermiculite just crumbled when doing the transplant. Not much sign of roots after 12 days. I didn't keep track but there weren't too many that had a good root system and held the vermiculite together. On 24 hour light till 04-26-15, then went to 18/6.

Need to get em in bigger containers soon andget some ready for flower. The flowering mothers are at day 48 and are filling in nicely.

I may just clone directly into soil next time and see what happens. I like the aloe and coconut water for cloning since I had such good luck with it. Here's a thread about cloning with aloe. Good thread COorganics Cloning with aloe - Natural and easy cloning for cheap and here's a good no-till garden video with an aloe cloning demo starting at 4:45. The rest of the video is pretty interesting too.