Optimus PrimeBuds 2nd Indoor CFL Grow

[Optimus PrimeBud]

So here is my first ever attempt at cloning...I have no idea how I did or if it will end well. I got cloning gel, a humidity dome, I made my cut at a 45deg angle, I stripped the bottom of the stem and split the ends, and before I planted it I had it in water to avoid air bubbles.

Only thing is some of the cuts I made I know where kinda small so I am not sure how its gonna turn out...of course I hope they all make it and grow 20 feet tall...but the realistic side says maybe 1 or 2 will make it.

If anyone has any advice to give about how to take care of clones PLEASE let me know since I have no idea how much to water them or how much I should be misting the dome. Thanks!

 

[Aaron Quix]

Oh man you totally screwed it up!!

 

[TorturedSoul]

Humidity dome isn't usually an absolute requirement. I've had cuttings that were wilted from overnighting in the refrigerator (, the counter, my coat pocket, the floor between the couch and end table <WHOOPS>, etc.) stand up within a couple hours after I "trimmed" the end of their stems and stuck them in a glass of aerated water or a really moist 50:50 perlite:vermiculite mix.

It seems that there is a survival mechanism in place that allows them to draw moisture up through the end of the stem to some extent whether it has roots on it or not.

Personally, I now think that it encourages rooting that much faster.

If the medium is moist enough, they shouldn't wilt - or at least not "lay down like a wet noodle" wilt, lol. Obviously temperature and overall humidity play their part and if your RH is rather low then a humidity dome might be indicated in order to assure that the cuttings' moisture loss is less than their ability to uptake. But even then, I don't see the need - or even benefit - of having it so humid in there that the dome is dripping. Although it's probably not all that harmful... as long as your cloning agent has a mold-inhibitor.

You might trim some of the larger leaves (aka "knock their points off") though. Both because the cuttings at that point do not need either as much stored energy as the leaves contain and because they don't need the energy "factories" (chloroplasts) so much, either. Additionally, the cuttings' moisture-loss occurs through the leaves' stomata.

On a different note, I've occasionally wondered why people who grow in soil(sic) use rockwool cubes for cuttings/seedlings. It would seem to be an unnecessary PitA, having to soak the things first in order to get them to the proper pH. Not that they don't work, they obviously do. But since they're not reusable after the cuttings grow roots through them and since those growers aren't sticking the rooted clones into larger RW cubes - or into a hydro setup which wouldn't support a "bare" plant - I just don't see the... need.

Past few years I just stick 'em in a glass of water - usually with a small airstone if I've got an extra - or into perlite/vermiculite (if I know it's going into soil, I add around one part peat so that I can just "plant" the entire mess minus the foam cup its in). I lost one some time ago (#%*^ cat ate it and heaved it up about ten feet away, lol).

Just rambling... I expect that the majority (at the minimum) of your cuttings will make it just fine.

 

[Aaron Quix]

^^^Kidding brother!^^^ Sound like you did fine, although I've never heard of splitting the stems, only scraping them.....

 

[Aaron Quix]

YouTube - ‪Jorge Cervantes: Taking Clones Part 1‬&rlm;
YouTube - ‪Jorge Cervantes - Taking Clones Part 2‬&rlm;

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

^^^Kidding brother!^^^ Sound like you did fine, although I've never heard of splitting the stems, only scraping them.....

DUDE! haha your message was the first one I read and my heart about stopped thinking I damaged my wonderful plants for no reason lol

Thanks yeah I read about splitting the steam in a forum posted on here, seems like a lot of people where using that method. Not sure what splitting the stem does but I guess it works. I'm hoping a few make it that will be better then buying seeds and starting from scratch every time.

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

Humidity dome isn't usually an absolute requirement. I've had cuttings that were wilted from overnighting in the refrigerator (, the counter, my coat pocket, the floor between the couch and end table <WHOOPS>, etc.) stand up within a couple hours after I "trimmed" the end of their stems and stuck them in a glass of aerated water or a really moist 50:50 perlite:vermiculite mix.

It seems that there is a survival mechanism in place that allows them to draw moisture up through the end of the stem to some extent whether it has roots on it or not.

Personally, I now think that it encourages rooting that much faster.

If the medium is moist enough, they shouldn't wilt - or at least not "lay down like a wet noodle" wilt, lol. Obviously temperature and overall humidity play their part and if your RH is rather low then a humidity dome might be indicated in order to assure that the cuttings' moisture loss is less than their ability to uptake. But even then, I don't see the need - or even benefit - of having it so humid in there that the dome is dripping. Although it's probably not all that harmful... as long as your cloning agent has a mold-inhibitor.

You might trim some of the larger leaves (aka "knock their points off") though. Both because the cuttings at that point do not need either as much stored energy as the leaves contain and because they don't need the energy "factories" (chloroplasts) so much, either. Additionally, the cuttings' moisture-loss occurs through the leaves' stomata.

On a different note, I've occasionally wondered why people who grow in soil(sic) use rockwool cubes for cuttings/seedlings. It would seem to be an unnecessary PitA, having to soak the things first in order to get them to the proper pH. Not that they don't work, they obviously do. But since they're not reusable after the cuttings grow roots through them and since those growers aren't sticking the rooted clones into larger RW cubes - or into a hydro setup which wouldn't support a "bare" plant - I just don't see the... need.

Past few years I just stick 'em in a glass of water - usually with a small airstone if I've got an extra - or into perlite/vermiculite (if I know it's going into soil, I add around one part peat so that I can just "plant" the entire mess minus the foam cup its in). I lost one some time ago (#%*^ cat ate it and heaved it up about ten feet away, lol).

Just rambling... I expect that the majority (at the minimum) of your cuttings will make it just fine.

Oh boy that's a lot to take in lol Thanks for all the info you provided. I saw a few ways you mentioned about cloning and the reason I went with rockwhool even though I use soil is because, it seems more solid as in when I put the clone in the rockwhool it wont fall out so easy like it would in soil, also I will be able to see when I have roots instead of just guessing lol.

I hope your expectations are correct I'd love to have my first set of clones ever make it!

 

[Aaron Quix]

DUDE! haha your message was the first one I read and my heart about stopped thinking I damaged my wonderful plants for no reason lol

Thanks yeah I read about splitting the steam in a forum posted on here, seems like a lot of people where using that method. Not sure what splitting the stem does but I guess it works. I'm hoping a few make it that will be better then buying seeds and starting from scratch every time.

Right on sorry for the scare bud!! Yeah, just because I've never heard of it, does'nt mean squat bro. I'm just as much a noob as you. I did get 100% success with 7 clones just recently though, gave 2 away and threw 1 out, as it was the weakest. The other 4 are freakin awesome, and now in flower for the last week. I agree with TS, the dome is unnecessary, providing there is enough humidity in the environment. I didn't use one and my RH was in the 30s-mid 40s. I will also add that I didn't "soak" the rockwool cubes in PHed water, as most will tell you to. Now I'm no expert, and may have just been lucky, but somehow all my cuttings rooted, and were perfectly healthy. Once they had decent roots, I stuck the whole damn thing, plant, rockwool and all, straight into soil. They're the picture of health to this day, and will surely give a decent yeild.

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

Right on sorry for the scare bud!! Yeah, just because I've never heard of it, does'nt mean squat bro. I'm just as much a noob as you. I did get 100% success with 7 clones just recently though, gave 2 away and threw 1 out, as it was the weakest. The other 4 are freakin awesome, and now in flower for the last week. I agree with TS, the dome is unnecessary, providing there is enough humidity in the environment. I didn't use one and my RH was in the 30s-mid 40s. I will also add that I didn't "soak" the rockwool cubes in PHed water, as most will tell you to. Now I'm no expert, and may have just been lucky, but somehow all my cuttings rooted, and were perfectly healthy. Once they had decent roots, I stuck the whole damn thing, plant, rockwool and all, straight into soil. They're the picture of health to this day, and will surely give a decent yeild.

LOL its cool bro I thought it was pretty funny actually Wow 100% thats awesome i heard getting even a few to live is good. Yeah I went with the dome because its very very dry where my plants are so I need to mist them almost everyday as it is. I did soak the rockwool but the PH was 6.7 higher then the 5.5 recommended but I don't think that matters..at least I hope not.

How long until you noticed roots? and will they then grow like a normal plant as if it were from the seed? Also funny but I watched that video you posted and i seriously did the EXACT same thing he ddi and I've never seen that video lol

 

[Aaron Quix]

LOL its cool bro I thought it was pretty funny actually Wow 100% thats awesome i heard getting even a few to live is good. Yeah I went with the dome because its very very dry where my plants are so I need to mist them almost everyday as it is. I did soak the rockwool but the PH was 6.7 higher then the 5.5 recommended but I don't think that matters..at least I hope not.

How long until you noticed roots? and will they then grow like a normal plant as if it were from the seed? Also funny but I watched that video you posted and i seriously did the EXACT same thing he ddi and I've never seen that video lol

Then you should do well my friend!

RE: the roots, It took around, well crap I'll have to check my journal lol! But I think it was around 10 days on the first one to show, and one every so often after that, up to about 17 days for the last. Now, keep in mind, I didn't use cloning gel/powder, only a little superthrive and very very light veg nutes, along with Great White(Mycorrhizae and trichoderma) in the res. You'll have to go back and look at the cloner I built. That's the other thing I did different than you, I used a very cheap and easy DIY bubble cloner....But no nutes or vitamins for the first week in the water...Just water and a little air. I think I'd have seen roots much sooner, had I used PHed cubes(Debatable), cloning gel or powder, and here's the big one...Put the stems farther down into the rockwool cubes...Next time I'll try to get the stems around 1/8 inch from the bottom. I didn't pay much attention to how far in I put them, all I cared about is if they felt stable. The few that weren't very close to the bottoms, had developed a bit of a "Knot" of root mass, and seemed to be struggling to spread...Maybe thats what the soaking is for, IDK.

 

[Aaron Quix]

LOL its cool bro I thought it was pretty funny actually Wow 100% thats awesome i heard getting even a few to live is good. Yeah I went with the dome because its very very dry where my plants are so I need to mist them almost everyday as it is. I did soak the rockwool but the PH was 6.7 higher then the 5.5 recommended but I don't think that matters..at least I hope not.

How long until you noticed roots? and will they then grow like a normal plant as if it were from the seed? Also funny but I watched that video you posted and i seriously did the EXACT same thing he ddi and I've never seen that video lol

Oh and they wont start growing like normal plants until they have established roots and are taking nutrients...

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

SO checked on the clones and some are still standing the 2 larger ones are laying down though is this normal?

Alos question about the plants I took cuttings from. Will they recover as in will the branches I took off grow back or will the plant just make new branches towards the top? Most of the cuttings I took were towards the bottom and maybe one from the top.

 

[Aaron Quix]

SO checked on the clones and some are still standing the 2 larger ones are laying down though is this normal?

Alos question about the plants I took cuttings from. Will they recover as in will the branches I took off grow back or will the plant just make new branches towards the top? Most of the cuttings I took were towards the bottom and maybe one from the top.

...Eh, I wont say it's normal, but, there must be conditions that are in play, like the way you made the cuts, or got them contaminated, or they are thirsty...which are causing them to behave that way. There is some variable that is affecting them, that is not present with the other clones. So, that being said, technically its normal for a plant or cutting to do that only if there is some adverse condition.

Short answer, I dont think they should be doing that lol...Like I've said before though, I'm still a green-horn, so it's hard to say. Problem is, it'll be damn near impossible for you to decypher their behavior, except to say that if you try to fix it, and get lucky, you MAY then know what WAS wrong with them.

In other words, theres no way to know what is happening to them, with out a LOT of reading, and more experience.

About the mothers....you should see two new branches start to form where you took the cuttings from, which wont be fast at first, as the plant is concentrating on healing the cuts before new growth....

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

Oh so its been a crazy weekend Here are the picture updates. Also the clones seem to be doing well I see no roots yet but they seem to be fine as of now. Also I have a new comer! Raspberry Cough, hopping its a male because I'd like to attempt breeding with one of the clones, I had 3 raspberries and wanted to breed them with each other but only 2 have made it and 1 of the 2 doesn't look to good.

Cali:

Diesel:

Buddha:

Clones:

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

So incase you are wondering, yes I did change my name also seems my plants need more water now. I check on them today and the where withered and a good amount of leaves had died and fallen off of only diesel and Cali, Buddha and the others are still doing fine. I gave them a good feeding before I left today and will be going to full strength this week and also putting them all into flowering.

I did check my clones and the look healthy but it's been over a week and I have not seen any signs of roots so is this an issue?

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

Ok so there seems to be more then just a watering issue here. Not sure what is going on but a lot of Diesels lower leaves are yellow and falling off, could it be she is not getting enough nutes? Or is there some other weird issue going on here? Any help or suggestions would be great thanks everyone !

Diesel (not looking good):

 

[shaggie-420]

what is your feeding scheduled and nutes?
kinda looks like it could be Nitro def check out the "How to" plant deficiency post.
my guess is that they are wanting some nutes remember your older leaves will show first alot of the times

 

[dekon]

I would have to agree with shaggie... Give her a little splash of the nutes and see how she goes also have to remember the plant will drop any leaves that are not getting enough light as well.

 

[TorturedSoul]

What is the pH of your water/nutrient going in and what is the pH of the runoff?

 

[Optimus PrimeBud]

what is your feeding scheduled and nutes?
kinda looks like it could be Nitro def check out the "How to" plant deficiency post.
my guess is that they are wanting some nutes remember your older leaves will show first alot of the times

I feed them every 3-5 days depending on how dry and light the soil feels. The feeding schedule for nutes is once a week I was using 1/4 strength of FoxFarm Big Bloom (not Grow Big that I said I've been using I was wrong) I just now feed them with 1/2 strength nutes.

I would have to agree with shaggie... Give her a little splash of the nutes and see how she goes also have to remember the plant will drop any leaves that are not getting enough light as well.

Thanks for the info I gave them some nuts not a ton but a decent amount. The last time I gave them nuts I noticed some yellowing the next day, so I'm guessing that will happen again with the jump in strength. Is it normal to drop a lot of leaves as long as its towards the bottom? Most every leaf except for 2 were towards the bottom.

What is the pH of your water/nutrient going in and what is the pH of the runoff?

The pH balance of the water is about 6.6 as of now the run off is a little low around 6.2 is that normal or should I jump the pH a little higher then what it is?