Decaying stems

[Smoker 27]

hello im having bad luck with trying to clone with rockwool the stem seems to rot and decay ive had 1 root out of 20 thanks for any help

 

[Jackalope]

My first attempt at cloning I used. 50/50 vermiculite and perlite in 4in pots. Dipped in Clone X. I tried to keep 2 internodes under the soil but on some strains only had 1. 80% rooted. It was ugly but it worked. Cuts can look pretty nasty before they take sometimes. While I had problems through out the process. things still worked out. As long as they are not dried and brown there is still hope.
Forgot to mention. Cuts were kept in a clear tote that was tall enough to cover pots and clones to keep a moist environment.