nugs

CLONES: FROM CUTTING TO BLOOM

By: Oldgrowerdude

Many have asked, what is the best way to take clones from mother plants?  As a grower of over 35 years, I wanted to give you the benefit of my experience. 

PREPARATION PRIOR TO CUTTING CLONES

Pick your strongest female plant(s) for cloning.  If in soil, let the mother(s) dry out a little bit.   I personally discontinue fertilizer for a few weeks prior to taking the clones.  This helps to build up the carbohydrates in the plants which is essential for good roots. 

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When taking clones, make sure you have a sterilized razor blade or box cutter.

CUTTING AND TREATING CLONES

Make your cuts at least 4” to 6” long to the tip.  

It is very important that you trim the leaves off the stem you are going to cut off, while still on the plant.  (DO NOT REMOVE ALL THE LEAVES FROM THE PLANT, JUST THE ONES ABOVE WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO CUT). Some have even done this (lol).  You are now ready to make your 45 degree cut below the nodes.

Another very important thing, that people skip, is that after the cutting has been removed from the mother plant, THE CUTTING MUST BE IMMEDIATELY PLACED IN WATER THAT HAS BEEN ph’d PROPERLY.

Now you are ready to dip your clones into rooting gel.  Dip them as far as possible into the small jar of rooting gel.  I place 6 or 8 cuttings in the gel so they can soak for about 5 minutes.  This helps the gel to adhere to the stem.

Remember, you need at least 1 to 2 stem nodes under the soil or coco, or in your Xcloner.  This gives ample places for the generation of thick roots.

I like to root my cuttings in my Xcloner and sometimes I put them into coco, but with both methods, it takes at least 14 days to sprout enough roots, so that they are either root bound in the coco or almost too big to be removed from the cloner.

Note: One cloning practice, that some have said to be good, is to cover the cuttings with a clear dome.  They try and tell you to cover your clones as they are rooting to keep the humidity high.  In my experience this method is not sound.   I have been growing in indoors and central air for 20 years with the average humidity is 35% is sufficient humidity.  The humidity should stay high and moist on the stem you are planning to root.  In covering with a dome, the humidity stays too high and this can attract fungus, cause stem rot and total destruction of the cutting itself.

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FROM ROOTED CLONES TO BLOOM

Now we are ready, with fully rooted clones, to work them in to the main grow system.  Myself, I use an Ebb&Grow system, which is made up of a 55 gallon reservoir, 12 – 2 gallon buckets and 12 growing buckets.  These growing buckets hold your media and the plant.  The outer  bucket, holds the plant bucket, so it can be flooded 4 to 6 times a day.  I also have one controller bucket with a timer that controls how many times a day I flood and for how long.

Normally, if my cuttings are done in the Xcloner, they are ready to be placed in the growing medium.

If cuttings are rooted in coco and will be grown out and finished hydroponically, remove the coco from your cutting by rinsing the rooted stem with luke warm water.

If cuttings are rooted in soil or coco and you intend on finishing the plant in soil or coco, it is best not to remove or rinse the soil around the roots, so as to not traumatize or disturb the roots. 

Soak the rooted clones for 5 minutes in a transplant and root stimulator (I use Technaflora’s Thrive Alive B12, 1-1-1).  This helps the plant to not wilt after being transplanted into your growing medium.  It also protects against your roots from going into shock due to transplanting.

Nothing else is needed to produce an exact clone copy of the mothers you have picked.
The growing medium is strictly your preference, whatever growing medium you chose, stick with that method until your grows are lush and green and ready for heavy buds.

HOW LONG SHOULD THE PLANT BE VEGETATED

2 to 3 weeks of veg cycle.