Clones not looking so hot

Hey guys I took these clones 4 or 5 days ago and put some loose sandwich bags over them to keep the humidity up. Eventually the pots were not drying so I removed the bags. Unfortunately the leaves are wilting over and I'm not sure what the problem is. Any advice appreciated.

You might have to try again soon. Did you use any rooting hormone? Cut the stems long first, into a glass of water then scarify around a node, cut diagonally through the node then straight into some hormone gel then the dirt?

Only way I ever got em going in dirt.

yeah I used rooting gel and kept em in a glass of water between cutting and planting. I thought I did everything right, but I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of is sometimes I put them on a window sill where they didn't get much light, but I thought clones don't need much light anyway.

Ill be honest- i usually have a hard time with clones myself, but one thing i have figured out is rapid rooters are your best friend! i would suggest trying them out if you havent already. I soak them in a solution of K-L-N rooting nutrient for like 15 mins before popping a seed or cutting into it. For seeds i put them in a humidity chamber and tuck that away in a dark closet for 3-7 days (until they sprout) then move to my seedling/veg tent, and cuttings just go into a humidity chamber and right into the seedling/veg tent. Rapid rooters are the best root-plug ive used, they seem to have the absolute perfect aeration to moisture retention ratio! just my .02

quick edit just to clarify in case you try my method: after soaking the rapid rooter for 15mins i squeeze out about 75% of the liquid before putting the seed or cutting into it, you want it nice and moist but not dripping.

maybe i'll try that next time

Honestly you can just put them in a glass of water and leave them. Change the water once in a while. I've seen that work too.

Have you been successful in cloning before?

I never liked going directly into soil. Everyone gave you good advice. Usually when they wilt they don't make it.

The sill can get pretty hot mid-day and dry things out if you don't spray.

I only use a five gallon bucket aero cloner cleaned well with bleach each use and I get roots in 7 days. It's like 50 bucks tops for no headache. Using a 9.5 watt bulb from home cheapo on 24hrs.

you dont want those pots to dry if that pot is dry means your soil is dry put the whole thing in the sandwich bag your roots will poke through that card board pot then you can transplant into a larger pot i usually use the smaller cups and put em in make sure for the first 48 hours they are completely covered then after let a little air in for an hour each day then close it you should see roots in 1-2 weeks

RootzGemini said:

Have you been successful in cloning before?

I never liked going directly into soil. Everyone gave you good advice. Usually when they wilt they don't make it.

The sill can get pretty hot mid-day and dry things out if you don't spray.

I only use a five gallon bucket aero cloner cleaned well with bleach each use and I get roots in 7 days. It's like 50 bucks tops for no headache. Using a 9.5 watt bulb from home cheapo on 24hrs.

Click to expand...

you know i have been successful at cloning but for some reason it didn't work out this time. maybe the sandwich bags were constricting the leaves

Those leaves should have been clipped too. Way too much surface area, the root end has no way of keeping up with that much leaf zone exhaling out water.

yeah i did clip the leaves...but i guess not enough

ANC said:

Those leaves should have been clipped too. Way too much surface area, the root end has no way of keeping up with that much leaf zone exhaling out water.

Click to expand...

ANC brings up a good point that i failed to notice in your pics, that is still quite a bit of foliage for clones to have, at most you want to leave 2 fan leaves (clipped AT LEAST halfway down each leaf finger) in addition to your top node. All lower nodes should be cut away, this will leave your cutting with just enough foliage to absorb light, but will prevent the plant from trying to do any growing other than at its roots. also i would highly recommend the K-L-N rooting nutrient rather than powers/gels. think about it in terms of how roots like to grow- lets say you have a clone thats just barely got roots going, if you provide water directly to those roots then they will have no reason to grow out beause theyre not having to "go searching" for water, same principal can be applied when trying to get the roots started- if you powder/gel the hell out of your stem, it will of course help roots get started, but it will also hinder them at a point because theyre not having to try to spread out to get what they need because youve provided more than enough right at the base. using the K-L-N nutrient you are able to mix a small amount of water with a small amount of nutrient then soak your desired starting medium in it (as i said before i like rapid rooters) this will provide the clone with the same rooting hormones it needs right at the base but as the nutrient is used up at the base the roots will begin branching out more in search of the nutrient water.

I just cut, trim leaves 1/2, scrape, gel then into rooting puck.
Keep wet n keep dome on for about 5 days. Continue to keep wet until roots show in 10-15 days. Clones might yellow a bit but should recover once planted.

Craigson said:

I just cut, trim leaves 1/2, scrape, gel then into rooting puck.
Keep wet n keep dome on for about 5 days. Continue to keep wet until roots show in 10-15 days. Clones might yellow a bit but should recover once planted.

Click to expand...

Can use Very weak nutes to keep wet too

Jmy137900 said:

yeah I used rooting gel and kept em in a glass of water between cutting and planting. I thought I did everything right, but I'm not sure. The only thing I can think of is sometimes I put them on a window sill where they didn't get much light, but I thought clones don't need much light anyway.

Click to expand...

you only fucked up, because your supposed to put the correct amount of tiny holes in the bags so just enough air gets in an some air can escape .thats whats stressing it or if your window is getting too much sun otherwise sounds like you did everything right you were sanitary I would assume . get a clear cup that will hold water underneath your pot .an water from the bottom with tiny amount of nutes

They look too dry. I start clones under a dome and mist them with water twice a day for the first three or four days. They don't have roots so you've gotta keep humidity as high as possible.

Chunky Stool said:

They look too dry. I start clones under a dome and mist them with water twice a day for the first three or four days. They don't have roots so you've gotta keep humidity as high as possible.

Click to expand...

I've never had any need for a humidity dome unless I have to fight bugs off a clone in a Dome but im no expert either

I believe the dome sprayed 2-4x daily is the key. I clone right into coco/perlite with cheap rooting gel after scraping the stem. I get higher success rates when I actually foliar spray with room temp water as many times a day as I have the time for VS leaving them moist and uncoverred. Id say 80% vs 50% success rates in my garden.

i'm thinking i should've taken bigger cuttings...those stems were tiny

Jmy137900 said:

i'm thinking i should've taken bigger cuttings...those stems were tiny

Click to expand...

you can root any clone just takes patience and willingness to not give up learning and keep trying if you mess up its handy skill to be great at cloning