Clones not thriving, who can help?

Hi everyone, my first two grows have gone great (avg 2.4 oz per plant) and I'm totally loving the hobby. You can see my journal here: https://www.rollitup.org/blogs/252657-greengurl.html

However, I am not doing so well with the cloning process... The rooting has gone well in my homemade aero-cloner, but when I repot them into coco in little solo cups, they don't get going like I'd hoped.

Can any of you see what might be my problem, just by looking at them? There are so many variables, I'm having a hard time determining what to fix.



I appreciate anyone who can help a newb. Thanks!!!

Im having the same problem actually

Ain't it a bummer? The first time I think I starved them, this time I think I may have burnt them with the teeny bit of nutes I gave them over the holiday (feed via wick system from air stone-oxygenated reservoir)...

Just looks like shock to me. Doesn't help that some were in flower. Unless something is funky with your coco then it will just take a bit for them to recover. Also with aero-cloners you don't have to cut the leafs like you did.

Oh, I'll try not cutting the leaves from now on. Also, I realize the flower cloning is "less preferred" but this was a freebie lone Coletrain seed I got and first clones were killed when I was stupid checking on them and forgot to plug the cloner back in... I'm hopeful to keep this baby around (awesome yield and beautiful plant in general). I appreciate the helpful reply Japan.

Do you keep them under a dome until they root? What if any supplements are provided?

Hey there Nullis, I don't use a dome because I don't think a dome is needed in an aero-cloner (any moisture that is transpired is replenished). I don't give them any supplements until they are rooted, and then just a teeny bit (like 1/8th of week one veg nutes). Could that be too much? I usually wait until they have a really nice root formation before putting them in cups (at least 9-15 little shoots), could that be an issue?

Meant to reply to this yesterday but time ran away from me. I've never used an aero-cloner, but so long as the relative humidity is high as in upwards of 90%. I would recommend getting a hygrometer just so you'll have one and then you'll know. They are not expensive; even the digital ones are affordable and often come as a combo indoor or outdoor temp/relative humidity meter.

Clones are different than seedlings: aside from requiring high humidity (which seedlings do not), they'll need nutrients almost immediately for best results. I would recommend starting with a bloom fertilizer that also has some nitrogen (such as Pure Blend Pro and/or even a fish fert like Neptunes Harvest) at 1/8 to 1/4 strength. Phosphorous is important at this stage for healthy root development.

I find kelp to be indispensable supplement for seedlings/clones and following transplants. Sea kelp fertilizers should be rich in plant growth regulator/hormones (which plants under stress may be lacking) as well as potassium and various trace minerals. For cuttings/clones you can used the recommend quantity, which for Maxicrop liquid seaweed is 2 cap-fulls to a gallon of water. Liquid Karma is another exceptional supplement, derived from kelp but with other ingredients like humic acid and yucca extract. Also be sure your pH is correct.

Many people use Superthrive, which is a non plant food supplement that contains auxins, naphthaleneacetic acid, B-complex and other vitamins. It may help cuttings root faster and retain vigor, it supposedly also helps sick plants come back to life. I would only use it for rooting cuttings from less vigorous plants, or sick plants.

​

you need some calcium, have you given micro's?
try some CaMg.

ive had this issue before, id like to know what the solution is... i thought i gave them to much nutes

I give no nutes for 2 weeks after a cloning?

I agree with Japanfeak, just give em more time.

If it was in flower it takes about a month for em to start up again..

Just went through this myself and what I found helped was to flush the soil that they were going to be transplanted into beforehand with 6.0 PH'd water and NO nutes. (Doing this was to flush out any nutes added to the potting soil by the manufacturer and to try and get the soil PH down to about 7.0.) Then I gave them 18/6 light with 2-4 mistings per day and they all snapped out of it. =)

(I've read that coco can have really high PH and may need this pre-flushing to get the PH stabilized, although I haven't used it myself yet.)

yo Try folar spraying with a very light veg mix and be sure to add a surfactant ... Than how much perlight do you have in those cups i think your plants are getting enough o2 in soil mix try sqeezing the cups very cuple days break up that hard dirt

Have you cleaned cloner? If so what do you use? A friend uses vinegar. It could be because it's not clean.

Edit: Just a friends suggestion

Jesus christ, the amount of misinformation on this forum is staggering at times.

You don't need a dome, nor a hygrometer. You need to add b1 to your cloning mix, like superthrive or similar. No nutes till roots are formed (like 2" long. Then give them GENTLE veg nutes, and a TINY amount of micro. like 200 ppm total. PH 6.0.

Give them a solid two weeks in the cloner with the lights at 18/6.

Transplant, continue B1 and nutes, and they will be just fine. They are going to take 3-4 weeks to cycle back to vegging from flower.

brownbearclan said:

Just went through this myself and what I found helped was to flush the soil that they were going to be transplanted into beforehand with 6.0 PH'd water and NO nutes. (Doing this was to flush out any nutes added to the potting soil by the manufacturer and to try and get the soil PH down to about 7.0.) Then I gave them 18/6 light with 2-4 mistings per day and they all snapped out of it. =)

(I've read that coco can have really high PH and may need this pre-flushing to get the PH stabilized, although I haven't used it myself yet.)

Click to expand...

+1

i just discovered this "flushing before planting" process too.

since you cant trust the soil mixes you find in box stores, flushing makes the transition much easier.

adding some dark time also helps imo.

i use 20/4 but the principle is the same.