Cannot get clones to root!!!!! *****help*****

Ok so over the past three months ive cut about 20 clones. Not a single one of them rooted? Heres my process, let me know if you guys have any tips

1.Cut clone with snips, then cut a 45 degree angle on the stem.

2.Trim off lower branches and cover stem in ROOT Tech Cloning Gel.

3.Put clone directly into rockwool cube and keep moist.

4.I have not had any domes on covering my cubes and i think lack of humidity is the problem. How much does humidity play a roll in getting roots?

What im doing now

I mixed some of the cloning gel into some water and after taking the cutting i set them in the water for ten-fifteen minutes. After that i cover the root in actual cloning gel and put right into soil. This is my first time doing soil and i have something with a dome to try and increase humidity.

What else can i do to get these things to root? 24/0 light 18/6 12/12? Ive been keeping them out of direct light i think your supposed to do. Has anyone ever used ROOT TECH cloning gel?

Any help is much appreciated!!!!

You'll need the dome for sure! in fact check out subcools old school organics it's a sub forum in organics, I believe it has a thread called cloning with subcool. It has pics and all the info you'll need right there.

If you use the dome you will see roots in a few weeks , simply keep the humidity in check by venting it and never allowing the condensation to run . If you see the condensation inside running down the side of the dome it is too humid and rot and mold could take place instead of rooting .

From my experience rooting in a dome will be most optimal at 85 % RH and around 80 F while maintaining a 18/6 photoperiod . Gently spray the clones if needed but I prefer to keep them in a shallow amount of water at all times as this eases the maintenance factor . But then again if you want the easiest simply buy or build an aeroponic cloner as they are simply plug and play and many use just tap water with 100 % success rates

Forget the rockwool. Net pots and collars have let me do over two thousand clones and lost two. No dome needed. Straight tap water no adjusting ph.

what is the net pots and collars way. and how would you go about building a aeroponic cloner

Aeroponic cloner is about the easiest thing to build other than a dwc bucket. Check out the plans in hydro thread, harvest a pound every three weeks, and i have tons of pics in my thread, my 3 stages of flower. 2" netpots from clone to harvest with no other media ever needed.

hey mate, the best way i have found is to use a humidity dome and heat mat, i have a propigation thing i found in dads shed, i take a cutting, cut 45 degree, imediatly dip in gel not too much just cover the cut make a hole in rockwool cube that has been soaked in week clonestart and water mix just moist, straight into the pre heated dome at 27degrees i mist the dome, i keep rh as high as i can nearly 100% and see roots out a 2 inch block in 1-2weeks. however i really want a turbo klone, i get good sucess and anfeter a few days i poor some clonestart mix into the bottom of the tray and make it wick up to the roots, i folar feed with rizotonic amd water

red cup, pro-mix and a sandwich bag.

gtran said:

Ok so over the past three months ive cut about 20 clones. Not a single one of them rooted? Heres my process, let me know if you guys have any tips



1.Cut clone with snips, then cut a 45 degree angle on the stem.

Click to expand...

STOP-STOP-STOP….

Now start over one more time….

OK, here is your problem [possible issue here]

Cut with a razor blade, or exacto knife. The snips are squishing the end and the cut here is most important… must be sharp like splitting a hair sharp…

Everyone has there own way to do clones, and most think their way is best… I will not tell you my way, but, I get 100 % in spring/summer maybe 85-90% winter…

You need to be more detailed…

Start by washing your hands in rubbing alcohol…especially if you smoke cigs…

And get a sharper tool to cut off your clone…

Good Luck… 0 for 20 is not good… Start over with my two changes only and you will be fine….

Im with the dome idea, otherwise your starting out fighting a losing battle. Also, i didnt hear any mention of PHing the rock wool cubes. I dont use that stuff anymore because of seed starting issues ive had with it but i thought for sure that they need to be ph adjusted before using because the PH is naturally off with them. Anyone back this up cause i use rooter plugs cause ive heard theyre PH balanced already. The dome is totally the key though, they sell tall domes and id get one of those, its a couple bucks more but youll be happy you did.

Seeing any roots yet? Some good info here.

I only lose clones when I use domes and rooting gels (esp. root tech, if it is the orange gel). Seriously! I'm not trying to conflict with anyone or suggest that anyone use my method. But root tech gel as only given my cuts stem rot. Nasty brown slime stems.
Side by side my cuts without a dome or gel never wilted and rooted days faster with no loses, the same cuts with gel, under a dome wilted for first day or so and at least 1/3 died; so both seem a total waste of money, IMO.
Just use a cfl and control your environment, make sure the temps are in the 70's or lower 80's, anything colder than 68 or hotter than 85 your cuts wills suffer, also have them at least 6" from higher lumen cfl's and feet away from hid's with at least 50-60% humidity.
I hardly if ever lose a cutting(maybe 1/100ish, and I simply cut the stem typically with scissors( but have used a clean fresh razor with no added benefit, unless I cut the stem up the middle adding more surface area on stem for roots), at 45 angle, rough up the side of stem, stick it in rock wool with tap water for first week, after a week when clones are rooting I give them 1/4 solution normal ferties.
But I think my success comes from 10+ years. A good greenthumb can get cuts to root in just about any medium; hell I've gotten roots in a glass of tap water which I just replace with fresh water every day or two.
PS. You might want to check into a clone bucket though if you're having that much trouble with rockwool, a clone bucket is where I finally broke my cloning bad luck, many moons ago.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I grabbed a container from work and put 5 clones in there. 3 in soil and 2 in rockwool. The container has a dome and i mist it every 12 hours or so. Humidity stays at around 85%. Im gonna try to get a thing of Clonex here soon and stop using this off brand stuff, if that doesnt work im giving up on clones!!!!!

Cool hope that works for you. I also forgot to tell you to cut off the tips of biggest fan leaf blades on the clones. Read it from Jorge cervantes's bible. Cutting the tips off the fan leave helps the clone to stop transpiring(aka, sweating out their moisture), so your plants retain their moisture and don't droop. If you want I sure you could google the process so you can get a better idea of what i'm talking about. Check hightimes cuz I think I read an article there to about the same process.
I also have gotten clones from harborside many times in which they cut 1/4" to 1/2" off the tips of the leaf blades.


Don't give up, you'll get it!

My recipe...

Tools needed:
Healthy mom
2 packs of grodan 1.5" blocks (45 count)
PH meter
Cloning solution (I use clonex)
Razor Blades (new)
Clone dome
-1 cloning tray
-1 cloning dome
-1 water tray

Step 1:
PH water to 5.5-6.5 (best results I've found is 5.8 )

Step 2:
Soak RW cubes while you cut your clones
**you do NOT need to soak them for an extended period of time, you want the cubes damp not soaking wet**

Step 3:
Cut clones and immediately put them in a bowl of PH'd water while you cut the rest of your clones

Step 4:
Once you have all your clones cut (or your bowls full) use scissors to cut the tips off the leaves (as stated above) and used a brand new razor to cut the stem at a 45 degree angle.

Step 5:
Dip stem in cloning solution and incert into RW cubes, fill tray place done on top and place under light


Random tips/info:

72 1.5" "individual RW cubes will fit in the tray.
seen here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002IU8UW

You can also buy a full "breakaway" RW sheet which has 98 cubes total.
seen here:
http://www.virtualsunhydroponics.com/agricultural/products/SC300.asp?CAWELAID=1544825725&cagpspn=pla&"cagpspn=pla"&gclid=CMLp5qiOsLgCFc57Qgod7XcADA

I find the hole that comes in the premade cubes is often too big of the clones themselves so I flip the cubes over and use the other side. Flipping the cubes does require you to make a small slice in the top of the cube with your razor. Do not try and make another hole, just simply stab the cube with your razor, doing this will insure a snug fit for your stem.

make sure you wipe the condensation off your dome 1 to 2 times a day as to not allow mold to grow

On average I lose about 3-5 clones by the time their rooting.

I have also noticed if I do not fill the tray completely with clones the cubes tend to dry out a lot faster. I would suggest since you're just starting to used the 1.5" separate cubes and make more than 20 at a time (safety in numbers). You can always flower, sell off or throw away your extras.

My roots usually pop in 7-10 days, you can speed up the process slightly by using a seedling heat mat (hydrofarm)
be cautious with the heat mat tho, you will need to check the tray to make she the cubes haven't dried out.

Good luck!

If you are consistently losing clones every round i would reconsider the method. Never expect to lose any plant and never settle for doing more work for less reward.

can take 7/14 days b4 roots can appear

I've never had luck in cloning other than aeroponics. I get roots within 7 to 10 days. I even had a top root in 14. Roughneck totes work well as the lid makes a better seal than most totes and no water leaks from sprayers going all over.

superstoner1 said:

If you are consistently losing clones every round i would reconsider the method. Never expect to lose any plant and never settle for doing more work for less reward.

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I agree. Try something new like an aeroponics or DWC cloner. If you don't want to build one here's a cheap one for you:

http://www.thelittlestgiant.com/store/default-Plants-1-SingleItemName-ID.asp?ID=19

And another:

http://www.thelittlestgiant.com/store/default-Plants-1-SingleItemName-ID.asp?ID=35

And no, I do not work for that company!!

if all else fails, it may be poor genetics. in my cloning experience with my two most recent plants, a blimburn mango and a positronics black widow. The black widow clones in half the time. My cloning success is as follows, 1/5 mango cuts made it into dirt, and 5/6 black widow cuts are now living in dirt. I gave up on trying to clone the mango, its time to flower her and cycle her out.

That's my 2 cents.