Dead And Dying Clones

Help. What did I do wrong and how can I do right?

I took three cuttings off my one and only plant two weeks ago, trimming stems at an angle and keeping them in water from the second I cut them. I tried to start them in potting soil. They looked ok for three days but then they wilted.

I moved them all into cups of water. They looked good and even looked like they were getting new growth on top but no growth on the bottom. No roots starting. I changed the water every day.

Some of the leaves started turning yellow so yesterday I put them into cups with holes in the bottom and a mix of potting soil, sand and water.

This morning one was all withered and brown and the other two were limp. I stuck them all back into water but its too late for the one. What should I do next?

Put them back in your cup of water or a soda bottle. Get a fish tank air pump and put the stone in the bottom of the bottle. After 3-5 days you should start seeing roots. Make sure the water level stays high enough to submerge the roots/stems. After you start seeing roots put them back in the soil. Dont forget to water them down good when you transplant them into the soil.

Rooting in water will work fine, and changing the water every day will keep it aerated enough. Are you using plain tap water? A drop of Superthrive (vitamin B1) in the water may help, as would lowering the pH with some acid. What are you feeding them? Remember, with no roots they must be foliar fed, misted lightly with very dilute nutrient. And to keep them moist, a humidity tent works great.

Cuttings root easiest in warm, moist conditions.

HTH

hey space,you shoud seriously consider using rockwool as your cloning medium.. if you use rockwool, cloning powder/gel and wilt spray.. along with water that has a ph of 5.0 - 6.0 you will have success...and NOW you KNOWM

I agree with the rockwool but I know he doesnt have any so thats why I suggested the water method. PR is dead on with the superthrive and a little acid. I didnt want to confuse you any. So I didnt bring it up. Just dont over do it. And you will be good. Give us an update in the next few days.

Boy thank you for all the help. I see I was doing things wrong. Thanks to your advice I did this instead.

I moved the clones into a humid room with steady 70 degree F temp. (Before, they were in a place where temp ran from 50 to 80 F.)

I added a drop of Vita Start each time I changed water.

I started misting the cuttings every day. (Before, I thought they liked dry air.)

I sprayed them with dillute solution of Miracle Grow (24-8-16). (Before, everything I read said don't feed plants for the first 30 days.)

I also started two new clones yesterday because the others survived but had some damage. Yes its true that I don't have rockwool, so thank you for helping me do this right with water.

Questions.

The water here is about nutral I think, PH 7.2. Should I still make it more acid and is it OK to use pool chemicals to do that, ? The one I have is called sodium bisulphate.

I don't have the acquariam pump. I'm changing the water once a day. This probably sounds silly, but would it help if I blew air into the water with a straw?

Still no rooting yet, but everything is alive and looking OK.

Call around and ask your buddies if anyone has an air pump. They are only like $10 at walmart. Im not sure what sodium bisulphate is. I wouldnt try it. Try a drop of vinigar and see.

Yeah, Man, NO sodium! Sodium will kill plants. That's why pool chemicals, and some aquarium chemicals can't be used for plants.

Changing the water regularly will work fine.

I wouldn't adjust pH unless you have a method to test it. Even an extra drop or 2 could cause it to drop to 4 point something. If you can't confirm your adjustment, then use as is.

It sounds like you will soon be a papa!

FYI aerating of stagnant water doesn't happen because air is pumped into the water. It's the bubbles that rise to the top, and break the surface that cause aeration. Any roiling of the surface will work, but it has to be fairly constant. I just use a water pump pointed upward.

potroast said:

Yeah, Man, NO sodium! Sodium will kill plants. That's why pool chemicals, and some aquarium chemicals can't be used for plants.

Changing the water regularly will work fine.

I wouldn't adjust pH unless you have a method to test it. Even an extra drop or 2 could cause it to drop to 4 point something. If you can't confirm your adjustment, then use as is.

It sounds like you will soon be a papa!

FYI aerating of stagnant water doesn't happen because air is pumped into the water. It's the bubbles that rise to the top, and break the surface that cause aeration. Any roiling of the surface will work, but it has to be fairly constant. I just use a water pump pointed upward.

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Is sodium hypochlorite not a good thing to use in a cloner? And to OP I'm wondering if you can get root riot cubes? I started using them two runs ago after they were gifted to me and honestly they are great, but peat pots work well for me also. I hate rock wool lol.

What is the purpose of aerating the water? oxygen? Doesn't bubbling increase the PH of the water?

Also what happens if you add a little hydrogen peroxide? would that not increase oxygen?