Taking Clones

I wanted to put something here to start with and then when one of us takes more clones, I’ll add pictures. The idea about taking clones is that you want enough of a plant to start with. I count 4 nodes down and if I like what I see, I take it there. After the initial cut, I take a razor blade and make a diagonal cut at the bottom, and then scrape the sides of the stem from the bottom upwards about an inch. I role the scraped tip in some cloning gel and then slip it in a collar from the small hydro unit I use for cloning. Jerry made the cloning tubs from small Rubbermaid plastic containers. You want to have a dark color versus clear so that algae doesn’t form. He used a hole saw to cut the holes for the cloning collars. Click on the picture to purchase these on Amazon if you like. Or you can usually find them at your local hydro store.

An air stone completes the cloning unit. With the stem through the collar at water level, the water bubbles around the stem, keeping it wet and growing. When the roots are long enough, take it out of the cloner and plant it in a plastic cup. We run a light nutrient in the water in the cloning tub with some silica, KLN rooting hormone, B-1, and 5 or 6 drops of Super Thrive.

Average time in a cloner is 1 to 3 weeks. If the clones aren’t progressing at that point, they’re probably rotting, so remove them before they contaminate the cloner. The cloner itself should be cleaned form time to time, and the collars scrubbed free of residue.

When the roots are substantial enough, transfer the clone to a small container for further growing.