Having a go a cloning

[Gorhad]

Read a few articles on cloning.

Well i love my 2 plants, so because we have had a lot of ups and downs (as a newbie) i want to try and clone them.

My main question is after taking the cutting, do i need to apply anything to the mother plant where the cutting came from to alleviate the shock etc

Growing in soil out doors Florida

Got the products

Clean new razor blade
Rooting powder
Potting soil (not sure which type from lowes)
Starter pots

Any other tips would be appreciated ie should i leave them outside in direct sun and watering how often and how moist?

Thanks

 

[shottafire]

I will try and help you out.
No direct sunlight I would keep them in a place with indirect light and better yet I would get a 23 watt compact fluorescent light to put over them for a 5 days or so. They need to have a plastic dome to cover them after cutting. So if you could come up with something or go to a hydro store and get a tray and dome.. For the soil I would get a seed starter type of soil and make sure not too compact the soil the delicate clone will need some air as well as water if you compact it it will not get the air it needs. Next you need a spray bottle to mist the plants and the inside of the dome. Make sure the pots don't get too cold most people use heating mats for propagation.
There is some good tutorials on this site too. Good luck

 

[Gorhad]

Thanks shottafire very much appreciated

 

[TanR]

Hi Gorhad,

I've had some success with cloning that I'd like to share as mine is a very simple approach.

I take a cutting from one of the lower branches that is at least 3 or 4 inches long. I trim off any lower foliage leaving only the top two nodes. To the remaining leaves of the cutting I remove the end 1/3 or so of each leaf. I gently scrape only the outermost layer (the skin if you will) of the cutting's base up about 3/4 of inch to maybe 1 inch. Dip the cutting in rooting hormone (got mine at Wallyworld or Lowes - don't remember) and put the cutting in a cup of distilled water for 5 to 7 days until I see roots beginning to develop.

I mist the cuttings maybe twice a day for the first couple days at least but haven't ever needed a humidity dome as like you I live in the southern US and have plenty (read more than I want) humidity in the air as a general rule.

Once the I can see the roots developing, I transplant the cutting to soil.

I have tried splitting the base of the cutting to expose more area to the rooting hormone and allow greater water uptake thinking it might allow rooting more quickly, but couldn't tell any difference to those I didn't split.

Shottafire is spot on with his suggestion of putting the cuttings under flouro's. Don't want them to be fighting against too much light.

Be well and happy growing!

 

[sfttailpaul]

The most important thing to remember is that cuttings need moisture and not be "wet". Moisture for the individual leaflets and the stem too. It also needs oxygen (fresh air) at the stem because it isn't yet taking up water like all those fine roots do. The cutting absorbs moisture through its' leaves so a dome (holds moisture in) is a vast improvement for faster and greater success rates. Take the dome off 1-2X daily to allow fresh air in. The hotter it is in the environment, the more times you should vent the dome.
You don't need a "Power Cloner" machine to have good results but they tend to have greater success rates due to a misting of the stem with drying out time in between misting and they provide the air at the stem at the same time. I use a Power Cloner and consistently get 90% or better rooting success.
1) Remember "moist" not "wet".
2) Warm environment, not hot.
3) No nutrients until roots well established (could be a month, could be more).
4) Light is important, BUT studies have shown that roots develop faster when there's no light. Enough light for the leaflets.to keep them green. Soft light like that found in CFL's seems to be best. HID's would be deadly. Too hot, too bright, too much!
5) Some people have tried some alternative techniques to the cuttings, things like:
A) Score the side of the cutting at the bottom, an inch or so. Not too deep.
B) Scrape the outer hardness off the stem, lower inch too.
These techniques seem to open the stem up for the root to appear and come out of the stem, more easily.
I have done both ways and the score/scrape has proved the best, for me.
My stem gets misted for 15 seconds, every 4 hours.
Light is from a 125Watt CFL that is as close as it can be without too much heat.
ROOTING gels? I have done it with and without. Same results, but somehow, I feel better with the gel in place. Does promote the rooting process...
Everyone has their own way. You will find yours too. Just keep on experimenting. One thing... take notes about what you did and try 1 way and another with two cuts from the same plant. This way you'll see the results of your experiments. GOOD LUCK, and good growing.

 

[Gorhad]

Thanks peeps i am excited to try this

 

[donpaul.p]

i use a dome and it works perfect every time, rooting takes a couple of weeks. as long as humidity is kept high around the clones then they will root, most growers use domes to root with as it ensures their getting high humidity, i take my domes off once or twice a day and let the plants breath for a minute then give the clones a gentle spray and put the domes back on, once i see new growth i take the dome off and see how they do, if they look ok after an hour with no dome then i leave the dome off, but i live with lower humidity so i use a dome but i know all the growers i know use domes

 

[Gorhad]

So do i leave the wounds on mother plant open or is there something i should put on and how many clippings from each plant would be ok

 

[sfttailpaul]

So do i leave the wounds on mother plant open or is there something i should put on and how many clippings from each plant would be ok

I have not seen much about this subject. Most people do nothing. I have always put a dab of roofing cement on the cut if it is larger than 1/4". Keeps out bugs and diseases. Never had a bad result from this.
The more cuts you take, the more shock the plant gets. I try to limit it to the four lowest branches provided they aren't too long/large. I look for a stem with like 4 leaves on it so that I don't take a large stem and have to cut away multiple leaves to make it small enough to fit into the dome. The larger stems don't take well to rooting. Seems there's too much to support, so a short 2-4 leaf stem, green stem, not bark (those are real hard to root). Looking foir those "adventious tips".

 

[Gorhad]

Had ago at my first cloning attempt yesterday, wife did the cuttings, much steadier hand than me

Took 3 cuttings from each of the mother plants

Dipped the ends of each one in some rooting hormone powder

Filled the seed/cutting starting pots with seeding soil

Stuck a pencil hole in the soil and placed the cutting in

For watering/humidity I placed the tray of cuttings in a Tupperware box filled with approx 1/4 inch of water

Gave the soil and leaves on each cutting a good watering

Carefully placed some strips of cardboard between cuttings to help prevent the leaves from touching the soil

Then I placed the whole thing in a surplus glass reptile tank that had a mesh lid on top to try and seal it to create a little more humidity I stuck the lid inside a plastic trash bag (fits very snug on the tank now)

The whole thing is sitting indoors inside my make shift grow closet very little to no light when the doors are closed

Inside temp is around 75 deg F

Misted them with clean water twice today

Bit of a ghetto setup but fingers crossed

Pics below



Seeding trays

Rooting Powder

Seeding soil

 

[GigaGrew]

are you....are you trying to grow roots on some leaves?

My friend, you may have better luck if you take a flowering stem (the one that grows at a 45degree angle between a leaf stem and the main stem.)

oh, and just for good measure...

 

[The General]

It it almost impossible to clone using fan leaves. Check out this link on where to cut clones on a plant. How and where do I cut my clones?

If you still need more help please feel free to ask me.

 

[shottafire]

Go easy on the guy hes learning.

 

[Gorhad]

Thanks shottafire lol.

Ive just done 2 like this

So am i on the right track?

Thanks

 

[donpaul.p]

if you have a stem below the ground then you should be ok, as long as the stem is an inch or 2 below the ground then you will be fine, you cant grow roots on the stem of the leave you need the actual branch as the roots grow off the stem.

also with the big fan leaves you need to cut these in half, cut the fingers down to half that size or a 3rd of the size, the more leave you have the quicker it will die, so keep the leafs small by cutting the fingers down,
let us know if their is a stem below ground level, without a stem you have no roots and the plant wont grow, you need the growing tip to be above the soil and the stem below the soil then the leaves that come off the stem take in the moisture which feeds the plant while its rooting

its also best to have clones under 24 hours light from taking the cutting until their rooted,

leaves stem wont grow roots, you actually need part of the branch that the leaves grow on as this is what grows and becomes the new plant, you see on the main plant you have the stem them the leaves and side branches growing off the stem, well the clones need to be the same as that, you need a stem with the leave coming off the stem and that is what becomes the new plant once its rooted

 

[Gorhad]

Thanks all

 

[Gorhad]

 

[Gorhad]

So its best to keep them in the cupboard with the cfl's on for permanently until they root?

 

[Gorhad]

Something like this?

 

[shottafire]

I would remove the biggest leaves from the bottom of the cuts and cut the fingers in half off the two bigger leaves at the top.