Should I have direct light on the cuttings in cloner as soon as I put them in or is indirect light good. I know what type of light to use just not sure of the right time to add the light.

thepodpiper - I have a single 2 bulb 4 foot shop light above my cloner - about a foot and a half above.  This is much higher than I use on my seedlings or rooted cuttings.  I'm more concerned about roots than leaves - I figure a rooted cutting can leaf out when it wants, but if it leafs out before the roots come, it's a goner.


DanW - A few of my December cuttings are just deciding to show signs of life.  I had a really thin Black Jack; half rotted and I recut it. Now it has some roots coming off the new bottom.


Andrew

I run my lighting on a 30min on/ 30min off cycle. I have room for 4 bulbs in my light but only use 2. Don't want to burn new growth. Also, I change my water every 2 weeks.. Getting great results. Be patient. Some are quick to root, others take more time. Up to a month. My system is just sprayed water from underneath (aeroponic) not a fogger.

Rick, are you seeing any roots at all on your cuttings?

It is getting time for my first water change and cleaning. My question is how have you guys cleaned and sanitized your system? Thanks. Rick, when you change your water, what do you do with your cuttings that were in the cloner? Do you let the water come back to operation temps before reintroducing them?

Rick, are you seeing any roots at all on your cuttings?

YES I'm getting good roots!! I am noticing the cuttings with smaller leaf growth are sending out smaller root number and those with bigger leaves are sending out much more. All are rooting though.

Rick, when you change your water, what do you do with your cuttings that were in the cloner? Do you let the water come back to operation temps before reintroducing them?

I make sure the cuttings just received a 30 minute on cycle before water change. Also my 30 on/off timer is tied into both my sprayer and light so that each is on/off at the same time.I keep all the cuttings in the top half of the unit and just put it off to the side. I then drain and fill with 70 degree water after a quick wipe down of the bottom. I do not use fertilizer or food. The roots get more than enough of these just from the air mixing with the water. Also my water is well water so trace elements necessary for growth are already in place.

Very interesting reading. It will help with your cloning just from the increase in knowledge.
I am guessing trees and plants function and grow via the same principals.
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/where_do_trees_get_their_mass_from

So in other words, people that keep low light conditions when rooting are actually robbing the plants of the necessary carbon it requires for growth. It's best to find a happy medium where you do not burn new growth, but still give a surplus of light and CO2 above, while giving oxygen and nitrogen and trace elements below.
PS. Light and CO2 have no use before leaves are visible, so bombard the root system with as much oxygen and nitrogen (air and water) as possible until you see green. Happy cloning!

It's been about 4 weeks since my first batch was started. Yesterday all the cuttings were transferred to the bag method to continue the rooting process. About a cup of bleach was added to the 2 gal reservoir and the system was allowed to run through its cycle 2 min on 20 min off for several hours. The unit was washed with hot soapy water, rinsed and new water added. New cuttings were added for the second batch.

Thanks guys, good info.

This is 12 days in the cloner. I had to throw out one cutting since it was in bad shape. I have a few cuttings that are getting goop on the scores or on the bud scars, this isn't happening with all of them. Wondering if I should scrape off slime as I see it or let it go.

Got some funky root initials and callouses coming along though

Matt, good question, I have one showing the goop substance and was wondering the same thing. I have cleaned it off in the past, but it keep coming back. Only the same cutting.

BrooklynnMatty
If I may ask... I see from your pictures that you have what appears to be "cling wrap" on the tops of your cuttings. Am I correct? And if so, is it designed to hold in moisture?
Thanks
Rick

As far as the Slime... I got slimed 2 years ago when I first got my cloner. I tried putting nutrients/fertilizer in the water thinking it would help growth. I believe that's what caused my problem. Now I keep my clones in the cloner for up to 3 months and only use a bit of rooting powder in my reservoir at the beginning. Nothing else but fresh well water there after. I can't honestly tell what is going on under your hood, but I do know that water doesn't usually slime up unless bad bacteria or fungus is given a surplus of food. I would drain, wipe, rinse and fill with A LOT of water and nothing else. Change the water every week. Block any light that might get into the reservoir. Try to starve the growth before it kills your clones. If all else fails go to Walmart and look in the aquarium department. Google search for any fungicide/ Anti-bacterial they have on shelf and see if it comes up safe for live aquatic plants. Then use as directed. Just a few ideas. Hope it helps.

Hey Matt.....Why do you have your cuttings wrapped up?? 

Rick - its buddy tape. It's a type of grafting tape to prevent moisture loss.

Frank - I used the buddy tape due to low humidity in my office and try and help prevent desiccation of the cuttings above the cloner. Similar to Tim clymers method for low ambient humidity. Once they start getting roots and leaves, I'm sure the film isn't needed anymore. I used parafilm and buddy tape on all my methods this year.

I heard somewhere that the slime might just be latex from the cuttings since its only coming from bud scar and scores, no where else.

I will probably change water in a few days, scrape off the excess latex/slime and see how it goes. The cuttings still look great.

I wanted to try to do some cloning, and a buddy of mine had built a cloner, and he wasn't using it, so I borrowed it. He said I could do what I wanted to it; so...


 

I added some sprayers. The ones on the periphery are 180 degree nozzles, and the ones in the center are 360 degree nozzles.

  

in the bucket -- note that the cord coming in has had plastic taped over the top of it to prevent leaks.



I ran plastic from below the  sprayers, and up over the top of the sides. When the lid is on the plastic is then wrapped over the lid top so that there are no leaks whatsoever.

 

24 slots filled up

 

several varieties waiting for roots!

Right now I'm running a repeat timer (http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/westek-timer-hack-7933481?pid=1290912792) @ 1:50 on 12 minutes off (the timer fluctuates just a bit)

FYI, I did gel, let it sit for a couple of hours and then fired it up. The cloning liquid recommended 5 ml/liter. I had roughly 24 liters, so I put in 120 ml

I will report back.

Looks like a great system. Some nice cuttings also. Keep us updated on your progress.

Looks good, Kennyray.

So how is everyone potting up their rooted cuttings when they come out of the cloner, and how much root development are you allowing the the cloner before potting?

Good question, since I haven't potted any up yet, I would also like to know.

At 4-5 weeks I moved all cuttings from cloner to bags. Roots ranged from 0 to many. One cutting was starting rot. It was a tip cutting with old bark and nodes close as in one on top of the other, probably not a viable cutting for rooting in a cloner. I cut away the rot and stuck it in a bag because it was leafing out.

I then added about a cup of bleach to the 2 gal reservoir and let the cloner cycle for several hours. Then washed with hot soapy water, rinsed and refilled with tap water, adjusted ph to around 6.5 and started a 2nd bath of cuttings.

I am around week 20 with the cloner.  Here are my thoughts.  Fig cuttings, not so good.  It looks like some roots are forming, but barely visible, sort of like Brooklynmatty's pics.  Plants and seeds are doing much better.  I have strawberry, pineberry, tomato seeds, and melon seeds.  The Pineberries did the best growing thick white roots that stretched down to the water.  The tomatoes and a hot pepper seed all germinated and are growing nicely.  The melon did not germinate.  Then I added HTH.  I checked the Cl at 1.0 ppm.  This turned all the thick white roots an ugly brown.  Fortunately, the plants showed no ill signs above ground and after a week or so, I see signs of white growth on the roots.
Conclusion: HTH is not a safe alternative to clear-rez.  Aeroponics  benefit plants more than rooting.  I had found a video on Youtube explaining this, but I can't locate it.

I found the posting: