light and clones?

[Buddyy]

Hi, my question is in regards to how much light new cuttings should get.
I use a 150W MH and have the cuttings over a meter away....is this too close?, would I be better off using a 18W fluro? The humidity in my room is 60-70% and temps 24-26. I'm wondering if it's too humid in the dome and if this could cause root rot. Also is it better to cut off the plastic from around rockwool cubes or not? How wet/damp/dry should the cubes be?
Last time I made clones exactly the same way successfully in 7 days yet this time they haven't rooted after 10days.....maybe I'm just impatient.
thanks for any advice

[Mestizo]

Clones can take different lengths of time to root. Don't cut the plastic from the side if it means the roots will grow out and will be exposed to light. i used to have problems with the cubes drying out too quickly. Clones generally like fairly damp conditions. If you press the top of the cube and it dry to the touch, that is too dry. I used to cut bits of black plastic to cover the tops of the cubes also. Don't over water. Just keep monitoring.

[badrabbit]

Originally Posted by Buddyy

Hi, my question is in regards to how much light new cuttings should get.
I use a 150W MH and have the cuttings over a meter away....is this too close?, would I be better off using a 18W fluro? The humidity in my room is 60-70% and temps 24-26. I'm wondering if it's too humid in the dome and if this could cause root rot. Also is it better to cut off the plastic from around rockwool cubes or not? How wet/damp/dry should the cubes be?
Last time I made clones exactly the same way successfully in 7 days yet this time they haven't rooted after 10days.....maybe I'm just impatient.
thanks for any advice

I think the MH would be fine, but I'd keep it aways from the clone.

I'm not sure, but I think 18W flouro would be too little.

Humidity in the dome is good, but open every day and let some air in.

Keep a sharp eye out for the signs on mold on leaf tips ... that means too much humidity for sure. If that happens, move the dome so some fresh air can come in, or remove it all together if they've been on the table for more than 10 days or so.

You should keep the cubes (I assume rockwool?) as wet as possible, but don't let them sit in standing water ... you do NOT want the ends of cuts in water, they need moisture and air.

Rockwool is great at retaining water and letting in air, just keep it nice and wet (I actually sit them on a small ebb and flow table).

The wrap on the side doesn't matter one way or another ... contrary to popular opinion, light won't harm the roots as long as they stay moist.

cheers,
rabbit

Originally Posted by badrabbit

I think the MH would be fine, but I'd keep it aways from the clone.

I'm not sure, but I think 18W flouro would be too little.

Humidity in the dome is good, but open every day and let some air in.

Keep a sharp eye out for the signs on mold on leaf tips ... that means too much humidity for sure. If that happens, move the dome so some fresh air can come in, or remove it all together if they've been on the table for more than 10 days or so.

You should keep the cubes (I assume rockwool?) as wet as possible, but don't let them sit in standing water ... you do NOT want the ends of cuts in water, they need moisture and air.

Rockwool is great at retaining water and letting in air, just keep it nice and wet (I actually sit them on a small ebb and flow table).

The wrap on the side doesn't matter one way or another ... contrary to popular opinion, light won't harm the roots as long as they stay moist.

cheers,
rabbit

I agree w Rabbit. Well said sir.

They might root in 18W but why waste the extra time? With the humitity that high, domes are optional for you. You should at least remove them for 5 minutes, several times a day. Rot is not your friend.

[b0b_b1tch1n]

while rooting you dont want a lot of light , your consentrating on root growth not plant/leaf growth , 18 watt cfl is fine , i use a 13 watt cfl per dome

once rooted introduce them to the mh , and every couple days move it closer to them untill you reach the distance you want

keep the cubes damp not wet and they will shoot roots faster and without risk of rot

i mist the inside of my dome for the first 4 or 5 days and have yet to see any mold issues , and we are talking about thousands of clones done this way

there are many tips throughout this forum to help clones root and tips for the slow to root ones as well , a little searching will provide you with all the answers you need

best of luck

[pepper]

well you should always have a "room" or setup for clones, and that most always involves floros.. even high production clone banks used floros when rooting..

a MH is a highly wastful amount of energy for clone production.. but I would think at that distance it's fine, but I don't use MH for rooting, but has ussed overdriven t-5's for rooting at 8 inches away and was fine, also have used t-5 side light and rooted fine.. clones need minimal light to root.

anyways, dome is fine, high humidty is fine. as for rooting times well I'm not sure how healthy the clone is, watering habits, strain genetics, rooting hormones... there is many factors at play for clones, and generally people have a hard time have high successful rates with clones

rockwool cubes I cannot tell you as I don't use them ( they are very wasteful to the environment over other options )



good luck, if they fail to root, it could be many options ( to high light, un-healthy plant, overwatered, underwatered, rooting hormone blocking stem cut, to low temp, to high temp, diesase ... )

[Mark]

Originally Posted by b0b_b1tch1n

keep the cubes damp not wet and they will shoot roots faster and without risk of rot

This is consistent with my experience also. In my opinion, it is more often than not that fear of cuttings drying out causes people to keep them too wet and slows rooting.

Your temps and humidity look good but a little more humidity would be better until they've rooted. I think the lighting should be fine provided you don't have too much foliage on your cuttings. If they look like wilting, you can position a semi-opaque cover between them and the light that will allow you to soften the light intensity temporarily.

[badrabbit]

Originally Posted by b0b_b1tch1n

while rooting you dont want a lot of light , your consentrating on root growth not plant/leaf growth , 18 watt cfl is fine , i use a 13 watt cfl per dome

once rooted introduce them to the mh , and every couple days move it closer to them untill you reach the distance you want

keep the cubes damp not wet and they will shoot roots faster and without risk of rot

i mist the inside of my dome for the first 4 or 5 days and have yet to see any mold issues , and we are talking about thousands of clones done this way

there are many tips throughout this forum to help clones root and tips for the slow to root ones as well , a little searching will provide you with all the answers you need

best of luck

I'm sure you're right about the flouro's Bob, I haven't worked with lights that small. But I've also run "thousands" of clones and have seen mold appear on clone tips under a cover many times. I'm not sure what about your set up prevents that from happening, but it's a problem for many set ups I've tried, usually after a week or so in there.

[badrabbit]

Originally Posted by Mark

This is consistent with my experience also. In my opinion, it is more often than not that fear of cuttings drying out causes people to keep them too wet and slows rooting.

Your temps and humidity look good but a little more humidity would be better until they've rooted. I think the lighting should be fine provided you don't have too much foliage on your cuttings. If they look like wilting, you can position a semi-opaque cover between them and the light that will allow you to soften the light intensity temporarily.

I'm not sure I understand how to make a rockwoold cube "too wet". As long as they're not in standing water, they seem to stablize around the same level of wetness; assuming a daily watering.

Do you mean that if would do better to let the cube dry out a bit by not watering it over a number of days for instance?

I have great success with cloning, but I do put them on an ebb and flow table where they get a dose of water at least once a day. It sounds like you're suggesting that's overkill on the watering and they'd root faster with less water, perhaps once every 2 or 3 days?

Thanks, my methods work, but there's always room for improvement.

rabbit

[b0b_b1tch1n]

yes they can be too wet and very easilly too , i have a friend who lets his go completely dry after the initial wetting , i have never gone that far but it works for him and works well , i rarely ever lose a clone , 1 in 1000 maybe , but when i do its because the cube was too wet and the stem rotted and rotted fast

damp is what you want not wet , hell ive had roots appear above the cube just from the moisture rising in the air i guess and i dont use a "wet" cube , only damp , if my clones take 10 days im depressed , on average mine take 7 , but thats an average , some take 10 but some have rooted in 5

whatever works for each of us is what counts right , anyone new to cloneing should experiment to see what works best for them

peace