Got a dome full of clones just started. First time cloner here. Any tips or tricks to ensure successful cloning? Today is day 1 of cloning. Used clonex and riot rooter plugs and ac infinity dome. Trimmed some leaves in half and left some leaves full and untrimmed to see if it makes any difference. Made short tiny clones and made tall big clones also. I gotta say tho, the bigger the clone was the better and more proper it situated into the plug due to thicker more sturdy stem and the smaller the clone the more difficult it was to insert the clone due to floppy rubbery thin stem. Naturally the plant had a variety of cutting to makes as clones from small to large, which is how I ended up with that variety in the ac infinity dome. Gave a light mist of water in bottom tray and on leaves and on inside of dome walls. Heard to take off top periodically to refresh the air supply. Anything else that can be done?
You started well. Typically larger thicker lower branches make the best clones. A long stem hurts nothing. More root developement. I take from bottom of my mothers. Always cut more than you will use. Keep the best, trash the rest.
Keep the plugs wet, humidity high with leaf misting and the light set at the seedling stage. Looking good Growmie 
Sounds like you’ve got a great start. My biggest tip is to read up on proper hardening off practices. Basically keep humidity at 90 plus percent for 3-5 days until you see new growth starting to form. Once you see new growth start lowering humidity in the dome like 5 percent a day over the next 5-7 days. On the last 3 days start pulling the dome for a few hours at a time and letting them sit at your future tent humidity. You’ll see much more stable growth after if hardened off properly.
Hi. Thanks for input. It’s day 2 and i only misted the leaves when I put them in dome. Haven’t misted since. Also, I didn’t do anything to the plugs cause fresh out the bag they had enough moisture to drip when squeezed. How often do you mist the leaves? I heard some people do what I did and then not look at it for a week. Not sure what to do. It’s day 2 and clones are still drooping. So far I don’t like cloning. Makes me want to just buy enough seeds. Reason I did clones was because I want a uniform crop with same results every time and do a perpetual grow without having to buy more seeds. Cloning so far seems more like a gamble, but it is my first time cloning
I use the same set up as you with clonex products. I misted the leaves on the first day and then maybe 4 days later. The plugs need to be just moist not soaking wet, I used a small dropper to hit them with a few drops of the clonex feed as they needed. I had solution on bottom to keep plugs moist but that was too much water the first few tries and that did not work for me. It took me a few tries to figure it out. Once you do, it is a good tool to use in future grows. I just flipped some clones to flower, excited to see how they come out.
The drooping is likely because of air pockets in the plants water uptake system. It’s my understanding letting them soak in a glass of water for 24-48 hours prior to planting can mitigate the majority of this. @Budbrother recommended this to me along with a nutrient supplement he uses to help stimulate early growth. I already had a similar product (AN B52) which I plan to use with my next set of clones.
I wouldn’t sweat it much though. The first time felt pretty stressful for me until I had one shrivel up like the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz because I didn’t harden it off properly only to fully spring back by the time they got to stretch. It’s weird to watch but they’re much more resilient than they appear while drooping.
I wanted to clone in just water but didn’t see any videos that showed it works. I know what you mean tho. Soak in water 24 hours or so then put in plugs and dome. I dated a girl like 12 or so years ago that had a cutting with roots in a vase of water. I’m pretty sure that method works for some plants just not sure about cannabis. Didn’t wanna risk it so I did the tried and true method shown all over YouTube. I did leave more leaf material than most show and only clipped some in half but people say odds of rooting is same either way. Plant has to get energy from somewhere to produce roots and it’s not a seed so more leaf material seems better than a empty stick with clonex gel on one end. But I’m not pro. Just a noob
They’ll root in water but you have to be careful that you don’t let the water go bad which I think is generally considered more work than the plugs. There’s also aeroponic easy Cloner systems that are supposed to work great and I think are kind of the commercial standard. If something goes wrong though they’re less resilient than the plugs which is why a lot of home growers still prefer plugs.
I tend to always have some kinda plants water rooting. Just gotta change the water every few days and keep in ambient levels of light till rooted. 100% rooting as long as ambient humidity isn’t somethin like 35%
I use 1. Mister. Requires no dome. Sucker works great.
Don’t give up on cloning it took me a couple times to realize that after you put the clones in the plugs and lightly misted your dome do not mist the clones This way, the only water they can get is from the air which forces them to root quicker so they can get water from their roots…
Now this is the most important thing that I learned and now I clone with almost a 100% success…
After everything is all set, and all your clones are in the cloner, put them in the dark for the first hour or two… I have no reason to bullshit you but what happens is even a little bit of light sometimes is too much for the clones because they do not have roots so they droop over, but by putting them in the dark for a couple of hours you avoid that initial shock… After an hour or two of darkness, set your light to the lowest setting if you have a dimmer, and if you do not have a dimmer raise the light as much as you can … If you are limited in room and cannot raise your light, take a white towel and put it over the dome so it can provide diffused light instead of direct light and all of your clones will be standing up I promise… I do not touch the dome for the first three days then I use a small syringe and give about 10 to 20 mL of Clonex solution At 5 mL per liter of water… Then I wait another three or four days and I give them the same solution at 10 mL per liter and I add just a small amount until it just touches the holes in the root riot plug holder. You do not want them to sit in the water, but you do want the roots to look for water… Start at around day seven to look for roots if there are none give it another Couple of days and give it another 20 mL feeding by the time you hit a 12 through 14 most clones will have rooted if not, give them another five days. If still nothing they probably will not root…
Oh another thing is I like to keep a root riot plug in the center holder inside the dome and that’s where I put my temperature sensor for my heating pad so I know exactly what temperature my clone is getting which means when I water the clones with the 10 mL to 20 mL I also water the empty plug so it has the same moisture content… I like to keep my heating mat at 75° But anywhere between 73 and 77 will do just fine any higher and you risk Having an anaerobic bacteria and rotten out your stem…
I wish you nothing but the best of luck on your next cloning adventure and if you need any advice, you can respond to this thread and I will be happy to help as this is what I do for a living. Here is a picture for proof.
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