cloning in just water?

I read online and seen a few pics of clones in just water. Anyone ever try this? How long should it take for roots to appear ? What it best for lighting and humidity levels ? I have some G13 x Butterscotch Hawaiian (a.k.a. Free Lennard) that I wanna save..

Just tried it and they all look like their dying. Could be lack of humidity on my part, but also used gel klonex. Just read gel causes more root rot than powder.

Dolci said:

Just tried it and they all look like their dying. Could be lack of humidity on my part, but also used gel klonex. Just read gel causes more root rot than powder.

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Gels and powders are only to be used in medium. Never when using water.

It will take 2+ weeks to root more than likely.

^Slanty said:

Gels and powders are only to be used in medium. Never when using water.

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ummm... aeroponic cloners are sold stock with rooting shit, dude. i dont think that dissolving a gel would be any different. its all the same compounds in it.
better rule of thumb might be that gel is for a cutting where media can easily be washed away (soil), and liquid benefits best from a solid-state (for lack of a better term) media that wont wash away (rapid rooter).

take some regular clone cuttings and put them in a coffee can half full of water and put an air pump with some kind of defuser in it. bubble bubble bubble water only, and itll work, dude. you wont even need IBA. keep the roots dark, though.
KEEP THE WATER MOVING.
and always wear your khakis with a cuff and a crease.

You can use gels, and powders but some are not water soluble and can clog your pump. I would recommend KLN from dyngrow for a rooting solution.

straight water is fine just dont let it go stag change it every 4 days and make sure your not putting them in some thing clear like a pop bottel roots need darkness!!

^Slanty said:

It will take 2+ weeks to root more than likely.

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Thats how long it took mine about in only a pint glass of tap water.

greenpeace31 said:

straight water is fine just dont let it go stag change it every 4 days and make sure your not putting them in some thing clear like a pop bottel roots need darkness!!

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Do what he said.

Heres some pics of when i did it as you can see i had two clone only one rooted.

I like that coffee can idea, but what should I be looking at for lighting? Ambient light from my 1k hps? (Direct or indirect? Or use a cfl?) Cover em with a bag for humidity?

Help me out guys! I have a 3 week window to get this right....! All the help is much appropriated!

AlmightyPapaC said:

I like that coffee can idea, but what should I be looking at for lighting? Ambient light from my 1k hps? (Direct or indirect? Or use a cfl?) Cover em with a bag for humidity?

Help me out guys! I have a 3 week window to get this right....! All the help is much appropriated!

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what i did was just leave the glass sitting on a table near a window so it was getting indirect light

Thanks to all the good advice and a few "AH HA!" moments of my own, and I have what I think is a pretty good set up. If it pans out, Ill make a lil tut on how exactly I did it. Comments and suggestions please!!! And thanks all, this site and yall have been a huge help!


Pic 1 and 2 show the set up. Coffee can, water pump (10-30 gal, w/ rock bubblers at the bottom. straight water, 5 inches worth. Cuttings art 4 or 5 inches long, 1/3 of them are in the water itself.

Pic 3 shows my home made box to make the light indirect.

Temp stays between 72 - 80 at all times and humidity is around 50%. The light in the room is a 1k HPS.

Good luck. You went way above and beyond what is necessary though. A clear glass filled 3/4+ with plastic stretch wrap over the top(can use elastic band to hold on) Poke a hole where clone will be shoved through into water. Let sit in room temperature with indirect light. Patience.

Change water when required. Light hitting the water is not an issue as long as it is CLEAN water. If you see algae starting, change it more frequent. There are no roots yet, so light is also not an issue.

ps. Spliffbazz. You should have removed the lower leaves/branches from your clones. Those sites will help promote root growth when they are removed and submerged. The other will more than likely root just fine as well.(may just need a few more days)

^Slanty said:

Good luck. You went way above and beyond what is necessary though

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I know I did. But honestly, it was a simple build and I think its worth the investment to Free Lennard. I'm the only one I know with it. Lol..

Kudos to you AlmightyPapaC. Anyone who puts that much love into what they're doing has my respect. I too have played around with various cloning methods and found success with similar parameters to what you are using. However, I also add Hydroguard to a 50/50 R.O and Tap water mix, to discourage disease. And, I adjust my pH to between 6 and 6.3. My question to you is: if your putting in that much technology into your clones, you must have a good reason NOT to add anything to the water: so, what is it?

hey looks good but at those temps you need to give those lil girls some fresh air.. take the bag off once a day or something because they will rot from tooo much humidity..also you can make a very cheap ez-cloner with a rubber maid container and a pump and pvc, i made one for $40 and always use straight water and no dome. i use olivia's cloning gel..no dome and 24 hrs of a fish tank light..
GOOD LUCK N KEEP ON GROWIN

I have used aero cloner since day one and started with just ph'd RO water. Had 100% success in 7-10 days for nubs and around 20 the roots are nicely formed. I started adding some voodoo and touch of dynagrow and they seem to nub few days quicker. Either way is great.

sweet just trying my hand at cloning, nice thread

hesallwet said:

My question to you is: if your putting in that much technology into your clones, you must have a good reason NOT to add anything to the water: so, what is it?

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Its my sig (k.I.s.s.) most people don't understand that water, tap distilled for 2 hours at room temp and shaken to remove impurities, is good for your plants. Don't get me wrong, I am buying a Ph tester, but will only add to my water IF needed. Jus wanna keep it simple stupid.. lol but Thxs on the info as to what you add, if I have a similar problem, ill refer back to your knowledge.

209 Cali closet grower said:

sweet just trying my hand at cloning, nice thread

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It is a very good thread, everyone here has been more than helpful.

I saw this thread thought I'd share my results of cloning without any cloning additives at all.

Until this experience, I have never cloned any plant. Three weeks ago I prepared 100 clones. I cut'm off a larger branch while underwater in a solution of less than seedling strength GH solution. Poked them right into a submerged rockwool cube, then into a 2" netpot, and then I pulled them out and dropped them into a modified flood/drain table. It was filled with hydroton and is flooded every 6 hours. 400W/24hrs lighting. Water was kept at72f. Room temp was around 65f, but got as low as 55f. I'll keep it warmer next time. After one week there was not enough noticeable root development to prompt any transplanting. My results below are after two weeks in the flood table...

60 usable clones
30 had roots 1-2" outside of the rockwool cubes.
15 had roots.5-1" outside of the cube.
15 had roots that were exposed less than .5".
Many of the unused clones were showing root development and probably would have been fine with more time.

Next time I'll keep the room temp higher. The humidity runs 60-75% in the room. I'll also probably use a cloning additive. I'll probably go away from the flood table too. I've seen some good setups on this forum with way higher success rates. I'll keep researching and reading for now.

Fire it up!

@highina - reason I went straight water with a dual air pump is that root powders and gels can clog your pump. And from what I've read, air pump is the best way to go. And one of the fast ways of cloning. Ill make a journal post when my babies are all done. Also you should not need anything more than water if you change it regularly and always leave the pump on.