Ziplock and rapidrooter easy cloning method.

[pflover]

things you need:
good cloning gel (Doc's, Clonex, olivia's)
sharp scissors or razor
rapid rooters
new unused ziplocks (knock offs work ok too).
healthy plant

1) dip scissors into cloning gel.

2) take cutting. the gel should cover the end of the cutting so air does not get into the stem.

3) dip cutting between 1/4 and 1/2 inch into the gel.

4) carefully place cutting into existing hole on top of rapid rooter.

5) tear off small piece of edge of rapid rooter and use to securely "plug" the rest of the hole so that the cutting is held firmly inplace and air cannot get in easily.

6) place rapid rooter and cutting into new unused ziplock. (i prefer 1-2 cuttings per sandwich baggy. 3-5 cuttings can be done in a 1 gal bag. the more cuttings per bag the higher chance of any infection spreading and killing more cuttings so limit the number of cuttings per bag as much as possible.) (EDIT: At this point i never place more than one clone into a baggy at a time and only use sandwich ziplocks.)

7) LEAVE the bags ALONE for the first week! Then start to check for roots every 3 days and to remove any rooted cuttings. DO NOT breath into back or aerate them.

8) rooted cuttings can go dirrectly into moist soil or be mailed as is.

(before discovering this method i had a reliable 20-30% success rate with clones because of infections spreading. after i started using clean new ziplocks everytime my success rate rose to a reliable 90-98%!!!!, no bullshit.)

hugz and good luck!

Ally

[sittingone]

Ally,
Do you recommend soaking the rapid rooter in growth hormone (VooDoo juice or similar product) and water, or just water or what? You did not mention that in the post. I have actually tried this method and had great success. Actually the only way I had a rapid rooter actually work for me, so it is very reliable and simple. I soaked my rapid rooters good in superthrive and water and shook them out a bit. Finding the right moisture level in cloning was always an issue for me, and had to find a sweet spot, so I wondered for everyones knowledge how you determine how wet if at all to get the rapid rooter (As I know there is a bit of moisture already in them when brand new)
Great post Ally! Thanks for putting it back up:)
This method is also great to get clones ready for "transit" if the situation were necessary.
Peace all'
sittingone

[esterinco]

Thanks for the info Ally, That sounds pretty easy. :)

[pflover]

i use bulk rapid rooters from the bags and not from trays. the moister in them when i get them seems to be pritty good usually but if it is low at all i personally only add a small amount of water to the bag (like 1 droper full.... aprox. 1ml). i have had bad luck using voodoo juice on clones in the past. always got stem rot. as far as fine tuning the method, do what works for you. :D

[sittingone]

Cool Thanks:)

[buddyh]

What's a Rapid Rooter?

[pikes peak 69]

Made by General Hydroponics. It's a plug similar to like a peat pellet I think. Not sure what it is made of.

[pflover]

root bark.... they have microbs in them that are root friendly :)

they are very spungy.

[slater]

after you stick the clones in the ziplock baggie does the ziplock get zipped up or do you leave it open to breathe?

also i was wondering if you keep them standing up or do they lay down?

just trying to get a better understanding of this method.

[mendel]

Nice post pflover, we do something very similiar here. I love rapid rooters, they are the greatest thing since sliced cheeze, we call em 'rubber dirt'.

Instead of thge ziplock we use clear plastic cups, the short bathroom/snack holder for kids type, fat and short. Three rr plugs will fit in one, and then another cup is inverted on the top and a couple of 1/2" black tape strips r used to hold it on. We load the plugs, 2 squirts w the mister, the lid goes on and under the flouros til I see roots.

pflover have yopu experimented with using something clean to make the hole in the rr plug deeper and putting the cutting stem in almost to the bottom of the plug? I use this method and like it emmensely, as it allows more of the stem to be in the optimal conditions for root growth.

RR plugs are my preferred method and the one I suggest to all who have questions about cloning.

best regards,

mendel

[anonymous]

sweet deal thanks PF this info came just in time for some clones i am trying to get thanks..!!!

[oddjobs]

Hi PF I have a question on reveging as this is the first time I,ve done this.All Ive read that you,ve posted leads me to think youd be the most noligable and to the point. I grew a nice little girl inside small but very good quality I cut the biggest end buds then imediatly planted outside. She is responding and coming back to life now.How should I feed now. Shes been outside for about 5 weeks should I be agressive with the nutes or start slowly.She, a very skunky girl would hate to screw up Didnt Know how to start a thread so maybe you can help or know someone who can Thanks oddjobs

[pflover]

slater, i close the baggy. i use to open it now and then to breath but i get greater rates of infection when i do this so have given up the practice. standing up or laying down does not seem to matter and ziplocks do not stand easily so laying down is the norm.

[pflover]

mendel, your method sounds very good too. :) hehehe rubber dirt! i like that :D

do you use part of your rapid rooters to "plug" the rest of the existing hole or do you just leave this open?

as for sticking the cutting in deaper into the rapid rooter, i do just that..... just the angled cut on the cutting to "stab" it deeper into the rapid rooter than the existing hole goes. i have had very good luck with that so far without appear to damage the stem of the cutting.

i also place mine imediately under floros. the heat from the floros mixed with the green house effect of the baggy appears to be enough warmth for root development without the need for some kind of added heat sorce.

Ally

[slater]

Thanks Fer The Response

[jb247]

The rapid rooters are made of tree bark, so they have alot of the hormone that tells a plant to make roots. Another great idea from our Hydroponic friends.

[mendel]

Hey there pflover, I leave the hole unplugged, I can take a dissecting needle and open the hole enough to see into it to check for root bumps/nodes on the stems, look for rot etc. I can get a bit impatient at times.

U actually make the hole deeper with an alcohol sterilized scalpel, insert and twist, I use rooting gel and can squeeze the plug to open the hole then insert the stem and let off the plug, which envelopes without wiping off the good stuff.

RR also contain mycorhyzzal fungi and benefitial bacteria, I once bought 4 bags of 50 rr and a few of them sat on a shelf in my laundry room for a few months, when I went to use them the plugs were covered in Mycena, a small delicate fairy ring type mushroom. I used them and got 100% rates.

here is a picture I took of mycena while forayingfor fungi in jamaica.

[pflover]

heheheh great post mendel....

[navigator902]

:D Ally, Fantastic, I've done something similar, but did not use rappid rooters or bags, and all three were successful. I will try your method soon. Will let you know my success.
Thanks for posting such a clear tutorial thread... Peace... nav :cool:

[navigator902]

Pflower, I've been looking in my small town for rapid rooters to clone with... but no luck where can I buy them online... Thanks nav

[Causeway]

search ebay

[navigator902]

I found them on Ezhydro.com, 50 for 13., but still must pay shipping . nav

[pflover]

lol if i buy them online i go through ecogro.com

[fat]

nice post, thnx

[Smokin Moose]

Good threads deserve a second airing. ;)

[jb247]

Nice post pflover, we do something very similiar here. I love rapid rooters, they are the greatest thing since sliced cheeze, we call em 'rubber dirt'.

Instead of thge ziplock we use clear plastic cups, the short bathroom/snack holder for kids type, fat and short. Three rr plugs will fit in one, and then another cup is inverted on the top and a couple of 1/2" black tape strips r used to hold it on. We load the plugs, 2 squirts w the mister, the lid goes on and under the flouros til I see roots.

pflover have yopu experimented with using something clean to make the hole in the rr plug deeper and putting the cutting stem in almost to the bottom of the plug? I use this method and like it emmensely, as it allows more of the stem to be in the optimal conditions for root growth.

RR plugs are my preferred method and the one I suggest to all who have questions about cloning.

best regards,

mendel
Gotta love the Rapid Rooters, as they have greatly improved my cloning success rate, for the first few years, I could not get more than a 10% rate and used alot of different methods, till I found the RR cubes. Now I am at 95% and going strong.
My variation is that I use styrofoam coffee cups to hold my rooting clones, then I cover them with a clear plastic drinking cup, by doing a bit of shopping around I've found that larger clear cups will fit right over the styrofoam cups, effectively sealing in the moisture. Let the plants have a bit of fresh air after three days or so, keep an eye on the moisture levels. Don't let the cubes sit in standing water, just make sure the cube stays damp. Most of my clones show roots after a week, some are more stubborn and take 10-15 days...strain dependent...

Peace...j.b.

[ROLNIK]

things you need:
good cloning gel (Doc's, Clonex, olivia's)
sharp scissors or razor
rapid rooters
new unused ziplocks (knock offs work ok too).
healthy plant

1) dip scissors into cloning gel.

2) take cutting. the gel should cover the end of the cutting so air does not get into the stem.

3) dip cutting between 1/4 and 1/2 inch into the gel.

4) carefully place cutting into existing hole on top of rapid rooter.

5) tear off small piece of edge of rapid rooter and use to securely "plug" the rest of the hole so that the cutting is held firmly inplace and air cannot get in easily.

6) place rapid rooter and cutting into new unused ziplock. (i prefer 1-2 cuttings per sandwich baggy. 3-5 cuttings can be done in a 1 gal bag. the more cuttings per bag the higher chance of any infection spreading and killing more cuttings so limit the number of cuttings per bag as much as possible.) (EDIT: At this point i never place more than one clone into a baggy at a time and only use sandwich ziplocks.)

7) LEAVE the bags ALONE for the first week! Then start to check for roots every 3 days and to remove any rooted cuttings. DO NOT breath into back or aerate them.

8) rooted cuttings can go dirrectly into moist soil or be mailed as is.

(before discovering this method i had a reliable 20-30% success rate with clones because of infections spreading. after i started using clean new ziplocks everytime my success rate rose to a reliable 90-98%!!!!, no bullshit.)

hugz and good luck!

Ally

Pf. thanks, it works great. glad this post is still up for the nubies like me!!!
ROLNÍK

[og gary]

thanks pflover. i have bad luck trying to root clones. so any info on this subject is good news to me. ill try it next time i root clones.
thanks
og gary

[Jred]

Seems like a nice sterile method. Only had two cuts in my 20" x 10" tray with the dome on and when not somewhat full they take longer imo.. Chunked the two cuts I had into a gal ziplock and to raise the humidity a bit. Great thread. Done the plastic cup thing way back in the day then used and 120 site ezcloner and put 3 in each site at one point. Have the botinicare aero cloner and I hate it compared to the ezcloner. Design is bad as it the top rest and has a small over hang over the res which means dripping water..Weak. and only got the mid sized one so had to throw an ice probe (cheap way to cool under 20gal a few degrees) to get the temps right as the pump it comes with runs hot so I bought a pump that uses less wattage with a higher flow but really the pump should be external imo unless you have the biggest one as the extra water compensates for the temp change

[Bushboy]

So I usually use a clear plastic container (or 2) approx 8 inches deep, but now I only need 2-4 cuts at a time. When I read this I thought 'self that isn't gonna work'. I thought the leaves would rot off before rooting. Well trying it out is easy enough so...I threw 4 cuts into 4 1" rockwool cubes (i know, but the mailorder hasn't come through with my rooting plugs grrr) using a powder rooting compound and dropped 2 each into Ziploc freezer bags. Presto 8 days later and I get roots.

This is gonna make it way easier for me now. I was taking extra cuts just to fill the containers before...lol

Thanks for the tech.