Rooting Hormone... Problems?

[keyline]

I've been having problems getting clones to root lately. I use both botanical aero cloner and rockwool cubes, and have found the stems start getting slimy after 2-3 days and most eventually never make it as a clone. I've tried everything I could think of including completely disinfecting my aero cloner etc etc. So then I changed from powder rooting homone "(Rootone") to a gel GroTech. No change. So a week ago, I took about 20 cuttings, and using rockwool cubes, I separated and them into two groups. Half of them used the gel and the other half just straight tap water.
Result, after one week: 90% of the one with gel are dead, and the other 10% is on the way out. The ones using just straight tap water are all HEALTHY.

Anyone care to comment? The 2 oz of gel cost me $14!

 

[Ilikebigbuds]

wow thanks for your post!

I too have been having the same trouble, I thought maybe it was the powder I was using, so I went and spent 21.00 on the gel! lol

My results are no better! if anything it was worse for them. so once again I took cuttings last friday and put them in a glass of water and they still look great! but I know it will take weeks for any sign of roots this way.

I am avoiding putting them into cubes for the same reasons you have mentioned above.

I will use plain water and hope this works better.

this cloning thing should be a simple you know? but for some darn reason it seems to be an issue!:holysheep:

 

[Flyinghigh]

I can't wait to learn to Clone my Purple Haze and Northern Lights When I find out what Sex they are..
So I will learn in about a Month if I can or can't LOL !!

 

[andy52]

try the hick method.i too had issues with cloning until hick turned me on to the perlite way.i rarely lose a clone now.got 9 out of 10 the last time.read the diy

 

[trillions of atoms]

yeah, try rooting in a different medium....

 

[keyline]

Looks like I'm gonna have to read up on Hicks.... BUT I potted the first clone with roots from the healthy batch I had left which was straight tap water. It took 9 days. I do believe that's maybe 3 or 4 days longer than my aero cloner.
HERE'S MY QUESTION:
What is it that seems to eat away the outer 'skin' and make it soft and almost slimy?

 

[Barrelhse]

I worked on a legit farm for a while- they had a huge greenhouse set-up, and I was friends with the head grower. He informed me that rooting hormone is not good because it causes extreme stress from unnatural growth demands. He compared it to Agent Orange in the way it caused the plant to run it's life- cycle on fast forward. Perhaps a botanist out there could add some facts to flesh out this info.

 

[massproducer]

Your cuttings sound as though they are damping off or being affected by some other type of mold/fungus, which is causing your stems to rot. This can be caused from a lot of different reasons but it is mostly caused by too much water and not enough air, but can be caused by adding nutes to your cloner and not changing to water frequently enough

Looks like I'm gonna have to read up on Hicks.... BUT I potted the first clone with roots from the healthy batch I had left which was straight tap water. It took 9 days. I do believe that's maybe 3 or 4 days longer than my aero cloner.
HERE'S MY QUESTION:
What is it that seems to eat away the outer 'skin' and make it soft and almost slimy?

 

[keyline]

Your cuttings sound as though they are damping off or being affected by some other type of mold/fungus, which is causing your stems to rot. This can be caused from a lot of different reasons but it is mostly caused by too much water and not enough air, but can be caused by adding nutes to your cloner and not changing to water frequently enough

Well, perhaps too much water, or mold/fungus...but why does it only affect the cuttings with the ones dipped in cloning gel? there are no nutes in the water with the exception of the gel. In my aero cloner, I've been changing the water every other day since I've been having these problems, and it does help slow this slimy process down, but not eliminate it when using rooting powder or gel.