I recieved clones roughly 15 days ago. They started to get moldy so I had to adjust there enviroment by taking them out of there dome. I transfered the rockwell cubes right into their own idividual cups of good soil. I stopped the mold, only I gave myself a new problem. They started to droop and dry out. Half of them have suffered a horrible death. I managed to bring the other half back to "life" by starting a misting routine of every 3-4 hrs. The other half are alive sort of and confusing the hell out of me. The original leaves on the surviving clones are turning yellow and dying off. There is new growth howeverthat looks healthy. I have been pruning the dead leaves as they die. Does this new growth mean that they have finally developed roots? Also what can I do to help make sure that these plants continue to live. It seems like I take 2 steps forward only to be pulled back a step. The clones are BC BIG BUD. I am hoping to add these babies to my outdoor garden. I have tons of pics if I can ever figure out how to post them. Please your help is desperately needed!
yellowing lower leaves means the plant is eating the nutrients stored in its leaves, which is natural. new growth is the best indication of a well established root system. i never cut any leaves, but if they are so dead that they can be pulled off easily then the plant has probably used all the available nutrients. sounds like you're doing all the right things. once they show new growth you can start feeding them with 1/3 or 1/2 strength veg ferts so they don't continue to eat their own leaves. otherwise you're doing a good job
the purpose of a dome is to provide the plants with moisture. Having no roots they need to intake moisture through their leaves while they develop roots. The problem was that they went from a super high humidity environment to where you have them now so quickly. By slowly cutting back on the misting you will be able to wean them off spraying as the roots grow. When I root clones I keep the dome on constantly for the first week, except for 2--3 times a day I take the dome off and 'fan' the tray with the dome cover to provide fresh air. Then over the next week I prop the hood open slightly, a little bit more each day. And then once out of the tray I mist them a couple of times a day for a few days. By that time they are used to their new home.
Thank you for the input guys. It is frustrating that I lost half of my clones and didn't quite understand why. I had a few ideas of my own but nothing really to verify them. At least now I see where I most likely went wrong, and am able to do what I can to help the rest of my babies survive. It gives me renued confidence Thanks again.
Don't worry plut! I had this same problem this year. The clones I got were from this super hash plant, but they were moldy as ****. I put them under floros with the dome off and 10 died (dried and wilted). The rest are now very strong and healthy. I think this makes them tougher in the long haul.
Anytime I take clones for an aero-cloner or take rooted aero-clones and put them in a cup of soil, I am careful to avoid direct light for a day or two. If you take a slightly rooted clone and stick it in soil, it is much more likely to wilt under direct light. Next time try putting them in a calm shaded area after you remove them from a humid environment. I tried rockwool cloning methods for a while but was unhappy with the sub-par ferformance and sometimes long rooting times...not to mention the shitty success rate. Build a cheapo aero-cloner! ZERO maintenence and practically ZERO failure alone with clones that almost never lose their color during the rooting process. With rockwool I always had a problem with yellowing or dead lower leaves. Aero-cloning has eliminated every problem before-mentioned.
listen to barnaby he is telling you true. since i switched to areo-cloning i do not have failures anymore and most clones root in 7-10 days some wil take longer i suspect those are the ones i would have lost before switching. i use a few drops of ST in the water but other than that its just water.
