Cheap & Easy Cannabis Cloning - Step By Step With Photos

[JWM2]

I've recently started to clone using a method that's been giving me great results. I will post links to the items I use in this thread and photos showing the step by step guide to obtaining the same results i'm getting. Any questions about this technique feel free to ask.

Some months ago I bought an Oxy Cloner off amazon for about $65. And had decent results initially. Then as time started going on the cuttings would take longer and longer to root and cleaning the res became a hassle. So I started experimenting with making my own Tiny Cloner and ended up stumbling upon this method instead.

It's a really simple setup and takes very little space to perform. So it doesn't use much space in your veg area and I typically see roots in about 7-10 days. There's a humidity dome with a built-in vent so you can control the humidity level inside the unit very easily.

Required Parts:

• Clonex Gel - $17 (one bottle lasts hundreds, maybe thousands of clones)
• General Hydro Rapid Rooter Plugs - 50 for $17 (this is the only part that needs to be purchased often, you can buy them in larger qty for less so if you need more the cost savings add up)
• VivoSun Pruning Shears - $5 (any sharp scissors will work)
• Seedling Starting Trays with Dome Lids - Koram - $18 (each tray holds 12 plants and this is a 10 pack so you can do 120 clones at one time, they don't sell them in anything less than 10 packs)
• Optional - Seedling Heat Mat - $12 (Only required if your veg area doesn't stay warm enough or if you want to root in an area that stays cool)
• A Plant to take cuttings from (Duh) - $0+ (Only required if you want this to work)

Our mother plant we are going to take some cuttings from. Ignore the leaf tip burn, that was done intentionally (ok not really).

Identify a node to take your cutting from. I like to have 3-5 nodes on my cutting so I can trim them off leaving just the top node(s) and so when in the Rapid Rooter plugs they have exposed tissue to grow roots from.

Make your cut. Here you can see there is plenty of vegetation on the cutting from which we will prune off the excess in the following step.

Cut off the excess nodes at the stalk with your scissors but leave the top nodes so the cutting has energy to stay alive and grow.

Node has been cut almost flush with the stalk.

Let's keep going, still too much vegetation left.

We're done with the side trimming of the cutting.

Now its time to make our 45 degree angle cut at the bottom. I like to take this cut right below a trimmed off node. The trimmed node will provide exposed tissue that will allow the clonex gel to do it's thang and roots will come out of these nodes eventually.

45 degree cut has been made. Time to dip it into the clonex gel.

Dip your cutting into the clonex gel or use a tool to rub the clonex gel on the stalk. Make sure to cover it with clonex gel above the node that was cut off.

Stick the cutting into the Rapid Rooter plug. I like to prepare the plug just before I stick the cutting in by inserting a tool into the hole to make sure there are no obstructions so the cutting slides right in without any resistance. You don't want to bend the stalk when putting it in or else you'll end up with a knuckle at the bend and it'll take longer to recover and root.

Stick the Rapid Rooter into the propagation tray. I like to number my tray corners so I can keep track of the strain in each hole. I use notepad on my phone to keep track of the date and slot number for each cutting. Example:

March 6
1 - AK47
2 - CNC3
3 - CO2

March 7
4 - AK47
5 - CO2
6 - CO2

I like to put a little bit of water in the bottom of the tray. I also like to wet the Rapid Rooter Plugs with the same water so they are wet. This prevents oxygen from getting to the trimmed node and end cut which would seal it off and make the rooting take much longer.

Every couple of days i'll take the dome lid off and rewet the rapid rooter plugs to keep them moist. Check on them every few days and adjust the humidity as needed with the built in vent.

I like to number my trays so I can keep track in the notepad app on my phone.

There ya have it.

These will root in just a few days to a week or so. My AK47 (AK4) roots in about 4 days, my Cali-O (CO2) takes about 7-10 days. Cookies N Cream (CNC3) takes closer to two weeks.

Just keep the Rapid Rooter Plugs moist and replace the water in the bottom as it evaporates. I've gotten damn near 100% success ratio using this method and i've not had any of the issues i've run into using other cloning methods. It's a simple and cheap option for those who don't already use a cloner and it's easy enough that anyone can do it.

 

[JWM2]

There is a spacer I’ve been using between the dome lid and the tray. I printed it on my 3d printer. If anyone needs the file let me know and I’ll upload it to thingiverse. You can make one out of anything if you need it or you can use it without it just fine.

I had orinally made a ring out of corrugated plastic cut to size and taped along the edge. It worked exactly the same.

When I got my 3d printer I was testing out some designs getting it tuned in and printed off a few of these to use.

 

[Dirtbag]

Excellent write up JWM2. Very clear and to the point, I like it.

I'd like to add if the tray is really full I like to cut the large leaves in half with sterile scissors to reduce transpiration and overlapping leaves in the dome. Not necessary if you only have a few cutting and the leaves arent touching much. But if you are doing 30+, I'd clip the leaves. It's a very common practice in BC, Even the big fish like Tweed and Broken Coast clip their leaves.

Another thing that helps cuttings to root is feeding the mother a couple straight water feeds before taking the cuts. Too much N in the plant will make them take longer to root.

 

[Deadstill]

That's pretty much exactly how I do mine and usually have 100% success rate. It's nice when you need to propagate 100 plants in less than a week :)

The only difference I buy all new domes and trays, too. They're like a dollar each at most grow stores.. The plugs are where they get ya. But I'd rather buy new plugs and have new plants sooner than re-use old plugs and maybe lose half my clones, too. Could mean the difference of eating or starving that week.

If you're serious about cloning it's worth the money to buy fresh plugs.

Also I'm not a fan of those style inserts you show. I prefer these ones by Gro-Dan

simply because they allow a little more room to breath, and they're durable and I just throw them in the dishwasher when I need them cleaned.
. I also keep the water line below the plugs which is easier to do with this style tray, in my opinion. Basically meaning the water in the bottom tray isn't actually touching the plugs. Roots love to stretch out for water so if you leave some at the bottom this helps, too. As long as I use new plugs and make sure everything is super clean and sanitized I get viable roots sticking out of the plugs in 4 or 5 days easy.

But yeah nice post man, spot on, good job!

I would also add that a nice LED suspended a couple inches above the dome 24 hours on makes life easier, too, if you can afford to dedicate one to clones..

 

[JWM2]

Yeah I just use these cuz they are broken up into 12s. Plus it’s cheap to buy a 10 pack and use just a couple at a time.

I do run the water just below the plugs also. It’s nice cuz when the roots grow they grow down into the water and that keeps them fed for a couple weeks (if needed). Of course they don’t get any nutrition from plain tap water but they stay alive and in hibernation while you clear out space for them. I’ve done this a few times myself in a pinch.

I always use new plugs. That’s just the cost of doing business imo. Plus they really aren’t that expensive if you buy them in bulk. There’s also a few different manufacturers that offer them even cheaper. I’ve found 50 plugs for as low as $10 on amazon.

 

[Jack og]

We do this exact method in a commercial application, with a few tweaks .
1. Perlite base on tray, for drainage and to lift plugs off potential water that may cause issues
2. We always take the clone gel out of bottle and never. Directly dip into it, prevents pathogens from getting into the solution.
3. Trim the leaves as we don’t want leaves overlapping each other, prevents mold etc.
4. Use a seedling mat, heater pad. Temps around 78dgF.
Our mother gets a light dose of clone solution as feed with flowering nutes at 1/4 strenght. Helps rid of nitrogen that as discussed, slows rooting.
5. Keep that clone room/tent at 80% or so humid. We have a dedicated room, in tent , {daily spritz of DI (de-ionized water) di prevents Molds etc}
6. We weigh fresh. Trays, post plug, note that weight and water only the base of the tray. To maintain adequate water level. As they root you will find u need to add a few mls of water daily.
7. Let nature take its course!!

Jw great thread man. I’ll mke this a sticky as a help guidefor cloning

 

[JWM2]

We do this exact method in a commercial application, with a few tweaks .
1. Perlite base on tray, for drainage and to lift plugs off potential water that may cause issues
2. We always take the clone gel out of bottle and never. Directly dip into it, prevents pathogens from getting into the solution.
3. Trim the leaves as we don’t want leaves overlapping each other, prevents mold etc.
4. Use a seedling mat, heater pad. Temps around 78dgF.
Our mother gets a light dose of clones solution as feed with flowering nutes at 1/4 strenght. Helps rid of nitrogen that as discussed, slows rooting.
5. Keep that clone room/tent at 80% or so humid. We have a dedicated room, in tent , {daily spritz of DI (de-ionized water) di prevents Molds etc}
6. We weigh fresh. Trays, pot t plug, note that weight and water only the base of the tray. To maintain adequate water level. As they root you will find u need to add a few mls of water daily.
7. Let nature take its course!!

Jw great thread man. I’ll mke this a sticky as a help guidefor cloning

Thanks bro. Yeah I agree with all the points you mentioned. I also cut the leaves most of the time as this crams them in there tight but sometimes I just use the perimeter and then the leaves don’t overlap. I didn’t take any pics of the half leaves but I will take some and add them here.

Ya know I was thinking about the clonex gel. It’s an acidic solution so I’m not sure how easily bacteria and pathogens would be able to survive in it. For quite some time I dipped in a spoon and used that to spread the gel but unless you discard the utensil you’re still dipping it back into the gel which would negate the sterile effect. That being said I’ve never really had an issue dipping directly into the gel. Of course I’m using a small enough container that it can be discarded and replaced easy enough if I do run into issues. So for convenience I’ve chosen to just dip the cutting into it. I do make sure my cuttings are dry though before dipping them.

 

[Deadstill]

Yeah I just use these cuz they are broken up into 12s. Plus it’s cheap to buy a 10 pack and use just a couple at a time.

I do run the water just below the plugs also. It’s nice cuz when the roots grow they grow down into the water and that keeps them fed for a couple weeks (if needed). Of course they don’t get any nutrition from plain tap water but they stay alive and in hibernation while you clear out space for them. I’ve done this a few times myself in a pinch.

I always use new plugs. That’s just the cost of doing business imo. Plus they really aren’t that expensive if you buy them in bulk. There’s also a few different manufacturers that offer them even cheaper. I’ve found 50 plugs for as low as $10 on amazon.

That's a decent price for plugs I'll have to check that out. Not a fan of supporting Amazon so never looked there Lol.

The water thing is truly a secret people don't want to talk about, too. It's not just for cloning. Over my years of experience I have a little trick I'm going to share right now for amazing root development on any plant growing in a pot. Plants are like little divining rods for water. They can sense water near by even if it's not touching it or taking it up. They will send roots to go after that water if it's there long enough, and within reach. So, I use hard pots for example. Each and every hard pot I have has an equally sized drip tray that goes with it. Not only do the drip trays catch water and keep from making a mess all over your floor, but if you put a couple of small boards under the pot, on top of the drip tray, to create a small space, and leave just a little water in that tray, you'll have roots galore.

For example I will use small pieces of 1/4" or 1/2" thick wood for 1 gallons and 3 gallons, then 5 and 7 gallons I will use a couple pieces of 2x4. The key is to not have so much water in that tray that it's touching the bottom of the pot, but enough that it won't evaporate in between watering. So yeah you have to dump some out after each water/feed and it's one more step between you and weed, but I swear by this technique and haven't looked back since.

I go through 4 month cycles on most of my crops. 2 months veg and 2 months flower unless it's a slow sativa strain. Start in solo cups, to 1 gallon hard pots, to 3 gallon, to 5 gallon, to 7 gallons. I pack my soil/medium in as tight as I can get it. By the time the plant is cut down there's nothing left to reuse as far as soil or medium goes, because it's just one solid root ball..

Ok folks don't tell everyone I told you the secret.. Shhhhh!! :D

 

[Jack og]

Thanks bro. Yeah I agree with all the points you mentioned. I also cut the leaves most of the time as this crams them in there tight but sometimes I just use the perimeter and then the leaves don’t overlap. I didn’t take any pics of the half leaves but I will take some and add them here.

Ya know I was thinking about the clonex gel. It’s an acidic solution so I’m not sure how easily bacteria and pathogens would be able to survive in it. For quite some time I dipped in a spoon and used that to spread the gel but unless you discard the utensil you’re still dipping it back into the gel which would negate the sterile effect. That being said I’ve never really had an issue dipping directly into the gel. Of course I’m using a small enough container that it can be discarded and replaced easy enough if I do run into issues. So for convenience I’ve chosen to just dip the cutting into it. I do make sure my cuttings are dry though before dipping them.

Works for the average grower mate! Agree it being acidic it won’t grow nasties but we use it by the 5 gal and plug 1200 daily! Lol and we have some clone techs that frankly need a refresher on cleanliness or operation! Lol gotta make is stoner proof! Lmao, I’m guilty of “fading” and be like oh crap what was I doing again!

 

[Jack og]

That's a decent price for plugs I'll have to check that out. Not a fan of supporting Amazon so never looked there Lol.

The water thing is truly a secret people don't want to talk about, too. It's not just for cloning. Over my years of experience I have a little trick I'm going to share right now for amazing root development on any plant growing in a pot. Plants are like little divining rods for water. They can sense water near by even if it's not touching it or taking it up. They will send roots to go after that water if it's there long enough, and within reach. So, I use hard pots for example. Each and every hard pot I have has an equally sized drip tray that goes with it. Not only do the drip trays catch water and keep from making a mess all over your floor, but if you put a couple of small boards under the pot, on top of the drip tray, to create a small space, and leave just a little water in that tray, you'll have roots galore.

For example I will use small pieces of 1/4" or 1/2" thick wood for 1 gallons and 3 gallons, then 5 and 7 gallons I will use a couple pieces of 2x4. The key is to not have so much water in that tray that it's touching the bottom of the pot, but enough that it won't evaporate in between watering. So yeah you have to dump some out after each water/feed and it's one more step between you and weed, but I swear by this technique and haven't looked back since.

I go through 4 month cycles on most of my crops. 2 months veg and 2 months flower unless it's a slow sativa strain. Start in solo cups, to 1 gallon hard pots, to 3 gallon, to 5 gallon, to 7 gallons. I pack my soil/medium in as tight as I can get it. By the time the plant is cut down there's nothing left to reuse as far as soil or medium goes, because it's just one solid root ball..

Ok folks don't tell everyone I told you the secret.. Shhhhh!! :D

Ooh I’m keeping that secret as trade secret now! Lol!
Great advice mates!

 

[JWM2]

Works for the average grower mate! Agree it being acidic it won’t grow nasties but we use it by the 5 gal and plug 1200 daily! Lol and we have some clone techs that frankly need a refresher on cleanliness or operation! Lol gotta make is stoner proof! Lmao, I’m guilty of “fading” and be like oh crap what was I doing again!

Oh for sure on the scale you’re growing and with the number of employees you guys have employed and the stardards you must meet I would absolutely do the same thing you are doing. It’s just on a small micro scale like many of us are growing it doesn’t really make much sense to go through the extra hassle.

And don’t get wrong. I’ve contempated it for hours and have scoured the net looking for other people’s opinions on the matter. In the end for my small scale grow it’s just easier to dip. But if I was doing a lot of clones at once I’d pour some of it into a smaller container so I don’t contaminate the rest of the solution. In that case it would be worth it :-)

 

[JWM2]

That's a decent price for plugs I'll have to check that out. Not a fan of supporting Amazon so never looked there Lol.

The water thing is truly a secret people don't want to talk about, too. It's not just for cloning. Over my years of experience I have a little trick I'm going to share right now for amazing root development on any plant growing in a pot. Plants are like little divining rods for water. They can sense water near by even if it's not touching it or taking it up. They will send roots to go after that water if it's there long enough, and within reach. So, I use hard pots for example. Each and every hard pot I have has an equally sized drip tray that goes with it. Not only do the drip trays catch water and keep from making a mess all over your floor, but if you put a couple of small boards under the pot, on top of the drip tray, to create a small space, and leave just a little water in that tray, you'll have roots galore.

For example I will use small pieces of 1/4" or 1/2" thick wood for 1 gallons and 3 gallons, then 5 and 7 gallons I will use a couple pieces of 2x4. The key is to not have so much water in that tray that it's touching the bottom of the pot, but enough that it won't evaporate in between watering. So yeah you have to dump some out after each water/feed and it's one more step between you and weed, but I swear by this technique and haven't looked back since.

I go through 4 month cycles on most of my crops. 2 months veg and 2 months flower unless it's a slow sativa strain. Start in solo cups, to 1 gallon hard pots, to 3 gallon, to 5 gallon, to 7 gallons. I pack my soil/medium in as tight as I can get it. By the time the plant is cut down there's nothing left to reuse as far as soil or medium goes, because it's just one solid root ball..

Ok folks don't tell everyone I told you the secret.. Shhhhh!! :D

I actually do that as well. In my Growing Pot design the bottom tray acts like a mini res and excess water drips and collects in it. It’s about 1” off the bottom grate and the roots can grow down into it and utilize that moisture collected in there as well. I have holes in it so air flow can go through it so it doesn’t get moldy or so you can use a turkey baster to remove excess water but due to being lazy I have found the roots love growing down into it and the plants are happy. In just a day or two the water is usually mostly dried up until the next watering. And the process repeats. Great info bro!

 

[JWM2]

Here’s my first prototype of The Growing Pot I’m still using to this day. I’m growing some ivy in it as the roots grow quickly. Anyhow it’s been in this container for about 8 months now.

In the first pic you can see the roots growing into the bottom tray. I’ve not watered it in a while so the roots have dried up some but when we do water it often the roots love it in there.

The second pic shows the plant in front of a shitload of dirty dishes my daughter was suppose to wash yesterday. Haha. We know how that goes ;-)

 

[Deadstill]

I will point out a couple things about Clonex real quick. First of all unless you introduce something very bad to it, like I dunno, the plague.. I wouldn't worry about dipping directly into the bottle. However I do not like to waste anything even if I can afford to, just wasn't raised that way, so I usually pour mine out into a big glass first and then dip into that. I've got a pretty good eye for it now so I can usually fill an entire trays without having to refill my glass. Then I take what's left over, add a little water to get it off the sides and bottom of the glass, and pour that remainder onto the tops of the plugs. My buddy actually mixes his Clonex with water and soaks his plugs for 24 hours before he even thinks about taking a cutting. A little excessive imo but it works for him.

However fair warning to those of you at home growers on a budget - if you're expecting your bottle of Clonex to last you a year or so, I wouldn't risk contamination. As an acidic environment is actually more prone to bacteria, virus, etc. that may give you troubles if introduced later into an at-home-petri-dish aka clone dome. Might make cloning harder. Just fyi. Otherwise most of us go through this shit too fast to care LOL

 

[Deadstill]

View attachment 860096 View attachment 860097

Here’s my first prototype of The Growing Pot I’m still using to this day. I’m growing some ivy in it as the roots grow quickly. Anyhow it’s been in this container for about 8 months now.

In the first pic you can see the roots growing into the bottom tray. I’ve not watered it in a while so the roots have dried up some but when we do water it often the roots love it in there.

The second pic shows the plant in front of a shitload of dirty dishes my daughter was suppose to wash yesterday. Haha. We know how that goes ;-)

Haha lmao nice man

 

[JWM2]

Here’s a pic of the log I keep for each Cloner. I’m using two right now so they are labeled mini cloner 1 & 2. I keep track of the date the cutting went in and when I remove them I just delete the entry for that slot. This way I always know what’s where and how long it’s been in there. Once I take a rooted clone out I can then reuse that spot for another but I do like to wash out the trays between rounds so they don’t get nasty.

 

[Jack og]

So far my dwc cloner Vs aero is much better in ratio to sucessx dwc is about a solid 95% success to 70-75% on aero. Same chemistry / clone additive but for some reason the aero yeteilds lower. Bubble cloner has about a 90% success even in best possible environmental factors.
So I’m leaning more towards the dwc for future Expansion in the program. The market simply doesn’t make a large enough system to sustain this process so we fall back to plugs Toto supplement needs. The dwc and aero both have maintenance issues thahat can cause clone failures , mostly due to mishandling of the system.
But for a home system I endorse the oxycloner , then the traditional plug some method and I recommend against aero.
Ease of use was my gate for my personal recommendations

 

[JWM2]

So far my dwc cloner Vs aero is much better in ratio to sucessx dwc is about a solid 95% success to 70-75% on aero. Same chemistry / clone additive but for some reason the aero yeteilds lower. Bubble cloner has about a 90% success even in best possible environmental factors.
So I’m leaning more towards the dwc for future Expansion in the program. The market simply doesn’t make a large enough system to sustain this process so we fall back to plugs Toto supplement needs. The dwc and aero both have maintenance issues thahat can cause clone failures , mostly due to mishandling of the system.
But for a home system I endorse the oxycloner , then the traditional plug some method and I recommend against aero.
Ease of use was my gate for my personal recommendations

Sure I agree with you there. For me keeping up with the dwc cloner was just a little more hassle than I wanted. In fact I actually stumbled upon this method as I was trying to design a mini dwc cloner for retail sale. I was going to call it the Tiny Cloner or Cheap Ass Mini Cloner.

Anyhow I made a couple prototypes and couldn’t get the air bubbles coming through the holes in the inner tray. I tried various designs. It was my hypothesis that this same method but with an added air stones to produce bubbles would speed up rooting in these rapid rooter plugs. Well I went through several designs but there just wasn’t enough water involved to do it correctly. So I decided I’d try it without the air stones and see if it was even a viable method. Sure as shit every single cutting rooted quickly. I was disappointed in a way as I was thinking they I could create a new product that’s cheap and simple to use. However I was just over complicating it by even trying to improve upon on it in the first place. So I ran another couple tests and each time getting 100% rooting ratios. I then decided well I can’t sell a product but I can use this method myself and have done so ever since.

 

[Jack og]

Sure I agree with you there. For me keeping up with the dwc cloner was just a little more hassle than I wanted. In fact I actually stumbled upon this method as I was trying to design a mini dwc cloner for retail sale. I was going to call it the Tiny Cloner or Cheap Ass Mini Cloner.

Anyhow I made a couple prototypes and couldn’t get the air bubbles coming through the holes in the inner tray. I tried various designs. It was my hypothesis that this same method but with an added air stones to produce bubbles would speed up rooting in these rapid rooter plugs. Well I went through several designs but there just wasn’t enough water involved to do it correctly. So I decided I’d try it without the air stones and see if it was even a viable method. Sure as shit every single cutting rooted quickly. I was disappointed in a way as I was thinking they I could create a new product that’s cheap and simple to use. However I was just over complicating it by even trying to improve upon on it in the first place. So I ran another couple tests and each time getting 100% rooting ratios. I then decided well I can’t sell a product but I can use this method myself and have done so ever since.

Shoot bro there is a market for legal states of 12 zone cloners as they are cracking down on plant quantity’s and size of most average grower is a small table in Garage and a tent! I think a small profile unit with a overhead light system all in one with a drain plug that as a hose attachment for draining and cleaning system and top fill hole whenever u need to drain, fill and cycle system. And if cheap enough, $49.99 range or less, you may a viable product!!

 

[JWM2]

Shoot bro there is a market for legal states of 12 zone cloners as they are cracking down on plant quantity’s and size of most average grower is a small table in Garage and a tent! I think a small profile unit with a overhead light system all in one with a drain plug that as a hose attachment for draining and cleaning system and top fill hole whenever u need to drain, fill and cycle system. And if cheap enough, $49.99 range or less, you may a viable product!!

See that’s what I was thinking too. I was going to add the bubble feature cuz I thought it would make cuttings root quicker but it wasn’t needed. I could assemble a package with all the stuff needed and sell it for less than that I’m sure. Include the tray, dome, scissors, plugs, cloning gel, and maybe even throw in some vitamin b for good measure. What do you think?