Lighting for rooting clones?

[CheebaMonkey]

I read several tutorials but they never mention lighting. What kind of lighting do they need while the cuttings are in the process of rooting?

Do they need a specific cycle like 18/6? Or can I just leave them out in front of a window?

 

[Grow2BFree]

Any Veg Hour cycle is fine, 18 or 24.

I find with clones, the less light the better. Too bright of a light makes them yellow and drop leaves, and that slows down or stops rooting.

Use a small CFL or Tube, and don't put it close to the plants, use just enough light to keep them alive until they root, that's the trick. You could use a window, but I find CFL works better, and you don't have weed plants all in your windows for others to see.

(I use a single 11W CFL)

 

[grnmountainboy]

i have used all kinds of different lights. but have found that t5's work the best. you should keep the light on your clones 24 hours a day (this makes them root and grow faster) the only reason to do 18 would be if you wanted to save a little on the electric bill. you need to give them enough light to root, but not so much that it will burn them. the more light you can give them (without burning them of course) the faster they will root and grow.

 

[MakinGoo]

24 hrs. Under a T5 works great.. But any floresent light would work

 

[sedate]

Any Veg Hour cycle is fine, 18 or 24.

Um. 24 hours for rooting clones. 18/6 would take noticeably longer.

I find with clones, the less light the better. Too bright of a light makes them yellow and drop leaves, and that slows down or stops rooting.

This makes me wonder how you fertilize them - yellowing and leaf drop shouldn't be an issue if you properly adjust pH and ppm . . . try base nutes @ 300 ppm @ 5.8.

Anyway - you wouldn't want to blast down a 600w MH on un-rooted clones - but far more than a generic 11w is useful here.

What kind of lighting do they need while the cuttings are in the process of rooting?

Something on the order of 25 - 50w/sq-ft would be ideal.

Generic CFL's with a color temp of 5k or 6.5k - some strains have problems rooting down at a CRI of 3.5k.

So I would use two 22w 6.5k CFL's for a square foot or so of rooting clones. You can use 8" aluminum clamp reflectors from wal-mart or homedepot. Total cost: $20.

 

[SweetTooth]

IMO a t5 is too strong unless clones are at a distance of at least 2' from the bulb. Indirect lighting is best IMO. In my mother rooms I would run an elcheapo MH bare bulb hung vertically in the center of a 10'x10' room with shelving racks around the outside walls. This simple set up is capable of producing Thousands of clones every month once your mothers are established. Roots would start to show as soon as 5 days but the trick was to use shelving that the warm ambient air could bask the underside of the trays. In my rooms, any higher than 78 degrees is asking for damping off and I felt that 76 was ideal ambient temp. With a 2 week notice I could supply up to 900 clones, all this while providing 3-6 hundred for myself on a regular basis. This was also using a 18/6 dark period.

Simple is best, indirect mh or t8's or even a t12 will get the job done for you.

 

[caregiverken]

Bumping this old thread :)

Um. 24 hours for rooting clones. 18/6 would take noticeably longer.

How much longer? ...anyone? :D

and would they root with 16/8?

thanks guys :)

 

[caregiverken]

I took some cuts this morning...and wanna put them outside asap (few weeks)..into 14/10 sunlight...so...:confused: ^^^ that's why I'm asking^^^

 

[caregiverken]

Is that another Dumb question? :rolleyes:

 

[Strainwhore]

i dunno where the cut off is
DjShort told me for sativas, to do 13/11 veg so they should be fine until the daylight drops under 14(maybe 13) hours... this is obviously subjective... I have heard of specific cuts, often times with auto tendencies when rootbound(but not always) flowering under 14 hours of light.

 

[nomdeplume]

I know this thread is old but...plants don't start outside as clones that need to root. There are proper ways to do it. You must promote etiolation and in order to do it successfully you must provide the necessary energy in the required quantities, period. Meaning a minimum of eighteen hours of light period. Who knows a few might make it I think you would be better off doing it right and put out at the first sign of roots. That's the only wiggle room here.

 

[Nog]

If you have a grow room you can put the clones in the corner of the room, not under any direct light.

They need little light.

 

[DieselDuds]

1 bulb as high as you can put it.

 

[rikkie lee]

I know this thread is old but...plants don't start outside as clones that need to root. There are proper ways to do it. You must promote etiolation and in order to do it successfully you must provide the necessary energy in the required quantities, period. Meaning a minimum of eighteen hours of light period. Who knows a few might make it I think you would be better off doing it right and put out at the first sign of roots. That's the only wiggle room here.

get a humidity dome. high humidity low light 6500K cfl 13-24 watts t5 is too strong.put a variable heat mat under it at 79 F mist the dome heavy as much as you can the first 3 days every 4 hours.mist plants very light. suck off big drops with unscented white tissue. 24 hour light for 3 days. also put u short cup of hot water w sugar till disolved add cold water till it is 105-110F then add fast acting yeast. in 20 min you have plenty of co2 for a few days. 24 h low light CFL 10-8" above dome for 3 days. bottom and side vents closed or co2 bolts. or just blow in the dome whenever you think of it(dont laugh, this also works, put a co2 meter in there) . adjust the top to stay 79 F or use heat mat.NO nutes!!!!!just a real mild seedling nute at 1/3 strength. like clonex add 2 drops superthrive (dont laugh till you try this.) use spring water at 6 -6.3 PH. nor RO or distilled or city i dont have time to tell you why.do NOT use PH adjuster. poland springs is close and 80 PPM (the stuff the clones need.NO mirical gro dirt or fertilized dirt. get black gold or a super light high quality soil. maybe add coir (coco 50/50. add 20 % vermiculite or perlite fine. add mykos fungi, buy it or grow it,its easy. city water kills this benificial fungi.after 3 days take dome off for an hour a day if it is warm and crack top vent more. change your co2.o ya get 4" rootmaker prop pots. u dunk water these pots with clones. then little by little put light closer and more air and see how they react. after 14 days they should be roots squirtin out of the rootmaker prop pots. plant in a similar soil in a large final pot. (specially if they are auto flowers)use similare soil with hydroton pellets they hold nutes and water.gradually introduce your veg light source LED MH flourescent ... this works. i been screwin around with a hormone blast to the mother a week b4 i take the clones. more on that if it works. it seems to be rippin. we will c. i have failed e nuff times to know.i need to test the final product b4 i open my mouth and insert foot. ok any thought guys?

 

[Shaggyturtle]

I read several tutorials but they never mention lighting. What kind of lighting do they need while the cuttings are in the process of rooting?

Do they need a specific cycle like 18/6? Or can I just leave them out in front of a window?

I have fresh cuts I put my lighting on 12-6. Using a LED
It seems to work for my little ladies.

 

[907debow1234]

Wow... rough looking ladies for 3 month mark on clones...not even sure where to start with this one....or 3...

 

[Leew421]

Technically you don't need light while cloning. It may actually speed it up in the dark. I ran some test a couple years ago with this. Roots don't grow in the light and the plant isn't using photosynthesis yet since it has no roots

 

[kansabis]

Technically you don't need light while cloning. It may actually speed it up in the dark. I ran some test a couple years ago with this. Roots don't grow in the light and the plant isn't using photosynthesis yet since it has no roots

Really?? Ima have to try it both ways,why not since I'm learning to clone anyways. I don't really have much room anywhere in my veg tent to put any clones either so ill just try a few in the dark and a couple under veg light cycle and see what happens,makes sense though @Leew421.

 

[Leew421]

Doesn't hurt to try!

 

[reddwarf]

get a humidity dome. high humidity low light 6500K cfl 13-24 watts t5 is too strong.put a variable heat mat under it at 79 F mist the dome heavy as much as you can the first 3 days every 4 hours.mist plants very light. suck off big drops with unscented white tissue. 24 hour light for 3 days. also put u short cup of hot water w sugar till disolved add cold water till it is 105-110F then add fast acting yeast. in 20 min you have plenty of co2 for a few days. 24 h low light CFL 10-8" above dome for 3 days. bottom and side vents closed or co2 bolts. or just blow in the dome whenever you think of it(dont laugh, this also works, put a co2 meter in there) . adjust the top to stay 79 F or use heat mat.NO nutes!!!!!just a real mild seedling nute at 1/3 strength. like clonex add 2 drops superthrive (dont laugh till you try this.) use spring water at 6 -6.3 PH. nor RO or distilled or city i dont have time to tell you why.do NOT use PH adjuster. poland springs is close and 80 PPM (the stuff the clones need.NO mirical gro dirt or fertilized dirt. get black gold or a super light high quality soil. maybe add coir (coco 50/50. add 20 % vermiculite or perlite fine. add mykos fungi, buy it or grow it,its easy. city water kills this benificial fungi.after 3 days take dome off for an hour a day if it is warm and crack top vent more. change your co2.o ya get 4" rootmaker prop pots. u dunk water these pots with clones. then little by little put light closer and more air and see how they react. after 14 days they should be roots squirtin out of the rootmaker prop pots. plant in a similar soil in a large final pot. (specially if they are auto flowers)use similare soil with hydroton pellets they hold nutes and water.gradually introduce your veg light source LED MH flourescent ... this works. i been screwin around with a hormone blast to the mother a week b4 i take the clones. more on that if it works. it seems to be rippin. we will c. i have failed e nuff times to know.i need to test the final product b4 i open my mouth and insert foot. ok any thought guys?

Good grief man!