i believe that your 1st pic shows the problem. your cutting is too long. where that white root is showing on the knob - i would have made the cut above that, scraped the bottom inch on both sides, inserted it into a cloning gel, lites on 18/6, pumps 24/7. change the h2o every 4/5 days. also, i would have trimmed back at least 1/2 the green canopy. (the aim is a strong, huge, root system - .) i use a 60 site ez cloner. 7 - 10 days to see roots, 12 - 16 days later, planted into beer cups. best clones ever. hopes this helps