What am i doing wrong?

[KingAether]

evening folks, 
 
I have read, watched and tried a bunch of things over the last few months and never seem to get any roots..

 Well now I've currently a plant a few days from harvest that was the only seed i had, its my favorite strain and is an absolute keeper in every which way i could judge it-  i really, really, want to get some cuttings rooted and re-vegged when i bring it down. 
A single stress seed was found in a big bag of chemdawg and whats on the plant is far, far outshining what it came from 

Its not a particularly hard process to follow but i seem to be getting something wrong. 

I take the cutting as i would prune, near the main stem. 
With a clean razor i cut it off diagonally and score 3 or 4 1cm lines at the base 
I have tried with 2, 3 and 4 leaves, cutting them all down and leaving them intact
I've tried dipping in rooting gel, aloe, honey and nothing, in "gently moist" biobizz lite and in water 
Ive put them in the corner of the tent shaded, just outside the tent off the heat mat near the open vent, on a windowsill and on a shelf in an average lit room
I've tried leaving them open and spraying the soil as needed and keeping it under dome at 100% rh 

So far the "best" results have been 3 leaves left in tact, with b+q rooting gel, in moist soil in a small yogurt pot, under a dome and just outside the tent. It looked healthy for over a week, then got a little twisty and after 14 days it was healthy green but there was not even the slightest sign of it rooting. 

I have a spare reptile heat mat laying around and im happy to go to the hydro in the morning for clonex and a propagator in the morning if needed but i draw the line at a £30 thermostat for a few cuttings if possible.

thank you for any help in advance
 

[SkullDuggery]

I use jiffy pellets. Snip em, into pellets then straight into an airtight resealable sandwich bag jobby. Whack them under the t5 and leave until  roots show 

[Guest anarchycamp]

If you want almost guaranteed roots I'd get a cloner, no heat mat required. Probably too costly just for some cuttings off one plant, so you could make one.

 

Few people on here have made theirs, myself included( thread in the DIY section). In my eyes I'd know the roots were coming using one  so I'd just be hoping the reveg would work

E2A: propagators are good too. Just happier knowing I'm not opening the lid etc

Edited February 28, 2022 by anarchycamp
Props

[Slippy One]

Eazy plug - Eazy cube system for when you're doing volumes and need products that eliminate human error. Constant 25C, cheap single T5 in a spare kitchen cupboard with a 5w heat mat no thermostat. If you suspect the heat mat is too warm, rais the propagator using bobbins.

 

 

[inceywinceyspider]

Whenever I've had problems it's been temperature related, last time it was low temps at night so it wasn't obvious straightaway, in the end they looked rough but pulled through after 3 weeks.

With consistent temps they root quick. They need very little light, but be nice and warm without swings, 26.5c to 28.

I use the bag method with little pots and find its important to use a measured amount of water, as the stems dont want to be waterlogged, needs the right balance. Expanding pellets might be better for you than pots though as many people like them. 

 

[mr rhino]

I just fill a small pot up with soil,  water it in , stick the cutting in the soil and put in a carrier bag... then just leave it untouched for 2 weeks...works everytime..I don't even use root gels anymore.

[Chris78]

29 minutes ago, Slippy One said:

Eazy plug - Eazy cube system for when you're doing volumes and need products that eliminate human error. Constant 25C, cheap single T5 in a spare kitchen cupboard with a 5w heat mat no thermostat. If you suspect the heat mat is too warm, rais the propagator using bobbins.

 

 

Thats a great guide.  Follow that one!

 

 

Ill add this.....I went to horticuliral college, on the propogation module we would take hundreds of cutting of variose plants.   Every plant we did for the first term, the lecturer made us do one tray with no rooting compound and one with.  Sometimes powder, sometimes liquid, sometimes gel, all different brands.   There was never a difference between the two batches, he said, no, there hasnt been a diffenernce with any product for any student in 20 odd years.   Some people may say it works for them, but its hard to argue with the sheer numbers in his ongoing trail.

 

 

[Shaggy1]

Budelaires guide pinned at the top is easy to follow, but instead of clinfilming pots I use ratdogs idea of the party cups.

Get the 350ml smoothie pots with lid and then just poke a few little holes in the bottom and they're the perfect size for cuttings, keeps the humidity and you're able to see when the roots are coming out the jiffy. Perfect. 

 

I don't use any rooting gels or that just soak jiffys in plain water maybe with root stim and then stick the cut in and straight in a party cup, in the corner of the veg tent, with a piece of paper over them.

 

Just make sure you're cutting through the node, not below or above or it seems to take longer to root otherwise 

 

[Chris78]

Just now, Chris78 said:

Thats a great guide.  Follow that one!

 

 

Ill add this.....I went to horticuliral college, on the propogation module we would take hundreds of cutting of variose plants.   Every plant we did for the first term, the lecturer made us do one tray with no rooting compound and one with.  Sometimes powder, sometimes liquid, sometimes gel, all different brands.   There was never a difference between the two batches, he said, no, there hasnt been a diffenernce with any product for any student in 20 odd years.   Some people may say it works for them, but its hard to argue with the sheer numbers in his ongoing trail.

 

 

Sorry I am going to add one more bit, apologies if it is somewhere alse then thread.   The key thing in slippy's post, isnt the heat mat, or the temp or what water or method to hunidify, they are all important but there different ways to get the same result, no the key is the quality of the cutting matrial.  Dont get me wrong if you need to make a scratty bit of plant root it can be done, but get a lush healthy well watered plant and it practically roots itself. 

[polo71]

Just a quick one, (maybe trying to teach granny to suck eggs ) but you do have a node under the medium your using? I have tried it loads of ways and for me i works best for me.

I cut under the node but as posted above loads of differant ways.

Edited February 28, 2022 by polo71

[inceywinceyspider]

1 hour ago, KingAether said:

evening folks, 
 
I have read, watched and tried a bunch of things over the last few months and never seem to get any roots..

 Well now I've currently a plant a few days from harvest that was the only seed i had, its my favorite strain and is an absolute keeper in every which way i could judge it-  i really, really, want to get some cuttings rooted and re-vegged when i bring it down. 
 

 

If it's that close to harvest then you might need to reveg te whole plant anyway.

[lennyd79]

I've tried loads of ways with different levels of success, although one fool proof way is bag them and leave in a stable temperature with minimal light anything between 18-24c (20-24 is ideal) and don't look at them for 2 and half to 3 weeks. And make sure you have one or two nodes in the media and don't bother with any root gel. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by lennyd79

[KingAether]

Thank you for all the tips everyone, i really appreciate it. From a quick look through i think ill grab some jiffy pellets and use them with the jel i have, in a little clear storage box but will go through the thread again before taking any cuttings and make sure i've taken it all in properly.  
 most of the time i've had a node under the soil but its not something i've done purposely so ill definitely keep that in mind! 

[KingAether]

Does anyone have an advice on what i can use to keep the light intensity down for the cuttings if i put them in the veg tent for heat; im thinking a couple of sheets of paper taped inside the lid might do it ?

[SnakePlissken]

You need to reveg it if you didn’t take cuts before you flowered it out and you’re about to harvest. Takes awhile, but it’s easy. Congrats on finding yourself a keeper!