n_d_shadows

I've been doing some research into this method of cloning for some time now as it appears to have a higher success rate over traditional cloning. Another benefit I've seen is that during the cloning process you dont loose 7-14 days of growth. Since the clone is still apart of the donor plant during the entire rooting process, it never has to search for water or nutrients and you end up with a cutting that is just as healthy as the donor.
The process is fairly simple but time consuming. I would not reccommend this for growers that take high numbers of clones.

(this is an untested experiment, the reason for this thread is to 1-see if others have attempted it 2- to inform that there is an alternative to the standard cloning practices seen here 3- to give me a swift kick in the azz to give this a go in the near future)

Items you will need
peat moss/rockwool/ or any other PH neutral steril medium that will retain water
razor blade
rooting hormone (most say a liquid/gel has better results)
saran wrap
string/ or aluminum foil
A donor plant that has clonable secondary growth
alcohol
Step 1 - sterilize your razor blade with the alcohol
Step 2 - select a branch that is 6-8" in legnth with 3 nodes
Step 3 - at 1" below the 3rd node scrape the branch on opposite sides to give you a 1/4" wound
Step 4 - apply rooting hormone to the wounded section
Step 5 - wrap the wounded section in your sterile medium that has been moistened but not saturated
Step 6 - wrap that area with the saran wrap with 2 wraps
Step 7 - either tie the saran wrap on the ends with the string or wrap once again with the aliminum foil.
Step 8 - re-wet your medium every few days until its rooted (be sure not to keep it to wet as this could cause stem rot and that could affect the health of the entire plant)
Step 9 - once roots have formed, remove the clone by cutting below the root mass, remove the strings from the saran wrap or the al foil and then remove the saran wrap.
Step 10 - plant the rooted clone in medium of choice and give a 1/4 stregnth dose of flowering nutes (P&K promote root formation)

And your done.

Since this is untested by me, i have no idea how long it will actually take for roots to actually form. Ive read that it can take between 1 week and 6 weeks on some house plants and up to a year on some bark bearing plants. Im guessing the rooting time should be about the same as the usual method of cut and stick.

Why is this method appealing to me? well I have limited space in which to work with. Im looking to open up into a few more strains but dont want to expand my grow space. This method will allow me to clone a plant and veg it all in the same pot of soil. Once the cutting has rooted i can then take the donor to flower and the new cutting will take its place in the veg box where the cycle will start all over.
Another appealing aspect to this is it would be very possible to acheive 100% success rates. meaning less wacking on my plants and lower plant #'s in my box. As it is Im taking 2-3 clones for every 1 that I need. If they all root I still only need 1 or have room i should say so 2 potential buds have to be tossed. Health of the cutting wont be an issue because its health will be managed by the donor plant until roots form and its removed. I'd expect a short (day or 2 ) shock from removing it but that beats the crap out of waiting 7-10 days.
last appealing aspect ofcourse is the continued growth of the cutting. No longer will i loose 7-14 days waiting for roots, then 3-4 after roots form for the plant to begin growing. This all equates to less stress for cutting and a bigger healthier clone.

I'll start my experiment this sunday night and try and photo document it.
I'll be using vermiculite for my medium, and wrapping the saran wrap with AL foil. A powered rooting hormone will be used instead of a liquid or gel.
The strain I will be attempting this on will be Golden Skush (seeds direct freebie)

Lastly, a few links for more information on air-cloning
What is Air Layering?
The Garden Gate: Air Layering FAQ
Phloem - Air layering
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/e.../airlayer.html

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Fillabong

Excellent. I'm glad you brought this up. I've never cloned MJ but I did clone some Brown Congo (peppers) with this method. I didn't use rockwool as I didn't even know what it was back then. I used thick packet of surgical gauze in step 5. I figured it would work well being sterile, all natural, fiberous enough to hold a bit of moisture and my plants developed 1/4" root tips in about 10 days. I sat the recently rooted clones under flouros for about 2 weeks then I just planted them back in my garden. Unfortunatly these plants are annuals, but cloning them early in the season gave me a garden full of little peppers!

F

grass_hopper

This is pretty common among horticultural circles. Scoring the stem is not needed with herby plants. I think you only need to do that with woody plants. Just keeping the stem in contact with moist, soil like stuff would be enough to force roots. Perhaps someone could try it both ways and see if it happens. This would definitely be something to try with harder to clone strains Don't know why I didn't think of this before.

Here's a link on the topic I found and saved a while back. It's got pretty detailed pictures of how to do this.

Excellent thread, n_d

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Profound

You come up with the most interesting topics to follow and research

I read a little something on this last night believe it or not

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naturall_mystic

nds that is an interesting article. I have used that process on Hydrangeas, Azaleas, and daylilies. Though interesting that process really isn't necessary with Cannabis as it roots easily. That said I am interested to hear how your experiment turns out.

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Teiresius

hi guys, long time....

umm, ive done a bit of this with trees, but not MJ... it works well, the clone is more likely to survive because it is never totally cut from the plant--> the key to rooting hardwoods.
With regards to the scoring vs not scoring issue... I would reccommend scoring/cutting for this reason: The roots that form on a stem come from stem cells within the plant that can turn into any type of tissue. you induce them turning into roots by using hormones and moisture. When the plant is damaged (like w/ scoring) the stem cells are induced to divide and become scar and replacement tissue... If you cause them to divide in the presence of factors that cause them to form roots, they will form roots- its similar to animals actually. Arguably, the roots might form anyway, but a few scratches from a sterile blade will not do the plant significant harm if done properly.
How do you want to score the plant? well, it helps to understand that the xylem and phloem (tubes carrying H2o and nutes) can be thought of as a layer of tubes wrapping around the outside of the stem(tubes running paralell to the stem). if you cut all the way around the stem, these tubes are severed, and the stem/cola (= clone) above dies (or stops growth and hopefully forms roots to survive- this is like normal cloning.......) if you cut some but not all the way around the stem, the clone is stressed a bit, but still receiving nutes and water while forming roots(air layering). If you think of the stem as a square (cross section), it would be good to score two opposite sides, or two corners- no more.
The one downside to airlayering might be the time it takes for the roots to form- ive never done it with MJ. if anyone knows anything about how long the roots take, please post...

regards,

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n_d_shadows

I did give it an attempt last night but failed miserably. Either my proposed cutting was to small to work with (4" side branch) or I was to irritated to make it work. I just could not get the vermiculite to stay. In the process of wrapping it up with the saran wrap it all fell out. I tried this 4 times and finally just took the cutting as usual.
Im not giving up though. Next time i need clones I will be trying this again, only i will be using guaze or something else that can be wrapped around the stem.

Thanks for the interest though everybody. After trying it Im sure this method doesnt have much place in MJ cultivation. I know it can be done and has by members of other forums (search air-layering on OG) but as for now, I'll stick to the old tried and true cut and stick method. who can argue with 7 clones rooted after 7 days ?? not I...

So in about another month when its once again time for clones I'll be giving it another try and post my results. hopefully next time will go much better.

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buzzmobile

Hey, n_d. We used to use long fibered sphagnum moss for air-layering crotons at a botanical garden. Simply soak the sphagnum moss in a bucket of water and grab a handful and squeeze most of the water out of it. You can then shape the stuff around the stem and seal it with aluminum foil. We used double wraps of aluminum foil and didn't bother with saran wrap. I believe your best bet is to work with some of the woodier stems when air layering.

n_d_shadows

thanks for that buzz. I should have gone with the moss as suggested in my links above but Im cheap, and ignorant at times.

Woodier stems? thats hard to come by on my plants. considering they are only 6" when cloned and tossed to flower.

ok, notes for next time
sphagnum moss needed and no saran wrap. got it. Thanks buzz

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grass_hopper

You could also slice the side of a pre-soaked jiffy plug and then bandage it up with cheesecloth and saran/foil after you put it around the stem. This might give a more continous contact between the stem and some soil-like moist stuff. Jiffy plugs are nothing but peat that's been dehydrated and compressed.

__________________
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the hell alone."


Ancient History:
Blueberry/Mazar (started in hydro, moved outdoors)...Skunk#1/Blueberry in Soil
Botanicare 42 Site Cloner - a Review...Grass_Hopper's Butane Honey Oil (BHO) Thread

Website goodies:
Grow Guide...Cecil_B's CO2 Enrichment Guide...Grower's Dictionary...Getting Females From Standard Seeds