How to clone plants in water can be learned with relative ease when you know the exact precautions and the precise steps you need to follow to complete the process accurately. The process might be slightly baffling for new enthusiasts, but they will find that the process is fun and opens a unique learning experience even for a beginner gardener.
Whether one decides to clone the mother plants in water or elsewhere, the overall procedure is bound to be quite similar, which involves cutting part of a plant and planting it elsewhere. In the article below, we are going to look at the requirements and steps necessary for clipping your preferred plant and cloning it in the water!
Contents
How Can I Find the Best Way of Cloning My Plants?
You can find the best way of cloning your plants by researching their type. You may then choose to use the rock wool method or the traditional process of soil cloning. You can also clone plants using distilled water, or you may use a cloning machine.
1. Via Rockwool
One of the ways to clone your plants is by using rock wool. Rockwool has a naturally high pH level, so it is essential to soak the Rockwool cubes when working with it. The rock wool cubes could be soaked in warm water for an entire night. By doing so, the pH level in the rock wool will automatically come to a lower level.
After that, you must dip your cutting into a synthetic hormone. It should stay dipped in for at least fifteen to twenty seconds before you take it out. However, if the hormone is formed of powder, you only have to make the edge of the cutting wet. Then you can start applying it and keep it covered from the bottom end of the cutting.
Next, you must put the plant’s stem inside the rock wool. When doing so, you have to ensure that the stem’s end does not lightly touch the rock wool cubes. It is important to remember to mist your plant daily, and it will increase the amount of moisturizer in the plant’s surroundings.
You have to keep the cloner placed under normal light in the mornings. If your plant cannot get the light, you can use other lights. Such as the T5 tubes and the CFLs, but make sure not to use something that gives off too much bright light, like the HPs.
2. Traditional Soil Cloning
Another method that you can use is by using traditional soil cloning. This method is quite simple to perform. For this technique, you do not have to soak the soil for the whole night, unlike what you have to do with rock wool.
If you want to know how to clone a plant in soil, you only have to make sure that the soil is moisturized enough. After that, you have to dip your cutting in the auxins. You should keep them dipped in for at least twenty to thirty seconds. Then you can take it out of the rooting hormones and put it in the potting soil.
3. With Distilled Water
You can also use distilled water. To begin with, firstly you have to take any cup or other container. After that, you must start filling three fourth of the container with distilled water. Distilled water is also known as purified water.
You must remember to prepare the water at least fifteen to twenty minutes before you start and keep it at room temperature. You can check whether the pH level of your water is around 5.5 to 6.0. Moving on, you have to take a piece of plastic or wrap and cut it enough.
It has to be big enough to cover the top of the cup that your water is in. For the next step, you have to take a pen or a pair of scissors, and, using that, you will have to poke a small hole in the plastic or the wrap that is covering the cup. You must remember that the hole has to be small enough to keep the cutting stem fixed tightly inside the pot.
Now, you will have to place the cutting inside the pot. When you do so, you have to make sure that the end of the cutting is at least five centimeters below the water. After that, you must take your cloning pot and put it under sunlight. Make sure that it receives sunlight indirectly.
4. Using a Plant Cloning Machine
You can use clone machines as they are one of the quickest ways to help you. To start up, firstly, you have to get a cloning machine. Once you have your cloning machine with you, you must set it up accordingly.
After that, you have to fill it with water. You have to make sure the water level stays at an indicated level. Once you have filled it, you must dip your cuttings into the auxins. You must put them in the neotypes when you take them out. Lastly, you have to run the cloning machine, and you are good to go!
How Can I Ready My Plants for Cloning in Water?
You can prepare your plants for cloning in water by taking adequate precautionary measures beforehand. While plants produce them as part of their natural process, you may also use rooting hormones. Knowing which plants are ideal for cloning in water is also essential.
– Preparation
The first and foremost thing you must do before you make your mother plants ready to be cloned in water is to be completely prepared. To be prepared, having a few essential items with you is crucial. You must have a healthy as well as vibrant plant with you. It is vital to have a clean and sharp pair of scissors or if not, you can also use a knife.
Some of the things that are optional during this process are rooting powder, or you can also use rooting gel, or liquid. You should also have a sheet of plastic to put over the cloner later. It is also vital to keep rock wool cubes with you and plenty of soil alongside. You must have a cup of water and any cloning machine you prefer before you start.
– The Use of Rooting Hormones
It is natural for plants to make rooting hormones independently after a given period. They consist of the auxin hormones and help grow the root in its early stages. Plants that contain a lot of original auxins can create copies of themselves very quickly, an example of which would be the tomato.
On the other hand, some plants find it difficult to duplicate themselves if they are not provided with an extra hormone. These hormones can be pretty important as they help grow the roots faster and increase the plant’s overall growth. Some people want to let their plants grow naturally without using synthetic hormones since they contain plenty of chemicals.
The crops you can clone quite easily would be basil, tomato, mint, rosemary and peppers. For these crops, you do not have to use any hormones. The other types of crops that are hard to clone without even applying the stimulation method would be the single-harvest crops and the large fruiting.
– Choosing the Right Plants
It is essential to choose the right plant if you want to clone it in water. Most importantly, you must pick a healthy and well-established plant. A well-established plant is a plant that does not show any sign of having diseases. If you ever notice a strong branch come out of a tree and fall over, you will see a “V” form. The section where the “V” grows is where the new branch will grow.
How Can I Care for the Cloned Plants?
You can care for cloned plants by using a humidity dome if you have a need to maintain humidity levels. You also need to maintain a proper temperature at all times. It is also essential to ensure light availability when required for your cloned plants.
– Looking for a Humidity Dome
You can care for your coned plants by using a humidity dome. However, if the environment around your cloned plants is entirely satisfactory, you do not have any need to use this method. When the dome is used, it helps to keep your clones humid and moist. This can be useful if you do not want your cloners to be misted regularly and do not want to keep checking and maintaining them.
– Maintaining an Adequate Temperature
Maintaining a suitable temperature for your plants is essential if you want to care for them. It is best to cut in warm areas since you cannot do the cutting properly in cold temperatures. The acceptable temperature is at around 70 – 75 degrees Fahrenheit. When the surroundings have a low temperature, you can get a heater, or if not, you can use a heating mat to maintain the temperature of the place.
– Providing Necessary Light
You have to provide the plant with the necessary light. If the cloner does not get sufficient light, you can give the cone other types of light. The new cloners are always weak and too much or too little can damage them. For those types of cloners, it is best to use CFL bulbs or fluorescent T5 tubes with weak light.
When you plant a cloner, it does not need light for the first two days. It is also okay to provide it with soft light. Next week, you can keep the clones under soft light for 18 hours. Giving them six hours of complete darkness is essential since that is when the roots are formed.
Conclusion
When you want to clone your plants in water, there are many factors you will need to be aware of, such as providing them with adequate light and temperature. To revise other essential factors you need to remember before plant cloning, check out the following summarized points:
- When you decide to clone your plants in water, you must prepare them for the process.
- You will also need to identify the plants suitable for being cloned and placed in water.
- When cloning plants in water, you also have the option of using rooting hormones if you prefer so.
- Finally, you can prepare the water and place your plant clipping in it, ensuring that you keep it maintained as it grows.
It is relatively easy to clone your chosen plants, especially when you know the steps to carry out the procedure safely. By following the directions in our extensive article, you can clone your preferred plants in a clean water space and have the experience every gardening enthusiast should have at least once in their gardening journey!
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