What equipment do you use for your cuttings? What rooting solution and rooting medium do you use?
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For those interested…
During the process of interviewing @shane Hutto for the Greenhouse Article, I learned about the ISO Group, a company making automation for grows. They actually have a machine that can automatically take cuttings and replant them.
You can see it on a video on their website.
http://www.isogroepmachinebouw.nl/en/isocuttingplanting1800.html
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I use the Power Cloner 45 from Botanicare. It’s built very solid, thicker than other systems I’ve seen. It’s built for a lifetime of use including the cover. Some brands the cover is very flimsy, not the case with the Botanicare.
Botanicare’s Roots line came with the machine, and it’s worked so well I’m sticking to it.
- Power Clone - Advanced Liquid Formula
- Hydroguard &
- Rhizo Blast
I use these products at the recommended doses and so far every cutting has rooted. Not a single cutting that didn’t grow a healthy amount of beautiful white roots.
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Those look very healthy!
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Sterile razor blade. Cut at 45 degree angle. Leave primary shoot but trim off secondary branches. Dip in Clonex or other rooting stimulant 1-2 inches on stem. Gentle light at 16-18 hours. Soil mix - Coco coir, composted worm castings and mychorizzae mix.
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Sterile razor blade. 45 degree cut, I trim the nodes leaving the primary at top and like to have the first cut node below the neoprene pad on my power cloner. I wish I’d taken pictures of the roots on that previous picture. They exploded. My water temps got a little warm, caused by the pump, and it took a little longer than expected, but once they took to root it was a beautiful thing. With an aeroponic cloner Clonex isn’t needed, but I used some anyways. You can see a little white powder at the base of each clone. Glass of water is handy too if you make a bunch of clone cuts at once. Keep the cut stem in the water until you plant in media.
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I tested a willow tea last year - just watered the cuttings (in medium) with it (made from bark and leaves and aerated) for a few weeks. Had about a 70% success rate. Will be exploring that again with some trials this year.
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This is insane! Had to watch this video a couple times! how cool!
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I know of a farm in Humboldt that has max production capabilities of 40K/month. They only use Aloe Vera powder and iHort plugs. Completely climate controlled with humidifiers and no domes. Pretty amazing
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Really? I imagine using humidifiers instead of domes can get to be much more expensive.
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Not if you factor in the amount of time it takes to pay someone to remove 400 domes, and them put them back on, Plus each tray may experience loss from mold growing on the sides so there are multiple economic factors at play
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Bumping this topic for the newer folks.
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Why not old school misting nosles and rooting cubes?
one summer, I was on a team of four that made over a a million and half poinsettia cuttings. Dura tape saves your thumb cuts. We where paid based on plants that actually rooted and penalized for shrinkage.
Looks like people are trying to hard. Making vegetative cuttings is very old school.
I have even extracted IBA from rancid butter, the way old growers did. I don’t recommend it, very nasty.
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Here is link to rooting cube. https://www.hummert.com/_uploads/14-2771ec20.jpg
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I can’t imagine trying that. I would be vomiting nearly constantly.
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I used my gas mask when doing it. It truly was nasty. I had to threw my clothes out afterwards. Yuck! My wife made me shower outside.
We use to have to make are own silver thiosulfate. I used an old 45 record player as a base for a magnetic stirrer. I was not going to pay a lab supply company 500 dollars for one, when I could make one for 10 dollars. I would pay them 5 dollars for the ceramic rods.
We made our own freeze dryer. That was fun. We purchased a used 10 gallon autoclave. Had a friend weld a fitting for a vacuum pump and pressure gauge. We purchased liquid nitrogen from proxair in 5 gallon thermos. Worked really well. We could freeze dry just about anything in 24 to 48 hours. We made freeze dried asparagus flour.
Plus, other things for florists.
We gave the apparatus to a friend as long as he didn’t tell us what he used it for.
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