Send in the clones

cloning around today....

Can never have too many plants... or spare leaves for fresh tea...

Dip heavily in IBA rooting hormone. Perlite rich rooting mix...and a bag to keep humidity high.

 Send in the clones...

last edited by peteypyro

nice @peteypyro!  Last week I started a couple using your method. What are the sticks for?

thanks @peteypyro thought maybe you were using them to keep the ziplock bag away from the leaves. 

I’ve got two in cups and two in rooter plugs. Each in its own gallon ziplock. It’s been about a week and a half. I can see into the plugs but no roots yet. How long does it usually take?

@pete2000 4 weeks is typical for roots to grow. I blow into the bag before sealing it to inflate it and keep the leaves from touching against the plastic, in order to prevent rot.  I check inside every 2~3 days to ensure that the rooting medium is damp, and to re-inflate the bags with fresh carbon dioxide, from my breath. Plants need that to grow.

last edited by peteypyro

damn these pics are great!! Are you putting any rooting hormone on the cuttings?

@guywithtrees umm, yes. Rooting hormone is in the jar in the 2nd pix. I should have mentioned it. I load it on heavily too, or else it's just 'rotting hormone'. LOL ( I was voted 'class clone' in school.)

it doesn't look like you dont include the node in your cutting. Do you cut the stem above the node and root it there

last edited by roadkill

@roadkill 

   I make sure to get a node buried, or else it won't root. One node above soil level, and one beneath.  Look closely, and you will see the roots beginning at the buried node. 

  I admit that I do make tiny clones with only 2 nodes total. I'm Scottish.  I root several per yogurt cup, though yogurt cups are only 3/4 of a cup (I blame Dannon). I want to get as many as I can get out of one plant's branch. Usually I get one central/terminal growth clone and the two lateral branches on each side, into each 'cup', for a total of 3 cuttings per cup. Occasionally,  one will begin to rot, and I can pluck it out and save the other 1 or 2 clones in the cup. Fuzzy mold can appear quickly so its a good idea to check them periodically. 

    I am preparing a comprehensive tutorial on cloning, using a translucent plastic filing box to house 15  cups with ~ 45 clones, but I ran into technical problems uploading it. I'll try again later, so keep watching for it here.

   There are many ways to skin a cat, or clone a plant, and this is only my technique. There are many others. YMMV.

Greenhouses are useless in the summer... in Florida, but in the winter season, they are great for tropical plants...

  I hope to fill my greenhouse with clones this winter, and plant 40~50 gallon sized kratom bushes by the lake next summer.  Hopefully a future kratom plantation?  Dream big. 


(These will be for my personal use and consumption. ) lol

last edited by peteypyro

totally awesome I so look forward to your future posts and your property looks badass

last edited by roadkill

@roadkill Thanks.  I'm preparing the 15 solo cups with container planting mix:perlite ( 2:1), 


and the translucent filing box. The rooting medium is now soaking up moisture through the 6 drainage holes in the bottoms of the cups now. Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian clone cuttings are going into them tomorrow....and they will be dated and labeled. Then 4~6 weeks to wait for roots to appear at the drainage holes. 😎

last edited by peteypyro

absolutely fantastic. Looking forward to seeing your updates.

How long did it take for roots to develop on the nodes?

Whoops you beat me to it. Have you had any issues with mould/ stem rot? Do you keep the ziplocks closed or open?

last edited by will

@will It was 3 weeks for roots to reach 1" long on the nodes of the hormone treated cuttings.YMMV

@will I keep the bags closed, and Inflated with carbon dioxide rich breath.  I check on them every 2~3 days, remove any cuttings that show mold growing, and reinflate and seal. The advantage that bags have over a box is that mold and disease are limited to the pot in the bag and not the whole box of plants. Sometimes I can just pull the one cutting that had mold, out of the pot and save the other 2~3 cuttings.

   The first week or two are most critical for mold development. After that period, the developing roots and node callouses seal off the stem's cells from easy infections. They are stronger and can be subjected to a little less humidity, which also helps with mold infection reductions.

last edited by peteypyro

Cloning day.


15 cups, 5 branches. 3 clones per branch. 1 clear file box. Lots of IBA rooting hormone on each buried node. Remove 90% of the leaves to reduce transpiration losses until they root. Inserted into a deeply dibbled hole and into damp, but squeezed dry, rooting media (Container mix:perlite 2:1). 

  Now for the month long wait. I will check these a few times each week, and remove any moldy or rotting ones. I'll keep them covered to retain moisture and humidity, and to reduce transpiration losses.

Spare leaves for tea?


Label and date. And wait. 

Tea time 👍
last edited by peteypyro

3 weeks in, and ready for their first pot of their own...

This crop of kratom clones has enough roots at 3 weeks to permit potting into their first pot by themselves.  They could also be raised hydroponically if so desired. 

  I prefer a 3:1 mix of container potting mix:perlite. There is little nutrient content in this. It's mostly for retaining water AND good drainage at the same time. The nutrients come from the fish emulsion and trace elements from volcanic ash/green sand adjuvants. I like to top dress with well aged composted manure, once plants get larger. This feeding regime is just for kratom. It simulates the microcosm of the rain forest floor. Other species have different feeding and watering requirements. 

  I can hardly wait for the next batch to be ready. They'll be the last ones before winter sets in, since rooting outdoors works better with warmer temperatures, and it's too early to start up the greenhouse. 

last edited by peteypyro

most excellent. How much sun does the cuttings get during those first three weeks