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HomeReviews and Growing Gear5 Best Rooting Hormones for Weed: Reviewing Cloning Gels, Compounds, & MORE

5 Best Rooting Hormones for Weed: Reviewing Cloning Gels, Compounds, & MORE

If you want to clone and raise clones, you should invest in cloning gel or rooting gel. It’s a quicker and easier way of growing cannabis. With cloning gel, the clones and roots grow and recover faster. It helps you save a lot of money and time. Cannabis clones grow more quickly if the cut stems contain a lot of root growth hormones and carbohydrates.

cannabis-cloning-gelsIt’s essential to prepare the mother plants 3 or 4 days before you take the cuttings. Water the mother plant to reduce its nitrogen levels. The plant’s carbohydrates will increase, which is suitable for cuttings. Take cuttings near the plant’s main stem as it contains a high amount of root hormones. Use a new razor blade to make a clean cut. Wash your hands first.

Don’t forget to sterilize the blades with alcohol first to prevent infections or diseases in the new clones. Drill holes in the rooting containers to fit the cuttings. Leave about ½” at the bottom undrilled. You should also moisten the rooting plugs with water. If you’re cutting several pieces, you should prepare a separate container with clean water.

Coat the cut stems with rooting gel. It protects the cut and provides the plant with nutrients and growth hormones.  After placing the cuttings into the soil or rooting cubes, you have to keep them wet for the first few days. Since the cuttings don’t have roots, they will be drinking and eating from their leaves. Keep the humidity level from about 80% to 90%.

Acidic soil pH is excellent for clones that have to grow roots.  At this phase, there’s no need for strong lamps as the clones cannot take too much light or heat. You can warm the rooting cubes or soil using a light or heating mat underneath.

Cloning Gels

Cloning gels are the most popular, effective, and modern type of rooting hormone to use for encouraging the explosive growth of your plant. Gels are often the first choice of growers because of how useful it is during the rooting process. Most growers say it makes them the most comfortable and that it fits the most of what growers needs.

Additionally, gels provide the most straightforward process. When using it, the grower merely put some gel on a plate, a bowl or a container. Then all he needs to do is dip the cut in his desired depth of cloning gel. With the gel being sticky, the solution adheres to the cutting that no other things needed to be done. Next, the grower just put the cut stem in moist soil or another medium he is using.

Basics of Cannabis Cloning

The principle behind cannabis cloning is to cut the stem off from the mother plant, which will then be replanted. A new plant with the exact genetic match with the parent plant will develop from the stem.  The clone will then begin to develop roots and a shoot, which takes a shorter time than with seedlings. Cloning cannabis provides the benefits of a significant reduction in time and cost.

What is the Best Light for Clones?

The ideal option for clones is fluorescent lights. Choose a cooler, blue-heavy light. Avoid something intense and hot like HPS, since the grow room temperature is essential at this point and you should keep it around 74⁰ to 77⁰ because slipping below that can stall or stop root growth altogether.

Fluorescent lights can run 24 hours a day and provide some heat, allowing you to keep the temperature in the grow room stable. You can also keep fluorescent close to plants, which is beneficial if you have a small space or you want to make a cloning room. LEDs can be used as well, but you have to hang it around 2′ above the clones.

After a week, get rid of any weak and wilted clones. Transplant the healthy clones that have grown roots within 2 to 3 weeks. You can move the clones into the regular growing setup once the roots are about 1 to ½” long. Slowly increase light intensity and levels.

Benefits of Cloning Gel

Cloning gel protects the weed from various illnesses. The clones will grow faster and healthier.  It means faster turnarounds and higher profits. Cloning gels are essential because they provide protection to the cut on the stem, much like a bandage to a wound. Without cloning gel, the cloned cannabis plant might be able to grow but with a weak root system.

If that’s the case, the marijuana plant is vulnerable to diseases and all kinds of illnesses, as well as air bubbles. Cloning gels are also crucial for expediting the root system’s growth thanks to the nutrients and growth hormones it offers. With such a minimal cost, cloning gels can possibly save you a lot of money and time in the long run.

Making the Cut on Your Plant

If you don’t know how to cut your plant, here are some tips you can follow:

What to Consider Before Making the Cut

Before you make the cut, make sure to:

  • Stay focused when cutting the clone. If you end up cutting a part that has not grown well and weak, your plant might not be able to get roots.
  • Look for the best part for cutting. To look for it, try looking for a branch that when you bend it, breaks a bit. This part of the plant is the best area to cut because it is strong and healthy. Therefore, it is perfect to use for growing a clone.

What do you need for cutting? You’ll need clean scissors. You need to make sure it’s clean, which means the tool you are using is safe from any dangerous bacteria.  Before you cut, remember as well that you will be cutting a really sensitive part of the plant. If you don’t use a clean pair of scissors, even the slightest amount of bacteria could destroy your plant.

How to Make the Cut

How do you cut the plant? Here are two critical pieces of advice to remember:

  • Always use sharp and clean scissors when you make the cut.
  • When you make the cut on the stem, do it at 45-degree angle.

If you follow the tips above, you can feel confident that you cut the plant in the safest and healthiest way. Cutting at 45-degree angle with perfectly clean scissors is the ideal procedure for cutting the plant and ensuring it will grow more roots. With using cloning gel, you can provide the clone with the best growing condition.

There are different cloning gels for cannabis out there. Here are some of the most popular options.

Clonex Rooting Compound Gel Packets

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Clonex is a water-based rooting gel known for its high performance and tenacity. This gel can stay in contact around the stem, effectively sealing the cut tissue. At the same time, it will supply the nutrients and hormones necessary for root cell development and protection of sensitive new root tissue. Clonex contains mineral nutrients, root growth hormones, and vitamins.

It clings to the stem and protects it while the ingredients feed the plant. The 15ml packet is enough if you’re growing clones or taking cuttings from a few plants. It contains 0.31% of Indole-3-Butyric Acid. Clonex is cheap, so you should consider this product if you are growing clones at home. You can also get the HydroDynamics Clonex Rooting Gel if you have more cuttings to take or more plants to clone.

It is available in 100mL, 500mL and 1000mL bottles. You can store the unused gel for a while. This cloning gel is great because it’s easy to use, reliable, and provides satisfying results. The fact that it is inexpensive makes it a product truly worth your money. Its only disadvantage is it isn’t ideal for big, strong plants.

Clonex is one of the best brands of clone gels in the market. Many growers have the same opinion on Hydrodynamics Clonex Rooting Gel being one of the popular cloning gels thanks to its quick and super performance. It’s also the fact that it’s a real stubborn rooting gel, sticking around the branch or stem to supply the inorganic nutrients the plant needs.

Quick Clone Gel – Most Advanced Cloning Gel for Faster, Healthier, Stronger Rooting Clones


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If you are looking for an organic cloning gel, you can try the Quick Clone Gel. It’s available in 2 sizes –250mL is ideal for large-scale operations, and 75mL is perfect for home growers. The Quick Clone Gel doesn’t contain any artificial dye. It is rich in rooting hormones, amino acids, and vitamins. The Quick Clone Gel is dubbed as the most advanced cloning gel poised to deliver excellent results.

Using this cloning gel provides growers with the best yields out of the fastest growing plants. It means never having to spend more money to start planting again. The grower can use this gel by taking a healthy, new cut of cannabis. Next, dip it in water and then to your ideal depth of Quick Clone Gel. After that, you can plant the cut into the soil, an aeroponic cloning machine or peat plug.

It’s an easy procedure, which is said to provide robust and consistent rooting within 5 to 10 days based on the plant. True to its name, Quick Clone Gel delivers quick results. More than that, it is also easy to use and made with all the best natural ingredients. The downside is it’s a bit expensive and doesn’t work on all plants.

Grodan 1.5″ Stonewool/ Rockwool Cubes

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This kit includes the Rootech Cloning Gel and Grodan Rockwool rooting cubes. The 0.25-ounce container contains 45 1.5″ cubes and a lot of gel. You only need to be careful when handling stonewool. Wear a dust mask and gloves to prevent the tiny fibers from entering your lungs and skin. Ordering this grow kit allows you the benefit of saving some money.

Grodan is a leading brand supporting growers by providing top quality products. A company that is part of the ROCKWOOL group, Grodan stone wool is manufactured following the highest quality control standards. Grodan stonewool can hold around 80% of volume in water while leaving the rest in small air pockets, which helps in the plant’s improved aeration and holding capacity.

Technaflora Rootech Gel for Plants

 

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Technaflora’s Rootech Gel for Plants is water-based and can be diluted with water to stretch it farther. It is available in 7g, 56g, 112g, and 224g containers. Rootech Gel contains 0.55% of 1H-indole-3-butanoic acid, which allows it to be diluted and makes it powerful at giving clones the nutrients they require. This cloning gel is perfect for growers searching for a powerful formula.

One of the highly reputable cloning gel brands, Technaflora is quite popular. It works great, having been created with numerous essential vitamins and natural hormones needed by the plants. It’s why this product as a beast in terms of performance. Besides nutrients and hormones, this cloning gel provides .55% of high-focused IBA hormone.

The IBA hormone helps to boost the root’s growth and keep the rate of the clones strong. It delivers the best results, thanks to the powerful and increased amount of hormones. Technaflora ensures the quality of their products by testing them in the company’s own indoor garden. Once tested and proven to have an excellent result, that’s when they sell the products to the market.

Rapid Rooter Replacement Plugs from General Hydroponics (50 counts)

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General Hydroponics’ Rapid Rooter Replacement Plugs is an ideal option if you want to raise cannabis hydroponically. Rapid Rooter is a trusted brand in cannabis growing. As for Rapid Rooter Plugs, they are packed with nutrients while also cheaply priced. Its plugs are full of common hydroponic micronutrients necessary for abundant root growth.

The plugs use rapid rooter boosting strong early rooting to support abundant plant growth. It also utilizes optimal air-to-water ratio inside the plug matrix, which also helps in profuse growth of the plant. Each bag contains 50 plugs with the bags sold individually. The plug’s size is 10 and ½-inch in length by 12-inch in width by 3 and 1/3-inch in height.

Conclusion

Consider using a cloning gel when you want to raise healthy plants fast. Choose the most convenient option for you.

The Quick Clone Gel is a good option if you’re going to keep things organic and for faster and healthier clones.

The HydroDynamics Clonex Rooting Gel is ideal for large operations. It has a long shelf life as well.  

Whatever you choose, you should get excellent results.

Attention! Some of the links present in this article may be affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through the link, we might generate a small commission (at no extra cost to you!). Additionally, as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through the links. All of this revenue goes back into The Weed Prof and the mission of supporting the therapeutic use of cannabis products for smokers and tokers everywhere. Thank you for all your support! :)))

Earl Hoffman
Earl Hoffmanhttp://theweedprof.com
Owner and founder of The Weed Prof. Growing Guru and SEO Sorcerer by day, mad toker by night.

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