Re: Cloning Machines

I read/heard someplace that roots developed in water were inferior to roots developed in soil. I don't know if that's true. In my experience, "roots is roots"; basil, rosemary, and begonias--three plants that regularly get rooted in water around here--do not seem to do any worse than similar cuttings rooted in vermiculite [my medium of choice]. The reason we do not root more things in water is we lack additional funny little bottles, vases, and jars, not to mention kitchen window sill space.

Looking at Charley's catalog [and forgiving the snake-oil spiel about a "cloning machine"], the largest unit will hold only 42 cuttings. It's 190 pazoolas, plus another $33.00 for all the magic elixir and miracle fungicides to make the machine produce rooted cuttings rather than rotted vegetation. I can buy an awful lot of vermiculite [or funny little bottles, vases, and jars] for that kind of dough.

Another thing cloning machine users will have to deal with is light, which is at least as important as the rooting medium. So it needs to be used in a location that has full-spectrum light to spare. A couple of those Phillips growlights might do it; I don't know.



On Apr 5, 2005, at 1:33 PM, Chapel Ridge Wal Mart National Hearing Center wrote:

I was just looking through Charley's Greenhouse catalog and they now offer
Cloning Machines. I guess I'd heard of cloning but never thought of it as
being a system available to the home user. But they do have a small one
that handles 8 cuttings. Says: "the process involves continuous spraying of
a cloning solution (root growth stimulant) onto your stem, root or leaf
cutting...process is highly effective. Roots appear in 3 to 10 days and
cuttings ready for transplant in 7-21 days with a healthy, well-developed
root system....Practical, easy to use design with true aeroponic
(oxygen-rich) mist application to ensure fast rooting and optimum results."
Has anyone seen these units? anyone used anything like this? (if you have
a Charley's catalog, it is on page 81) I can't access their website from
here but the salesperson says the website has more detailed info.

I realize simple cuttings done the old fashioned way are a lot cheaper, but
I'm not always successful at it - more failures than successes. Those that
do take don't have a really good root system and it's easy to lose them over
the first winter. I plan to try a different rooting medium this season in a
closed container which has been ultra successful for tender perennials; I'd
like to see if it will work for woodies. If it doesn't do well, I'm
thinking about a cloning unit.

Any input would be appreciated.
(cross-posting in the hopes of getting any response)

Kitty

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Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

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