headsrnice

I've heard that using part of a willow tree will work as a rooting hormone.. I haven't seen much info on it though. Just wondering if anyones tried it or had any success without using a rooting hormone.

SmokeaJoint

Honey is a natural rooting hormone. Get some grade A honey from the store and preform the cloning process as usual. Make sure not to get imitation honey though, as it is an insult to hard working bees everywhere and will not work.

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Sugar420

willow trees make something called "rhizocaline" that speeds up rooting. its not a hormone exactly, maybe a mixture of auxins... i dont really know what it is, but it is easy to get from willow trees and easy to use. it is water soluble, but the problem is that it doesnt last very long, so you cant keep a jug of it sitting around.

willow trees make the most in the spring, but theres still plenty in summer that you can get and use.
to make the strongest solution: get some fresh green willow twigs smaller than pencil thickness, and strip off the leaves. cut into 2 inch pieces and stand them up in a mug or pyrex measuring cup. boil some water and pour about a half cup or so over the willow twigs (so the water reaches half way up the sticks) and let it stand. when its cool, just use it to water cuttings in rooting medium like normal. you can keep this rhizocaline solution in the fridge overnight but i dont think its lasts much past 24 hours.

otherwise, you can just get a whole lot of willow twigs without the leaves, chop them up and soak in water for a few hours.

ive used willow water a lot with great results, with roots showing out of the bottoms of peat pots in two weeks when used together with indole butyric
...your mileage may vary. good luck!

headsrnice

thanks for the info.. just got some willow twigs and getting ready to boil some water. i love finding cheap, and natural ways to grow. i grew about 8 plants from the only seeds i had and was expecting some males so i could pollinate a few branches of the girls and i didnt get 1 male! it was bittersweet news since i don't want to have buy bud anymore and don't want to pay money for seeds lol

SmokeaJoint

Now that you can clone, no worries! Perpetual stonerness is headed your way. Keep the clones coming from a first generation plant, as the genetics begin to weaken after a few generations.

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headsrnice

totally.. i'm gonna try both the willow and honey method and see what works better. i hope that i can keep the mother plant in veg for awhile.. the bud from her sisters was quite good and i'd like to keep that quality

for clones, once they're transplanted into soil, should i pot them into similar 5 gallon pots like the plants grown from seed or could i get away with smaller pots? i'd like to use a smaller 2-3 gallon pot if possible to keep space to a minimum..

farmergiles

Pot up into small pots first then re pot as necessary for best results IMO.

If you go straight to 5 gal containers you tend to get stagnant patches in the soil where there are no roots, oxygen may become difficult to obtain for the roots and pH may fluctuate.

As a rule of thumb in veg the pot should be big enough so the roots can occupy the same space as the plant occupies above soil level.
Before re potting you should be able to take the plant with soil (carefully!) from the pot and see the roots poking out from the soil.
You don't want to leave it so the roots are circling round and round the inside of the pot, this shows the plant has become rootbound.

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