Taking cuttings or “clones” is a very important part of indoor gardening. It is one of the things we get asked the most about and can at times be tricky as there are several important steps to take to ensure your cuttings root successfully.
When taking cuttings, cleanliness and sterilized equipment the most important thing. We recommend always using a new blade and new 10x 20 trays. Old blades can be full of germs and often times tear the plant instead of providing a nice clean cut.
If using rock wool cubes have them prepared by presoaking them in a ph balanced water of 7 for a few hours at least. Also add General Hydroponic’s Rapid start into the soak for your cubes.
Starter plug tray is ready to go. Jiffy pellets also need to be soaked but only an hour or so and you don’t have to worry about balancing th ph
Always choose a branch that looks healthy and has a good nodes coming out where new branches meet the stock. Take the cutting about 4-6 inches, pest free, with lush growth. The veins of the leaves should look white and transparent if held up to a light. This will tell you that they are absorbing food properly and that you have a good healthy leaf to catch your sun. These kinds of cuttings will give you the highest success rate.
When choosing a branch to cut for your cuttings choose one that has several nodes coming out as this will give you the nicest, bushiest plant when it roots and starts to grow.
Supplies that you will need for your cuttings will be :
-10 x 20 grow tray : http://bit.ly/OCPncQ 
-Humidity dome : http://bit.ly/NEcweY 
-Razor blade 
-Stim root # 1 rooting powder : http://bit.ly/LtEXRo 
-Gel rooting hormone. We recommend :
Clonex : http://bit.ly/Muhscc 
or rootech rooting gel : http://bit.ly/SDQmyo 
-rockwool cubes or starter plugs:
Rockwool cubes : http://bit.ly/LtIbnU 
Jiffy pellets: http://bit.ly/HdeOyf 
Rapid rooter starter plugs: http://bit.ly/GN7okY 
glass of distilled water at room temperature
Pie plate with distilled water at room temperature
Once you are ready to start taking your cuttings choose your branch and make your cut as close to the main stem as possible. The stem pieces left behind can cause infections and rot on your mother plant.
Once you have your cutting place it in the glass of distilled room temperature water. The reason for this is that once you make a cut in the plant the plant’s first response is to suck air up through the cut. This can cause the cell walls to dry up limiting the cuttings chance at success. Do all your cuttings that you will be taking like this and place them in the water. Once this is done you can make all your final cuts and apply your rooting hormone gel
For the final cut you need to make a cut at a 45 degree angle through the stem. This opens up more surface area for the root base to develop from.
Start by submerging the branch in the pie plate with water, then make the angled cut with the tem under the water. Make the cut between the 2 lowest nodes as this is where there are the highest levels of growth hormones . This will accelerate the root growth process.
Remove the cutting from the water and dip it directly into the rooting hormone gel for at least a minute, then dip into the powder and then put the cutting into your cube or starter plug. Place this under the dome.
Check on your cuttings every few days , you can apply a light mist of water every day after about the first 5-7 days. Roots can take anywhere from 7 – 14 days depending on what type of variety it is. You can also water the cubes if they get a little dry using the general hydronics rapid start, the same as used in the presoak of your rockwool cubes .The temperature should be around 74-80F. If cool temperatures are a problem the seddling heat mat with thermostat is ideal to control the temperatures . 
Once you have good thick white roots coming out the cube the cutting is ready for transplant into the growing medium of your choice. Whether it goes into soil or hydroponics this method will work .
Canadian Wholesale Hydroponics 