Plants can be expensive.  I remember ordering muscadine grape starts and they were $20 a pop.  To add insult to the cost, the muscadines didn’t “take” to where I planted them.

I’ve also felt some pain when I had a plant do well but the source was out of stock.  Unable to get seeds or starts, I was unable to increase my crop.

My solution is cloning.  I can order just a few plants and try them out.  If they thrive, I’ll take cuttings and grow them.  Not all plants will clone, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

A friend was asking about techniques.  There are several.  Generally, I recommend building a cloner.  This involves a water pump, spray tips, a drill and a specialty tool.  Additionally, you need to monitor the pH of the water.  While more efficient, and if you use it often, cost effective, it’s easier to fail than a more simple solution.

I’m going to show you how to use a solution that doesn’t require special tools (you should probably use a scalpel but I use a boxcutter).  This method doesn’t require a lot of supervision either.  Just keep the water level up.

I call it the Rapid Rooter method.  Rapid Rooter is a brand and it is a convenient handle for this way of cloning.  There are other brands.  In fact, I couldn’t find Rapid Rooter when I shot the following video.  My understanding is that they’re back ordered across the nation.

The Rapid Rooter is also great for starting seeds.  Be sure to get a heat mat if you try seeding.

My experience is that clones take two weeks to be ready for planting.  Your moves will vary depending on what you are cloning.