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.