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No Place Special

I am considering keeping a clone or two this year but dont know how to do it. I know there are some "experts" out there and I would love to hear the proper or best way to do it. It can't be as simple as cutting a section of growing vine off the plant and then burying the vine in the dirt and watering can it? THANKS!

Mike Frantz

8/17/2004 11:42:39 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

Springs, Colorado
Keeping a clone {cutting} alive is easy, sort of...

Root a vine tip in a long narrow pot outdoors {3 weeks before expected frost}, by mixing systematic insecticide in the rooting medium and spraying the plant for disease first. Then cut two "U" shaped grooves into both sides of the long & narrow pot for the incomming vine to root into some deep soil initially without having to bend it down over the pot edge. The other side is cut out for the outgoing vine.

Bury your plant vine into this pot with the tip barely left sticking out of the cut out pot groove. Let it then grow until you have 2-3 side shoots emerging from the leaf nodes. Then cut the main vine off at the 3rd leaf past the pot. This will allow you to keep the inital plant smaller, and allow it plenty of time to root in the pot.

Once the side shoots start to reach out and attempt to run, it is then time to cut the clone away from the original plant at the groove where it goes into the pot. Move the plant to an area where it doesn't get any direct sunlight for a couple days so it doesn't get stressed and die off. It is normal to loose a leaf or two, sometimes all the sun leaves will wilt and die. Don't freak out, as the plant is simply diverting its energy into the new shoots, and they shouldn't be affected.

8/17/2004 11:05:59 PM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

DO NOT OVERWATER!!!! Moist soil is key! Too much and the cutting will never root, or if it did root initally, it will die of root rot! At this point, your new "clone" is ready to bring indoors.

Keep it growing from pot to pot under a shop light with 2 40 watt cool white bulbs, or in a bay window where it will get the full winter sunlight. You will need a bigger window or more lights if you keep more than one clone going. One 4 foot shop light keeps one clone going perfectly with 2 pots side by side at all times. You can add another shop light also if you wish to allow the cutting to grow longer a little bit to make sure it is rooted long enough each time your ready to cut it away from the host pot. I suggest this to those newer at this, as it sucks to cut away a clone too soon and see it die after keeping it alive for a while.

I Hope this info helps make things simple and easy to do. I've had plenty of winters to get down a nice and simple process, and I don't have any failures anymore {unless I simply forget about them}. I started messing around with this method back in 1997, first trying to root vine tips with rooting hormones before finding this to be the easiest method. Mike, I can answer any question you might have on this subject, if you can catch me.... sorry...gotta run back to the laboratory...

Madman Marc

8/17/2004 11:09:02 PM

No Place Special

Wow, thanks for the very detailed directions. I cant wait to try it out.

THANKS!

8/24/2004 10:48:08 AM