Journal January 26, 2013

Still in pursuit of an efficient way to clone olive cuttings I am trying two more methods.

 The cuttings above have been placed in horticubes, which have been placed in 2" net pots.  After they were taken, they were coated with rooting gel and spayed with anti-wilt. 

The completed cuttings have been placed in a domed container with a small 16 watt red/blue/orange LED grow light for a light source.  The LED will run 24/7 and the inside of the dome will be sprayed with water several times a day to keep the humidity as high as possible.

The other method I am experimenting with is pretty much the same, except leaving more leaves on the cutting, while removing some of the tips of the leaves.  These have also been sprayed with anti wilt and placed in a domed container. I will spray the inside of the dome rather than the cuttings several times a day.  The light source for this batch will be a simple fluorescent 36 watt daylight CFL in a converted Hydrofarm reflector with a photoperiod of sixteen hours.  In addition, I have added bottom heat, which keeps the temperature in the dome at about 75 degrees F.