Cloning a plant is one of the most effective ways of producing more plants of a single variety. Check out tips on how to clone plants.

Plant Cloning

One of the most effective and easy ways to get more of your favorite plant is to clone it. Cloning a plant is another way of propagating it. It is unlike growing plants from seeds as one doesn’t know what kind of plants would come out of the seed. Sometimes, plants grown from seeds have the worst dominant characteristics present, which are inherited from the parent plant. But, cloning ensures that the new plant will be more or less a replica of the parent plant, which is why it is essential that it should be healthy. In case, you want to know about cloning a plant, check out these useful tips on how to clone a plant.
 
You Need:
  • Healthy Plant
  • Auxin (plant growth hormone)
  • Grow Lamp
  • Heat Coil
  • Fan
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Peat Moss/Potting Soil
  • Pots
  • Razor Blade
  • Spray Bottle
  • Water 
Instructions 
  • In 1 liter water, put in 3-4 drops of peroxide and soak the peat moss pellets in this solution for 24 hours, until they are full of water. Another way is, to pour this water on the soil and see that it runs out. This will make sure that the soil is sterilized.
  • The plant you are going to clone must be healthy. Gently take out fresh cuttings from that plant with a razor and place it in a bowl of water. Re-cut the submerged tips in order to prevent the air from getting into the leaves, as this will make the plant wilt.
  • Take some auxin in a dish and dip each plant tip in this before you plant them in the soil or the peat pellets. Once you plant the clones, place it on a shelf with a heat coil running below. This will initiate the roots to grow as quickly as possible as roots are attracted to heat. The heat coil should be set at around 90o F, while the room temperature should be around 75o F-80o F.
  • You need to keep a source of light like a table lamp on top of the baby clones. This should be done 24x7 for a period of two weeks. You may water it lightly every alternate day and spray an even more diluted water-hydrogen peroxide solution (1 liter water and 1-2 drops hydrogen peroxide) around 2-3 times per day.
  • After the first week, switch on the fan or keep the clones near the window to allow ventilation. The fan will act like the wind and that will make the roots grow stronger to air resistance.
  • Once you notice slightly long roots coming out of the pellets or the small pots, it is time to transplant them in full size plants, as now they are capable of growing fast like any other normal plant. Water them lightly every day and they may even be placed outside.

How to Cite

More from iloveindia.com