Build Your Own “Cloner”
Build Your Own Plant Cloning Device
Featured here is a plant “cloner” you can make for under $20. Using this device, you can root cuttings of your favorite plants in as little as ten days.
Homemade plant cloning machine.
Here’s how:
Look at all the pictures and read the captions. I put this together (built the thing) in about ten minutes.
The materials are as follows:
One miniature 110 VAC fountain pump from Harbor Freight and Tool.
Five inches of 1/2″ O.D. (outside diameter) clear plastic tubing also from Home Depot
One 2-gallon plastic bucket with lid from Home Depot
One 2″ piece of schedule 40 1/2″ PVC sprinkler pipe
One 1 1/2″ PVC male adapter and
One plastic full-circle sprinkler head from, you guessed it, Home Depot.
Just follow through the pictures and read the captions. You’ll have it built in no time at all.
Submersible pump and spray parts.
These are all the little parts laid out in the order they are assembled. From left to right are: 360-degree (full circle) plastic sprinkler head. I removed the plastic screen, because it’s not needed and it puts extra drag on the tiny pump. Next up is a 1/2″ PVC male adapter. I glued it to the 2-inch piece of PVC schedule 40 sprinkler pipe, but you don’t have to; it’s a no-pressure set-up. Next is the clear plastic tube that fits snugly OVER the pump fitting and INSIDE the PVC pipe. Last but not least is the pump. I got it on sale for $4.99!
A small note of interest here: If you decide you want the water to spray out of the little sprinkler with more force, REDUCE the length of the pipe between the pump and the head and place the pump up on a brick or stone, moving the entire assembly closer to the lid. Of course, if you do this, you’ll have to make sure there is more water in the cloner, as the pump needs to be fully submersed to work.
Two-gallon bucket lid with holes.
Here’s a picture of the plastic lid. It’s just a 2-gallon bucket lid with 8 1″ holes drilled at nearly equal spacing around it. Notice that I used one hole to run the pump cord through. This saves drilling and sealing yet another hole in the thing.
Pump is placed at bottom in center.
Here it is assembled and full of water, but not running. The little pump, by the way, comes with four little suction-cup legs. This keeps it centered in the cloner and assures it doesn’t dance around because of any vibrations it makes. When it runs, it makes a pleasant “trickle” sound, like a small fountain.
Water spraying inside the cloner.
This is what it looks like running. Notice the water just dances about. It doesn’t hit the stems or sides of the container with any force to speak of. It just aerates (adds oxygen to) the water and wets the stems. The nutrient solution and root hormone do all the real work.
To use it, just take your cuttings and strip off the lower two or three leaves, dip the ends in clean water, then into rooting compound (see next picture) and stick them into the holes in the top of the cloner.
Rooting hormone powder.
The holes, by the way, were cut with a hole saw in a drill motor. Be careful not to let the drill bite into the plastic and jump out and bite you. It want’s to. You are the master here, so play your roll. Be careful!
You’ll notice that several cuttings share each hole. That’s okay, they’ll all do fine as long as you remember to remove them all in about ten days.
In case you’re wondering how I stuck the cuttings into the holes, those little blue-green mounds are each a square piece of one-inch foam rubber cut 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ and then slit half way with a pair of scissors. It looks like a cube with a slit on one side. Just open the slit, jam the cuttings into it, close it up and dip all the ends in the rooting compound, then jam the rubber plug into the hole in the top (lid) of the cloner and you’re ready to clone. I also sometimes use a wad of fiberglass wall insulation. It’s inert and can be reused if desired, just like the foam rubber.
Plants arranged in holes, held by wads of insulation material.
Here’s another picture of the finished, loaded cloner so you can see the little sponge-rubber plugs I’m talking about. In about ten days, I’ll be up about 25 Spearmint plants! Mint is really easy to clone, by the way. Also, DO NOT plant mint in your garden. Plant it in pots. That’s what I do, then I sell each potted mint for $4 and folks just lap them up.
Mint grows from its roots, called rhizomes. Each root sends up several “suckers” and before you know it your entire garden is FULL of mint and you’ll play hell getting rid of it. Don’t even try. It’ll be there to stay no matter what you try. It’s like kudsu, if you know what that is! Ask anyone from Atlanta!
What do each of those $4 mint plants cost me? Just short of nothing but a little time and my $10 cloner!
Using The Cloner
Many folks use plain, clean water. I cheat. I use “Grow Juice” (hydroponic growing nutrient) at one ounce per gallon of water. If you’d like to know how to brew your own self-buffering, organic nutrient, click here.
If you do like I do (use nutrient), be sure to check your pH when you’re ready to plug the pump in for the run. The pH (acidity of the water mixture) should be around 6.2, which is “ideal”.
To check your pH, you can measure it with a $200 meter or with $5 pH strips, available at the drug store. The pH strips come on a long roll with a dispenser that resembles a cellophane-tape dispenser.
pH strips are just thin pieces of paper treated with some magical chemical impregnated in it, so when you stick it into a liquid, it changes colors. You then match the color of the wetted strip to that same color on the box the pH strips came in and see what the pH is. If it’s too low, add “pH up” and if it’s too high, add “pH down”. These are each chemicals available at your local hydroponics store. You can use baking soda or lemon juice if you’re strapped for cash!
Just for kicks, if you use pH strips, stick a piece on your tongue and compare it to the ‘value’ on the box. Your spit should be VERY basic (blue). Disease finds it nearly impossible to grow in a “base” environment. Acidity, on the other hand, is exactly what cancer LOVES!
If it turns out your spit is acid, take steps to cut out the things that cause that condition; meat and sugar for starters!
This cloner will accommodate up to about 50 cuttings at a time. So, there you have it; a $10 plant cloner that will get your backyard nursery up and running in no time at all!
Cloning Results
New white roots on former "stems".
You’ll note the green algae all over the place. This is because I forgot to cover the outside of the cloner with aluminum foil, which reflects light and heat. This mistake encouraged algae to grow. No harm done, just another mess to clean up before cloning the next batch of cuttings. I use a 10% Chlorox Bleach solution to clean the insides of cloners and hydroponic and aeroponic growing chambers.
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