Aerocloners

What an aerocloner actually is

An aerocloner is a sealed reservoir with a submersible pump that pushes water through spray manifolds, misting the bare stems of cuttings suspended above the waterline in neoprene collars. The cuttings sit in air, not water and not media. Roots form directly into the mist chamber.

The term "aeroponic" is used loosely here. True high-pressure aeroponics uses fine atomized droplets (under 50 microns) at high pressure ^[1]. Most consumer cloners are low-pressure spray systems — closer to a recirculating spray cloner than lab-grade aeroponics. The distinction matters for marketing claims but not much for whether your clones root.

Why growers use them

The practical advantages are real but modest:

• High success rates. Cuttings rooted in aerocloners typically show success rates of 90%+ when conditions are dialed in, comparable to or slightly better than rockwool and rooting cubes Weak / limited. Most published comparisons are in horticulture broadly, not cannabis specifically.
• Speed. Roots often appear in 5-10 days versus 10-18 days in rockwool Anecdote. This is widely reported by growers but rigorous controlled cannabis trials are scarce.
• No rooting hormone required. Many growers skip IBA/NAA gels entirely and still get good takes, because constant oxygen exposure at the cut site accelerates callus formation Weak / limited.
• Reusable, low consumables. No peat plugs, no rockwool, no soil. Just water, electricity, and the occasional cleaning.
• Easy inspection. Pop a collar and you can see exactly what's happening at the root zone.

What they don't do: produce better plants downstream. Once transplanted, a clone is a clone. The mother's genetics and your veg/flower environment determine yield, not the propagation method.

When to start

Work backward from when you need rooted clones ready to transplant into veg. A reasonable timeline:

• Day 0: Take cuttings, place in cloner.
• Day 7-14: Roots visible, 1-3 inches long.
• Day 10-16: Transplant to final medium (soil, coco, rockwool block, DWC, etc.).

If you're running perpetual harvests, start clones roughly 2 weeks before you'll need them in veg. Don't take cuttings from a mother that's stressed, recently fed heavily with nitrogen, or already flowering — re-vegging clones ("monster cropping") works but adds 2-4 weeks of weird growth.

How to do it: step-by-step

1. Prep the cloner. Fill the reservoir with clean water — RO or dechlorinated tap. Adjust pH to 5.5-6.0 Strong evidence. Many growers run plain water; some add a mild rooting solution (e.g., a dilute kelp extract or a commercial clone nutrient at quarter strength). Run the pump for a few minutes to confirm every spray nozzle is firing.

2. Pick your cuttings. Choose healthy lower or mid-canopy shoots, 4-6 inches long, with at least 2-3 node sites. Avoid soft, leggy growth and avoid woody, lignified stems — semi-firm green is ideal.

3. Cut. Use sharp, sterile scissors or a razor. Make the cut just below a node at a 45-degree angle. Immediately place the cutting in a glass of clean water to prevent air embolism in the stem.

4. Trim. Remove lower leaves so only the top 2-4 leaves remain. Trim the remaining leaves in half if they're large — this reduces transpiration load while roots are absent. Some growers scrape a thin strip of outer stem (1 cm) near the cut to expose more cambium Anecdote.

5. (Optional) Dip in rooting hormone. IBA-based gels can speed rooting but aren't required in an aerocloner. If you use one, dip briefly and tap off excess.

6. Insert into collars. Push the stem through a neoprene collar so the cut end protrudes 1-2 inches below into the mist chamber. Seat the collar firmly in the cloner lid.

7. Environment. Keep the cloner under low-intensity light: T5 fluorescent or a low-output LED at 100-200 µmol/m²/s, 18/6 photoperiod. Ambient air 72-78°F (22-25°C), humidity 65-80%. Reservoir water temperature is critical — keep it 65-72°F (18-22°C). Warmer water dissolves less oxygen and breeds pathogens like Pythium ^[2] Strong evidence.

8. Wait and watch. Check daily. Top off water as needed. If you see slime, brown roots, or a swampy smell, dump and clean immediately. Some growers refresh the reservoir every 5-7 days as a precaution.

9. Transplant. When roots are 1-3 inches long and branching, move clones into their next medium. Don't wait for a massive root ball — long, tangled roots are harder to transplant cleanly.

Common mistakes

• Warm reservoir water. The single biggest cause of failure. Above 75°F (24°C), root rot risk climbs sharply ^[2]. If your room runs hot, use a small aquarium chiller or freeze water bottles and rotate them in.
• Dirty pump and nozzles. Biofilm clogs sprayers and harbors pathogens. Clean with a mild bleach or H₂O₂ solution between batches.
• Too much light. Cuttings don't have roots; they can't support high photosynthesis. Blasting them with a full flower light cooks them.
• Letting roots grow into the pump intake. They will, and they'll get shredded. Transplant on time.
• Taking cuttings from a flowering mother. Possible but slow and weird. Use vegetative mothers when you can.
• Adding strong nutrients. Cuttings have no roots to feed. Plain pH-adjusted water or very dilute clone solution is plenty until roots emerge.
• Skipping sanitation between rounds. A cloner that worked great for batch one can wipe out batch two if you didn't scrub it.

Related techniques

• Rockwool cloning: the traditional method. Cheaper hardware, slightly slower, more consumables.
• Soil and peat plug cloning: the most forgiving for beginners with no equipment.
• Mother plant management: how to maintain a clone source long-term.
• Monster cropping: taking clones from flowering plants for bushier growth.
• Tissue culture: the lab-grade alternative for disease-free stock and long-term genetic preservation.

Aerocloners are one tool among several. If you're rooting 4 clones a month, a humidity dome and soil cubes are fine. If you're running 50+ clones per cycle and want predictability, an aerocloner earns its space.

Sources

How this page was made