There are quite a few good cloning tips out there and I'll simply paste a thread from Laughing Moon where Shabang gives some great advice.  But first I'll add a few of the little things that work for me.
 
 

The two most important conditions for success is high humidity and warmth.  Regardless of medium, I always soak it over night with Nutriboost 1.  I believe any of the other B1 formulas such as superthrive will work as well but have never tried them.  As for rooting hormone, I don't think it really matters as I've had great results without using any but I usually use Roots gel simply for peace of mind and that it is easily available at many garden centers (I prefer to shop where gardeners and farmers shop and not where the MJ growers shop).  To reduce wilting, I trim each leave blade so that only about half of it remains.  This also helps reduce the threat of mold and allows more clones to be packed into a tray.  I then follow the controversial approach from the SOG video and start with about 1/4" of the water in the bottom of the tray and then just let it evaporate over the first week.  After the clones are set, I mist daily with no-damp and then cover with a dome.
 
 
 
 

- this was copied from the Laughing Moon web site.  If Laughing Moon or Shabang has a problem with me posting it here, please feel free to let me know and I'll remove it.

   This is a brief description of how easy it is to successfully make clones of your plants. The first
requirement are the plants to be cloned, preferably they should be growing on a vegetative light cycle (18 to 24 hours of light) and not be overfed. Excess Nitrogen in the stems dan slow down rooting. You can take cuttings from plants that are blooming and heavily fertilized, but your success rate would probably be lower.

    Materials you need:

    Fresh razor blade or X-Acto or scalpel
    Gallon of distilled water (not tap, mineral, or spring)
    -mix this with 1/4 strength bloom fertilizer (more below)
    Containers, 3-inch or planting tray
    Spray Misting bottle
    Rootone, rooting hormone (avail. Home dePot, everywhere)

    Perlite, 1 bag
    Vermiculite, 1 bag

    Start by mixing your gallon of distilled water with your bloom fertilizer. This fertilizer should be
something with higher P and K values-- like 10-30-15 or 10-60-10, or preferably a good hydro formula like General Hydroponics. If this isn't convenient you can even skip the fertilizer until they root, but they will look better if you use it. You want to mix it up very dilute-- 1/4 strength of normal.

    Next combine your perlite and vermiculite. Fill your containers and thoroughly saturate it. If you're only taking a few clones, go ahead and use your bloom water, but probably you'll want to use another gallon of distilled and save the fertilizer for later. In each container make a hole for the cutting with a screwdriver, drill bit, pencil, etc.

    Prepare your area by getting it CLEAN. This is a very important step many people forget about-- wash your hands, your razor blade, and the cutting table. You want your cuttings to be between 3 and 6 inches in total length with at least 3 sets of leaves.

    Cut the branch from the mother plant and remove the bottom leaves so that when you bury it, there will be at least 1 node under the mix. You want to leave just a few leaves on the top so the plant can produce food. Dip the cutting in the Rootone all the way up to the bottom leaves, stick it gently in the container, and pat the mix in around it.

    You can water it in with the misting bottle and fertilizer water. Your area for the clones should be under fluorescents and hopefully its not very dry.. You need to keep the clones humid for the first few days; if your area is too dry you'll need to buy a cloning dome or make something to trap the humidity (think wire hangers and saran wrap).

    Mist the clones a few times a day for the first few days and make sure the medium stays moist. Rootone has shown to be very effective in rooting and keeping away stem rot.. Most strains root in 7 to 12 days, rarely will one die. Also if you have it, throw in some worm castings to the clone's mix for a better start.

    Hope this helps,

    ~s

                            Posted by Vic High on February 17, 1998 at 21:30:38
                           In Reply to How to take cuttings posted by ~shabang~.
 
    Great post! I just want to add a couple of notes. I've screwed around with the cloning by using potting soil, root cubes, sand, perlite, many different rooting hormones, not using rooting hormones, size of clone, etc. and always good to great success. The one factor that I find really important is that I keep the clones warm (25-27 degrees), cold clones just won't root for me or take 6 to 8 weeks. In addition to using rooting hormones, I have found that misting and watering the plants with Nutrilife's NutriBoost 1 makes all the difference.
 
- since posting this, I've found that misting with NutriBoost actually slows the rooting.  I now only use NutriBoost for soaking the medium and mist with no-damp

                                                         ==============================

 
Question:
Are the humidity tents or domes important? I know moisture is important, but if I mist regularly do I really need them? If so can I use 2 liter coke bottles with tops cut off and turned upside down over the clones? Again this is my first grow and I hate learning the hard way, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all for the info I've gotten from you by lurking. Keep up the High work.
 
Shabang:
It really depends on the ambient humidity in the grow room / closet. Is it cold and dry or decently warm  and humid? If its dry (under 40% humidity), I'd say you want to build a dome. Its really easy and doesn't have to be nearly airtight since they need to breathe. Try taking wire hangers, unbending them, and forming an arch over your cloning tray. Secure it on both sides with good amounts of duct tape then wrap saran wrap around the arches and you have an instant greenhouse for your cuttings.

Your two liter bottle idea would probably work-- you want them to be clear though, without any
wrappings, etc. A good hint for taking firm cuttings is really drench the mother with light-bloom water a few hours before taking the cuttings.

Having said that, I don't use any humidity domes. I mist a few times a day for the first few days then once a day until about 8 days when they start to root.
 
 

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