Cloning pumpkins!? Rest assured, there is no strange or evil scientific or genetic experimenting going on here. What is really being described is a form of plant propagation. It is similar to how strawberries, spider plants, and hundreds of other plants propagate themselves. What is different, unique, and highly valuable is that this technique has not been developed and used on Cucurbita before. It is the result of careful research, years of patient study, and experimentation. And, it was accomplished with the help of several friends. Cloning has many benefits as you will see in the article
This article was written by Marc Sawtelle of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
My theory is simple…
1. Cloning can help produce superior genetic pumpkins quicker than using the cross-breeding methods we all use now.
2. It can save a great strain of ANY pumpkin which grew a record fruit. And, it enables someone to try all kinds of cross-breeding combinations with that plant.
3. Cloning original plants can save a strain that might have just had a bad growing season. I know there had to be a few growers saying ” I think I really had a great plant going. But, I’ll never know what it would have done since we had such poor growing conditions!”
Cloning plants is nothing new to the horticulture world. It is simply a plant propagation technique. It requires an open mind to try them on a plant which requires a lot of care in between the growing seasons. I experimented trying various cloning methods and techniques. And, I have seen other growers raise them without any different results than if it was a plant started from seeds.
One of the best advantages I noticed over a seed-started plant, is once it gets rooted outside and gets some larger “outdoor” leaves, a clone has plenty of male flowers, and even some females to “practice” or “experiment” on as early as the first week in June. By the time the golden zone to pollinate rolls around, there are plenty of females and males to pollinate! No need to put all your hopes on just a couple of fruits when there may be 10-15 getting ready to bloom on a plant which can have many “main stems” if the grower so desires.
Successful cloning off the main vines is as simple as burying the vine in some soil. Then, you wait 7-10 days to cut the new plant from the main plant. Many growers bury vines during the season to give their plant an added root system. This also anchors and feeds the main plant. To make pumpkin clones indoors {or out}, you apply the same basic principal. First, allow the original pumpkin to grow over the container until it has a vine long enough which can be placed in another pot. Next, all the grower must do is provide the vine with a rooting medium for the plant to do what is natural for it And, that’s sprouting roots.
Bury the entire vine 1/2 inch below the soil’s surface in the new pot. This soon becomes a new plant of the same genetic origin as the original plant. Next, place a heating pad below the pot the clone is in. Keep the heat on a low or medium setting. Then, keep the clone pot well watered, but not overly saturated.
It is helpful to use vitamin B-1, Superthrive plant hormones, and Shultz 2-7-7 with micronutrients Cactus Plus. Using similar fertilizers will work as well. Then, place the host pot and clone pot underneath a shop light. Leave the light on for 24 hours a day. Check the clone plant after a couple days. And, continue to keep the soil moist in the pot. The host pot needs little to no water during this period. By stressing the host plant this way, the clone becomes less dependent on the roots at the base of the host plant. And, it encourages the plant to sprout its own roots.
After 7-10 days, if you have given the new vine what it need to grow, cut away the host plant. Cut the old vine away from the clone as close to the soil as possible. Then, cut off the larger leaves that were buried earlier. In that way, the new plant to not have to care for so many leaves initially. And, it allows the plant to root without stressing. You now have a cloned pumpkin plant which has the same genetic makeup as the host plant it was cut from!
The uses of pumpkin cloning are simple. You can keep a good genetic plant alive for a new season and not worry about seeds. Also, if the grower has a short growing season, cloning can help get a jump on the season. It allows flowers to develop earlier than normal. This is because a newly spouted seed takes time to start flowering. And, a clone is already producing them at the base of the plant.
Imagine if the 1999 World record Checkon plant was cloned! The plant produced only 34 seeds. A clone from that pumpkin plant would allow them to cross it this season and have more seeds from this wonder! Growers also may wish to keep a clone through the winter that they liked as a possible pollinator for the next season. Cloning just may be the next way to reach a new record pumpkin.
The “how to” part is easy. But, the hard part is keeping up with them all winter. There are two ways to clone a pumpkin plant. First, is the “Tip cuttings”. I only experience an average of a 30 percent success ratio. Second, is the “pot to pot” method, which is the easiest. Both of these techniques are basic horticulture plant propagation methods used for house plants. It results in more plants from an original plant. Nobody I have known had ever considered using these methods on pumpkins. This does not alter the DNA from propagating a host plant. And, all the original genetic makeup of the plant remains the same. Cloning a great genetic pumpkin is as logical as breeding a great strain with another superior strain.
To do the “pot to pot” method, all you need is a couple of shop lights, good high-grade soil, a plant starter solution, and rootone. Example: An outdoor late-season side vine long enough to put a 5-gallon pot under is a good candidate.
First, dig the ground out. Next, slide the pot underneath the vine. Then, cut a small notch out of the side of the pot large enough to allow the vine to rest on the soil in the pot, without having to bend the vine too sharply. Make the vine long enough to lay over almost all of the pot, and have two, preferably, three leaves buried one inch deep.
After burying the vine, make sure the top of the soil in the pot is fairly moist, but not too wet. If possible, keep the original vine dry near the pot. About a week later, the roots begin growing on the plant in the pot. And, the new plant should be growing a few inches over the pot.
To speed things up and keep the clone from stressing too much once cut off of the main plant, make a small 45-degree notch in the vine going into the pot as close as you can to the surface of the soil in the pot. Cut the 45-degree notch out of 1/3 of the vine. This allows the new plant to still get nutrients and water. But, it forces the clone to start speeding up its root growth in the pot to compensate for its lost energy.
Wait about a week. Then, simply cut the plant away where the notch was made. Next, remove the cutting from the original plant. A new pumpkin plant is ready to grow on its own.
To keep the plants alive all winter, simply bring the new plant indoors. Place it under one or two shop lights, about 3 to 5 inches below the light bulbs. Use a fan set on low to produce a small breeze. This allows the plant to retrain a strong stem.
Provide the plant with light for 18 to 20 hours a day on a timer. Less than 18 hours results in lighter colored leaves, a long, thin stem, and in general, a sick-looking and unhealthy plant. Keep the room temperature around 70 degrees, an average house temperature.
Once spring allows planting outside, just harden off the plant as you would with a new seedling. If you desire earlier male and females, I have found the cloning method helps the blooming period to begin a month or two earlier than the normal seed starting date.
I managed to “fine tune” a few potting methods. And, I’m beginning to notice small things pumpkins do that have never occurred to me when they are growing outside. I thought I should remove the new male flowers as they shoot out, as I thought it might help transfer the energy to help out with root development. Surprisingly, cutting them off seems to only discourage side vines and new growth on the main vine. Additionally, there is no extreme or noticeably different roots produced when culling the male flowers.
Also, if the soil is not “just right” when rooting is desired, they will not shoot out at the base of any leaves! What happens is they rely on the existing root system in the other pot to supply the needs of the new growth, until the soil moisture content and oxygen levels reach acceptable levels. A major sign is small leaves at the tip of the main vine and no side shoots from each leaf. Leaves also go from large to small, and sometimes yellow, as if a nitrogen or iron deficiency is occurring. And, the tips often die before you notice and diagnose the problem in time. As a result, the entire clone dies.
Pests will also develop and thrive in excessive wet environments. Soil may be bone dry on the top 2 or 3 inches of the pot, perfect all the way to near the bottom, and soaked the last 2 or three inches of the pot. Too loose a soil is bad, as well as not loose enough. I will be experimenting for a while, I can predict, to get a perfect soil mix formula. There are no soil mixes especially formulated for pumpkins on the market. One must mix several combinations together to create soil pumpkins can thrive in, rather than just barely exist.
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