Don't Get the Fall Stall!

Every fall, my inbox fills with the same message from frustrated growers:

“Cloning was easy all year… and now everything slowed down. What happened?”

It’s almost always the same culprit—what I call the Fall Stall.

This phenomenon appears when temperatures start dropping and your mother-space is still tuned for the heat of summer. The plants may look fine… but biochemically, they stop producing the fast, flexible, nutrient-balanced growth required for predictable cloning. And that mismatch leads to slower rooting, inconsistent results, and a whole lot of head scratching.

Let’s break down how to identify the Fall Stall—and how to fix it before it wrecks a full cloning cycle.

How to Spot the “Fall Stall”

There are several plant signals that your mothers are no longer in a cloning-friendly biochemical state. You may notice:

• Slower, more rigid (“woody”) growth

• Purple striping on stems

• Purple/red petioles

• Darker-than-normal green leaves

• Leaves that remain narrow, curled, or fail to lay flat

• Reduced leaf count on new growth

• Root zone temps dipping below 65°F (18°C)

• Ambient room temps falling below 72°F (22°C)

All of these are indicators that your metabolism has shifted out of “rapid vegetative production mode” and into “cold weather survival mode.” Under those conditions, cloning becomes unpredictable.

Restoring Optimal Root Zone Temperatures

Fixing the Fall Stall starts at the root zone.

Roots hate the cold—and cold roots sabotage hormone transport, sugar transport, and callus formation.

Here’s how to bring temperatures back where they need to be:

1. Insulate the roots from the floor

• Flip plant saucers upside down

• Use R-max or similar rigid insulation

• Add anything that acts as a thermal barrier between pots and cold concrete

Cold floors are one of the biggest stealth causes of fall-related issues.

2. Raise ambient temperatures

Aim for:

• Upper 70s to mid-80s °F (25–29°C) in mother spaces

• Even a few degrees makes a huge difference

3. Use devices that heat while helping your environment

Instead of wasting money on space heaters, use tools that recycle energy:

• Dehumidifiers — remove moisture and add warm, filtered air

• HPS lighting — higher IR output, excellent for cool-season veg

• CO₂ burners — but be mindful of ethylene production and moisture

Space heaters work—but they’re electricity hogs and don’t solve VPD issues.

Managing Cloners During Fall & Winter

Cloners are especially sensitive to fall temperature swings. To keep aeroponic and DWC systems predictable:

1. Maintain water temps around 77°F (25°C)

Use:

• Water heaters (aquarium-style)

• Pump heat (with cycle timing adjusted to maintain your target temp)

2. Keep ambient temps in the 80s

Warmer air keeps cutting tissues metabolically “awake,” leading to:

• Faster initiation

• Faster callus formation

• Predictable rooting windows

Just be mindful: Warm air = higher humidity.

3. Control humidity

Use dehumidifiers to maintain proper VPD while also adding gentle heat back into the room.

Wrap-Up

The Fall Stall is predictable—and preventable. If your cloning success suddenly dips each autumn, it’s almost always temperature-related biochemistry in your mother plants and cloner environment.

Dial in the root zone, stabilize the ambient conditions, and your clones will snap right back into their normal 7–10 day rooting rhythm.

If you have any questions or want help troubleshooting your setup, feel free to reach out through the contact form—I'm always happy to help.

Warm regards,
Michael Goldsmith
PermaClone.com

PS: Everything I share comes from years of hands-on experience and thousands of successful customers. If this article helped you, spread the word—PermaClone collars are the most reliable, long-lasting cloning pucks on the market for aeroponic, DWC, and hydroponic systems. #PermaClone #getsterilegetcloning