You do not need to be a master grower or possess any particular special skills to successfully clone cannabis plants. With some basic supplies, a clean place to do it, and a little bit of know-how, just about anyone can clone a mother plant. It is one of those activities that only takes a few minutes to learn how to do, but it is a skill that can take a lifetime to master. Regardless, it is a great way to duplicate the best traits of any particular strain or plant. Why would you choose to clone plants though instead of growing from seed or buying seedlings?
Cloning is the only way to ensure that the characteristics of a particular plant can be replicated. It is also the only way to guarantee that you will only be getting female plants (so long as they were taken from a female mother plant). Plants grown from seed may be more vigorous and plants grown from seedlings may well develop faster than seed-grown plants, but if particular traits are what you want, then cloning is the way to go. Clones also “start” life at the same maturity level as the mother plant that they were cloned from. This means that they will reach their flowering stage much sooner than growing from seed or seedlings.
Besides the quality control aspects, and time-savings of cloning, cloning is a very economical approach to plant propagation. Growers can get several plants from a single plant and repeat the process more or less indefinitely. Cloning plants however does have some drawbacks that should be considered before diving in.
Cloning plants does not allow for diversity of strains. That is unless of course a grower is cloning plants from multiple strains. Potency loss can occur too over the course of several generations of cloning. The longer the chain of copies of copies, the less fidelity to the original mother plant. This can be avoided by limiting the number of times a lineage from a particular plant is cloned.
As mentioned, cloning is not necessarily a difficult process, but it is important to keep a few things in mind. Read on to learn how to clone cannabis, and then glean some tips from professional growers.
Ten Steps to Successful Cloning
Once you understand the principle behind cloning and have decided it’s the way to go, it’s good to have a checklist when you are ready to do it. While there are arguably more or less steps to the process depending on who you ask, the practice and process of cloning cannabis can be boiled down to these 10 steps:
1. Select your plant- Best results are generally obtained from a female mother plant that is at least six to eight weeks old. They don’t have to be that young though; clones can be cut from a mother plant that is as few as two weeks away from harvest. It is important to select a female plant, so that your clones are then female. If you clone a male plant, you will end up with male clones. Yes, there are ways to feminize male plants, but why go through all of that hassle and expense when you can just start with female clones?
Make sure that the mother plant you choose is healthy and free from diseases so that you don’t inadvertently pass those pathogens along to your clones. Once the mother plant has been selected, stop feeding it for a few days prior to taking cuttings. This will help to reduce the amount of nitrogen in the plant which can impede the ability for your cutting to develop root. Too high a level of nitrogen in the cutting will encourage the cutting to focus its energies on leaf development, which of course, is not what we want at this stage; we need to promote root development.
2. Select and prepare your medium- There are several viable media options that work great for cloning. Some growers use rockwool cubes, some use soilless media, some use hydroponic or aeroponic methods, and some use just plain water. As long as it can support your clone and give it the environment it needs to develop strong and healthy roots; it doesn’t matter what you select. It should just be clean and in sufficient quantity to support all of your cuttings.
When using soil/soilless media, make sure that it has been premoistened so that your cutting will go into a nice, moist environment. Be careful not to select a mix that has nutrients in it. Newly developing roots are highly sensitive and can burn easily when in contact with nutrients. If placing the cutting directly in water, make sure that the water has been filtered and is not too acidic. Reverse Osmosis water is good to use when available. The pH of the water should be between 5.5 and 6.0. If using rockwool, make sure to soak it first in water with a pH between 5.5 and 6.0 for at least two hours.
3. Prepare your site and your tools- Get everything ready that you will need and make sure that the environment is sterile. Have a cleaning solution ready so that you can sanitize your cutting tools between cuts. Having isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide readily available in a cup are good ways to keep your “operation” hygienic. Make sure that all surfaces that your cuttings will come in contact with have been thoroughly sanitized ahead of time as well. If using plain water, make sure to have a calibrated pH meter on hand for daily checks of the pH.
Make sure that your growing area has adequate ventilation and irrigation for your developing clones. Ensure that the lighting is sufficient too. The better prepared you are ahead of time, the more successful your clones will be. The quote by Abraham Lincoln, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax” is exactly the approach to take when preparing your space to take cuttings.
One other note on the site; if you are planning to grow your clones outside, then the whole process should be done outside if possible. Conversely if the crop is to be grown inside, then the whole process should be done inside. Either way, you should clone your cannabis plants in the environment where they will be growing to reduce the incidence of shock and poor performance. Of course, this is not possible in all climates at all times, of year, but should be done when it can be done.
4. Take your cut - Select your cuttings from a part of the mother plant with new growth and take them from the terminal (end of the branch) part. Your cutting should be 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) long and should be cut from the mother at a 45 degree angle just above a node or the main branch. Ideally each cutting will have 3 to 4 nodes where leaves are or will come out from.
5. Dip your cuttings into a rooting hormone - This should be ready to go in the preparation stage. Each cutting should be dipped after being cut and placed directly into the medium. Don’t leave your cutting out and dip them all at once. Each should be done as they are cut. Not all growers use rooting hormones, some use other products like aloe or honey, but a rooting hormone will help your plants to develop strong roots. They may come as liquid, gel or powder.
6. Label your cuttings - This is often an overlooked step or one that is put off, but there is no better time to label your cuttings than right after you have put them into the media. This pays dividends later on so that you don’t have to try and remember when you took the cutting or from what mother plant it came from.
7. Take care of your cuttings while they root- For the most part, the hard work will be done by your clones. They will be busy devoting all of their energy to setting new roots. They can’t do it alone though. They will need to be kept moist throughout the rooting process, but not so wet that mold can develop; it is a delicate balance that must be struck. It will take at least two weeks for the roots to develop, so be patient. If growing in plain water, make sure to change the water daily with clean, slightly acidic water. Check the pH daily with a pH meter and prepare to adjust pH as needed.
8. Monitor the growing environment - Make sure that the area remains clean and that your clones have the light, temperature, and humidity levels that are needed. Try to maintain an ambient temperature of 70 to 75 degrees F (21 to 24 degrees C) with humidity levels above 75 percent. Use a heating mat, humidity dome, and a timer for your lights for best results. Ensure that ventilation is adequate and working but be mindful of too much of a breeze that could dry out your clones.
9. Harden off your clones - Before transplanting from your rooting media into a pot or the field, your clones must be hardened off so that they will be strong enough to adapt to their new environment. This is done by exposing your clones to successively longer periods of time without being under a humidity dome or other protective enclosures. This will need to be done gradually over the course of a week to 10 days and only after the clones have fully rooted in.
10. Transplant your clones to their new home - So long as your clones have been in a clean environment with all of the moisture, heat, and humidity they needed, and have been hardened off, they can be transplanted into their new environment. Make sure that wherever they go is as sanitary as when they were first placed into their rooting media. Watch carefully for signs of transplant shock and make sure that they continue to get adequate (but not too much) water as they continue to grow and develop into healthy clones of their mother.
Cloners
You may have heard the term “cloners” and wondered what it meant outside of the context of those who engage in the art and science of cloning. A cloner is a cloning machine. It allows the grower to clone as few as 6, or as many as 128 plants at a time depending on the size of the machine. As you might imagine, a cloner creates an ideal environment for fresh cannabis cuttings to develop roots. Most of them rely on aeroponic growing methods, but not all. Some submerge the stem of the cutting in water for the duration of its development. Like any device on the market, there is a range of price and capacity. On the one end are those marketed towards the hobby grower and on the other end, the professional grower.
Many growers like cloners because they allow for consistent results. So long as you monitor the pH and the water temperature, the environmental controls within the cloner can provide the grower with consistently great results. The other benefit to cloners is they are quite user friendly and take out a lot of the guess work of cloning. They aren’t for everyone though.
Cloners do rely on energy, and potentially a lot of it. A power outage of any length of time can jeopardize the entire crop that is in the cloner. Back up power, whether it be from a generator or battery, is a must for any serious grower using cloners. The other potential downside to using cloners is the cost. It is much cheaper to clone cannabis plants “the old fashioned” way. Each grower needs to assess what their time and crop is worth to make the decision to invest in a cloner.
Top 10 Helpful Tips and Tricks
Now that we have covered the “nuts and bolts” of cloning cannabis, let’s look at some helpful tips and tricks from experienced growers…
On organization:
1. Tag your clones. It’s very easy to get plants mixed up if taking cuttings from more than one mother plant.
2. Write the date and variety on a hanging or stick tag and affix to each clone.
On when to clone:
3. Don’t take any cuttings from a mother plant until at least two months into her cycle.
4. Take cuttings during a full moon. (there is no science to indicate this works any better, but hey, to each his own!)
On making the cut:
5. Move quickly. Clones are further developed than seeds and cannot be out of soil long before starting to wilt and lose vitality.
6. Cut the stem at a 45 degree angle to increase the surface area from which the cut will grow roots from.
7. After making a cut, wound the bottom part of the stem by scraping a thin layer off. This will increase the area of the cutting to stimulate regrowth.
8. Strip off all but the top leaves of the cutting. At this point you want to develop roots; photosynthesis is not the primary concern.
9. Cut the tips off of the clone’s leaves. By reducing the surface area of the foliage, more energy can be devoted to root development.
On hardening off your clones:
10. Don’t take your rooted clones outside or into the field until they are fully hardened off. Test this by putting them under lights. If they don’t droop, they are ready to go out and fulfill their destiny. If they do droop, they aren’t ready to go out yet. When this happens, mist the cuttings with a spray bottle; if they bounce back quickly, they are almost ready.
