When it comes to growing cannabis, every grower eventually stumbles upon a strain they just can’t enough of, which is where cloning comes into play! With a simple technique, you can be cloning your favorite cannabis plants for years to come (yes, years!)
What is Cloning?
In short, cloning is when you take an exact replica of an already living plant. This means taking a branch from the living plant and allowing it to root and form a new younger version of the same plant you took the cutting from.
You can actually clone a wide variety of plants in a similar fashion to what we will explain for cannabis plants today. Some other commonly cloned plants include rosemary and lavender.
Why Clone Plants?
For the most part, growers decide to clone their plants to drastically reduce the time it takes for the plant to reach its full potential. When one starts from seed, it takes much longer for the plant to reach the point of being able to harvest its fruits or in our case buds! Moreover, when you start cannabis from seed, you must then separate the males from females.
However, by taking clones of your cannabis plants, you do not need to wait for the cannabis plant to begin showing sex, as clones will be the same sex as the parent plant. This means you can ensure the next generation of plants is all females without any doubts.
Of course, if you’d like to you can clone the male cannabis plants. This is usually done for breeding purposes only though.
How Can I Clone Cannabis Plants At Home?
Alright, now to the fun stuff – taking cannabis clones! This process is relatively simple and you should expect the majority of your clones to root successfully.
Remember that you should take clones prior to putting the plants in flower or within a few days of them going in flower. If you take clones while the plants are deep into their flowering stage, they will continue to focus on forming buds and not a new root structure. Therefore, not providing the flowering clone with a fighting chance to survive.
Now, let’s begin!
Video on Cloning Cannabis Plants
Steps to Clone Cannabis Plants
- Fill a bucket with water and add in the following:
- 1 tsp. Aloe
- Once this is all mixed up together, throw your soil media in the water. We prefer to use Root Riot for cloning, but there are many different options to choose from for your soil media.
- Now, fill up a few mason jars with water, so we can place the cuttings in there until we’re ready to place them into the soil media that’s soaking. (We do this to easily separate strains from one another. You can skip this step if you are only taking a few clones)
- Go ahead and grab some scissors or a knife, as well as bring the jars to where you will be taking the cuttings.
- Next, you will want to cut from the lower level of the plant you are cloning. Usually, you want to cut as close to the main stalk as possible. (Be sure not to choose branches that are too weak, as they will likely not root successfully)
- With the branch that you just cut off, not cut away any excess foliage. This should leave you with very few leaves and only one main branch left on it, as we want the new plant to focus on its root growth, not leaf growth.
- After this, you will head back to your cloning tray to shake out the soil media and place it in the cloning tray.
- Once your soil media is in place, you will need a rooting agent and sharp blade. We prefer to use RootTech as our rooting agent. Now that you’ve got the supplies ready, simply shave off the woody outer layer of the plant.
- Then, dip the end in the rooting agent and ensure there is only a very thin layer left on the plant. If you leave too much of the rooting agent on there, you will end up with a big knot looking nub at the base of your plant, which you don’t want! Finally, stick the clone in the soil media and repeat until all are complete.
- Once you are done, place the dome over the tray and place under light or in a window sill. After a few days to a week, you will be able to see roots poke through the soil media. At this time, you will begin transplanting your clones into the soil.
By learning this simple technique, you can start keeping your favorite strands around, share with friends and so much more! Plus, this technique can be used on so many plants around the garden too!