A cannabis clone is a part of the plant that is cut off from a weed plant known as the mother plant. The cloning cannabis has a gene similar to the parent plant. The regular size of the clone is 6 inches.
After the clone of the cannabis plant has been cut off, the root cube is used to grow cloning weed by putting good growth on the root. Once the root is grown, it is kept inside the pot or on the ground and can grow like any weed plant.
Reasons for Using Cannabis Cloning
Cuttings from cannabis are more advantageous than growing the whole cannabis plant. They save a lot of time when it comes to growing. Cannabis clones don’t need seed germination to grow. It only needs to root out, which takes less time compared with the duration of cannabis plant growth.
Cloning weed also has the advantage of leaving a lot of space. When using seeds, it is essential to grow more plants and identify and remove male during their copulation.
There is a risk of seed germination failure, which requires extra space for potential plants that may not turn into complete plants. The reason that cloning weed is helpful is that both the plant and its clone have the same genes and abilities.
Suppose you want a plant with desired characteristics, such as effects, smell, appearance, etc. You can get its clone and place it for further growth. Cloning is part of the plant, so there might be an opportunity for the clone to be ruined due to environmental conditions, which can be detrimental.
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What is Cannabis Mother Plant?
It is a complete plant in which its part, a clone, is removed. Its plant health should be improved to keep the clone healthy because both have similar DNA. If plants have bad health, then their clones will have the same. The condition of the clone depends upon its parent plant. When part of the plant is cut off, its parent plant is still in the growing process.
The clone converts itself into an organism with sex organs of both genders, damaging the flowering plant. Cuttings from cannabis plants are the reason that fewer growers use the progenitor plant. For this purpose, capacity and tools are required.
The proper method of cannabis cloning is to take the parts of the parent plant during the growing stage and, after it has been taken off, continue the growth of the plant till the flowering stage. The clones can also become a whole plant, and their clones will be taken off.
The plant, from the first generation to the generation of its grandchildren, will have the exact copy as the same DNA runs in its family. This means similar plants or clones of different generations will have similar tastes, effects, smells, etc. The clone assures that there will be the existence of females only starting from the clone. This eliminates the need for seed cultivation, mating, and removing males.
Tips for Selecting a Mother Plant
The plants and their clones are connected with the DNA, so they depend on the mother plant. To obtain a good clone, you must have a good plant. Growers looking for the qualities in parent plants are mentioned below:
- Huge yields
- A plant invulnerable to pests and other diseases
- It must have a strong smell and good flavor
- A strong plant has the energy of a growth
- Dense trichomes
7 Steps for Cloning a Cannabis Plant
1. Select a Good Conditioned Plant
As we have discussed, both are similar. Good-conditioned plants, such as strong and healthy plants, give the same characteristics to their clones. The purpose is to find the accurate parent plant.
Inspect the nodes in the plant that are like long hair. If there are such nodes, it must be a female plant, and these plants, whose life is 4-6 months old, are perfect for cloning. If not, look for a plant that is two months old or less than that. Actual breeding plants have less resistance to diseases than hybrid plants. Select a plant that can save time and energy.
2. Separate the Clone from the Mother Plant
Before separating, the plant must be cleaned to ensure the health of its clone. Remove germs from the isolation tools. Use them carefully to avoid minor damage to the plant.
Select the lower or look for the healthy part of the plant for cutting instead of aiming for the top part because the top branch is older than the lower branch, so the top branch will easily get damaged. Cutting the bottom branch will facilitate cloning.
3. Place the Bottom Part of the Clone in a Rooting Hormone
After completing the above step, place the clone in rooting hormone or water in no time; otherwise, embolism will occur. Embolism can happen due to the formation of air bubbles in the system of vessels in the stem, blocking the transpiration and causing hanging in the cannabis plant.
If the clones absorb the air for a long time, you have to cut the clone again underwater. This is mainly suggested for taking care of the clone.
4. Growth Medium for Clone
After the previous step, put the clone in a growth medium. A growth medium can be soil, water, rock wool cubes, etc. Softly push the clone towards the surface of the growth medium and firm it.
Rockwool cubes are primarily used for their water and air-holding capacity. They make it simple for the clones to place in. Fertilizers can harm the clone no matter what medium of growth you use, so ensure not to use them.
5. Use Water and Light for Clone
Water slowly or use less water on clones to give them moisture. The important thing in this step is to ensure the clone is moist. Spraying water will help to provide nutrients to cloning cannabis as it does not have roots yet.
Giving the clone light is essential for rooting and growth. Ensure sufficient light is provided to the clone plants, meaning there should be no shortage or excessive light. Sunlight has more power than artificial lights.
6. Maintain Humidity and Temperature
These two things are essential for providing health and making the plants survive. To give a certain amount of humidity, which can be suitable for cloning cannabis, you must set the humidity to 95%-100% for two days and reduce 10%-15% till the day of the transplant.
To speed up the rooting, the temperature should be 75 to 80 Fahrenheit, and the ambient temperature should be 5 to 10 Fahrenheit.
7. Transferring the Clone
Ensure that all the steps mentioned above are completed. Before changing the location of the clone for placement, check whether there is a mistake. Once everything is clear, you can place it in a different soil and water it peacefully.
Conclusion
To sum up, cloning cannabis offers growers a reliable method to copy desired genetic traits while bypassing the uncertainties related to seed germination. By choosing healthy plants and carefully propagating clones, growers can constantly grow female plants, eliminating the need to mate or discard males. This can save a lot of time and resources, leading to efficient and effective cannabis production.
