This guide will explain what cannabis cuttings and clones are, how to clone cannabis plants, and the advantages and disadvantages of propagating your own cuttings. We will also provide tips on common pitfalls to avoid when cloning cannabis.
Cannabis or hemp cuttings are genetic copies of a mother plant that are created by cutting and planting shoots. Under optimal conditions, the cuttings will quickly develop new roots and grow into a perfect duplicate of the mother plant, with the exact same genotype. Cloning is essentially a form of copying and asexual reproduction of cannabis.
To obtain successful cannabis clones, it is important from the outset to select a healthy donor plant as the clones will later exhibit the same characteristics and quality as the mother plant. If the donor plant is infested with pests, diseases, or mold, it is better to avoid cloning.
If you opt for seeds instead, regular seeds are more resilient to weather conditions than feminized seeds, which often tend to develop hermaphroditic traits during the germination phase.
Once you have found a suitable mother plant, you just need to keep it in the vegetative growth phase in order to clone the phenotype repeatedly.
Cutting and propagating hemp cuttings, however, is not as simple as it sounds. Correct translation: “There are many different factors to consider that one only masters with experience and practice.”
Producing Hemp Cuttings – A Rough Guide:
Hygiene is the most important thing! The environment should be clean and your tools should also be prepared. You will need gloves, a sharp razor or carpet knife (not garden scissors), and a cup of fresh lukewarm water.
Choose the strongest plant for pruning. Ideally, it should have strong growth, early flowering, high potency, and productivity. Then, choose a healthy, young branch with enough nodes and cut it off at around the third or fourth node point. The recommended length is 8 to 12 centimeters.
IMPORTANT:
Cut the stem at a 45-degree angle, not straight. This ensures that the plant has more space for root development and nutrient absorption.
After choosing the branch for the cutting, you need to remove all unnecessary side branches and leave only the top leaves. These should then be cut to about half their size to prevent drying out. Since the fresh cutting cannot absorb moisture in the first few days, the trimmed leaves help prevent water from being expelled from the plant. Afterward, the cutting can be temporarily placed in a cup of fresh water to ensure that the hydraulic system of the cannabis cutting does not suck in any air. This can significantly prolong the time until the roots form.