You don’t have to buy cannabis seeds each time you want to grow some plants, and neither do you have to buy clones all the time. Learn to clone cannabis plants and you will have generations of your favorite cannabis phenotype for as many years as you want! Here are the tried and tested steps that our experts at Bhang Bhang recommend.
Step 1: Select the Mother Plant
The clones can only be as good as the plant from which they were obtained, so you want to be certain that the mother plant you select is the ultimate best in terms of its yield potential, best health (no signs of disease), and robust growth. Additionally, only clone cannabis plants which are at the peak of their vegetative growth (about two weeks into vegging). Cuttings from such a plant will have a high potential of developing roots and growing vigorously once the roots establish.
Step 2: Prep the Mother Plant
Prior to cloning, you need to get the selected mother plant ready. This preparation entails refraining from giving the mother plant nutrients in the four to seven days prior to cloning it.
During those days, the plant will utilize all the nutrients in its system, especially nitrogen, so that the clone can focus on root formation rather than on trying to grow more leaves.
Step 3: Put Your Requirements Together
In the days when you put a halt to providing nutrients to the chosen mother plant, assemble all the supplies that you will need during the cloning process. These include new razors (scissors can crush the plant stem), rooting hormone, a glass of water and the grow medium (rockwool, soil or water). A rooting hormone refers to a mixture of plant growth hormones that are designed to stimulate the cannabis cutting to generate roots. The rooting hormone could be a gel, powder or even a liquid. Visit an agricultural supplies store near you and see what they have available.
The reason for putting all these supplies together before you clone cannabis plants is that you minimize the exposure of the cutting to potential adverse conditions, such as air entering the stem or pathogens accessing the edge that you have just cut.
Step 4: Take a Cutting
Select a branch that is closer to the bottom of the mother plant. These branches usually experience vigorous growth and are in good health. The branches that you cut as you clone cannabis plants should be between 8 and 10 inches long with several nodes on them.
Take your razor blade and make a clean cut at an angle of 45 degrees. This angle helps to increase the surface area for root formation. The cut should be as close to the mother plant’s branch as possible.
Place the cutting in a glass of water immediately to prevent air from entering the stem at the site of the cut. Get as many cuttings as you need and place them in the glass of water.
Step 5: Prep the Cuttings
When you have your cuttings in the glass of water, trim off all the lowest leaves so that the first several inches of the cutting are free from these fan leaves. Next, trim off half of the leaves at the top so that no leaf is touching another on the cutting.
Step 6: Insert the Cuttings in the Grow Medium
The last step if you want to clone cannabis plants is to place the prepared cuttings above in your preferred grow medium.
For example, if you are using rockwool, first soak it for 2 hours in water with a pH level in the 5-5.5 range. Take a cutting and dip it in the rooting hormone before placing it in the rockwool.
Thereafter, place the clones in the prepared grow space, such as under a humidity dome. Make sure that you maintain a temperature of 75°F and a humidity level of 90 percent. A grow light, such as a LED, can provide the light and heat needed to spur the cutting to grow roots within 7-12 days. At Bhang Bhang, we strongly recommend rockwool because it is very easy to use, especially for beginners. Other medium, such as soil and water, come with complications (for example you must change the water daily) that make cloning cannabis plants a hassle, and yet this is an easy process.
It is advisable to check your clones after seven days and remove any that look shriveled or otherwise weak since these will have failed to root. You can tell that your clones have rooted once they start growing new leaves. Make sure that you transfer these clones to their final grow medium in three weeks and you will be on your way to your first harvest from your very own clones!