Cloning

When growing from a pack of seeds, it is not rare to find a plant that stands out over the rest, with a number of desirable traits difficult to find in the same phenotype. That’s when growers ask themselves…

Can I make a “backup copy” of a cannabis plant?

The answer is, of course, positive. Taking cuttings or clones from cannabis plants is easy and the way to go if we want to keep a specific plant for years, even decades. We could try to replicate the plant genetics through seeds, although this method is difficult and takes a lot of time.

On the other hand, if we take cuttings from a cannabis plant we are making sure that this genetics is being kept, since all cuttings will be exactly the same as their respective mother plants. In this way, we can enjoy the same taste, effect, yield, etc. over the years, the same exact buds than those of that first plant we grew from seed (needless to say, we can also take cuttings from cuts given to us). Logically, we won’t be able to take cuttings from autoflowering strains since they do not depend on the photoperiod to start flowering, and thus are impossible to be kept on a constant growth stage.

Let’s take a look at the most important aspects to keep in mind when trying to keep mother plants in indoors

We need the following materials to grow and keep our mother plants :

A growing space, not excessively large. A 80x80cm grow tent is perfect, although we can also use built-in closets, etc. It all depends on the number of plants we want to keep.

A lighting system. Normally, fluorescent tubes or low consumption lamps (blue spectrum) are used to keep mother plants and root cuttings. Several models (W) of these lamps are available, being the 100W lamps the lower ones. They are efficient and produce almost no heat. In case that we want to grow in larger spaces, or if we need to boost the growth of our plants, using HM lighting systems would be advised.

A 100-200m3/h air extraction fan to remove heat (if needed) and renew the air of the growing space

A timer to set the photoperiod for the plants

A thermo hygrometer to check the temperature and humidity values

A small clip fan to improve air circulation

Different mother plants

First of all, we should have a clone of the plant we want to keep. This is the easier way to start, since we dont have to germinate seeds and select the best female from all plants. Plant the clone into a 3,5L pot and use a 18/6 photoperiod (18 daily hours of light per 6 hours of darkness), what will prevent plants from flowering. In this way, the plant will be constantly growing and we’ll be able to take more cuttings from it. From time to time, we can remove our old mother plant and renew it with a cutting taken from it.

On the contrary, if we use seeds we’ll have to grow them, take cuttings from all the plants, flower them, remove male plants in case we are using regular seeds, and finally decide which is our chosen one. Once we know what plant will be our mother plant, we can discard the rest of plants/cuttings.

Depending on the number of cuttings that we need, we’ll use larger pots and more powerful lighting systems.

Feeding cannabis mother plants

Since all mother plants are kept under a constant growth photoperiod, their nutritional needs are covered if we use a fertiliser rich in nitrogen and micro elements. In this way, we prevent plants from suffering nutritional deficiencies, something important if we want to keep them during months or years.

A regular use of enzymes is also recommendable, since they will help breaking down salt residues in the substrate, making them available for the plants again and thus “cleaning” the media from excess salts.

We must not forget to use foliar fertilisers from time to time, also some kind of nutritional supplement (Hemplex) to make sure that our plants will be healthy and lush.

Mother plant protection

Since mother plants usually have a very long life when compared to those plants that we harvest, they are more prone to be attacked by pests and diseases. This is why we should write down a schedule for using different insecticides (neem oil, Expelex) and fungicides (Propolis, Triadimenol) in order to make applications of these products every 15 days (of course depending on needs).

If we are to take clones of our mother plants, we should also use some propolis treatment via foliar, which will help to heal the cuts performed in the branches while preventing bacteria and fungi attacks.

Pruning mother plants

Pruning and even training our mother plants is very important in order to keep their height under control. Even if we don’t need cuttings, we should prune the tops of our plants regularly, otherwise they’ll grow too much and compete to reach the light, stretching and producing less clones.

Always remember that when you prune a branch, two new branches will grow from that point, so the more we prune a plant the more bushy and branched it will be.

Propagation of cannabis by cuttings

Cannabis Sativa is a perfect species for asexual propagation (i.e. propagation via cuttings). To clone your favourite cannabis plant you need the following basic material:

A mini-greenhouse (heated, if possible).

Sterilised scissors for cloning , properly sharpened (shaving razors or surgical knives/scalpels can also be used).

Rooting hormones, like KlonaGel or VitroClon.

Substrate for the cuttings (jiffy peat pellets, rockwool, soil…).

A small source of white/blue light (fluorescent type, 18 w cool white).

And, of course, a mother plant from which you will get the cuttings.

The temperature must be between 18°C and 22°C and the relative humidity must be above 90% for the cuttings to root, what can be easily achieved if heated mini-greenhouses are used.

How to make cannabis cuttings

1. Cut the cuttings from the mother plant, preferably using only the apical tips, and cut the lower leaves and the tips of the upper shoot to prevent it from dehydration. Then place them in a container with tap water.

2. Prepare the substrate. If you are using Jiffy pellets, soak them in warm water (pH around 6) for 10 minutes; if you are using rockwool, you should soak them during 24 hours in water (pH=4.5) and add rooting fertiliser until reaching an EC value of 0.60. If you are using soil, just fill the pots or cells with your substrate.

3. Apply rooting hormones on the lower part of the cuttings and gently plant it in the substrate you are going to use.

4. Place the cuttings in the greenhouse and spray them with water. Once covered, place them under a fluorescent light with a 18/6 photoperiod.

5. Close the greenhouse properly and don’t forget to open it and spray the cannabis plants with water once a day.

6. After 3-4 days continue to open and spray the plants every day, but this time leaving the greenhouse’s vents open.

7. After 8-10 days, if the substrate begins to dry, fill the greenhouse with one or two centimetres of water and leave it for 10-20 minutes so that the substrate gets moist again.

8. After 12-14 days, remove the greenhouse cover. If after one hour the cannabis cuttings remain upright, leave them uncovered and continue spraying a few times a day. On the other hand, if after an hour the cuttings lose strength, spray them and put the greenhouse cover back. Try again a few days later.

9. 15 days – or before – after the start of the process, you should see how the first roots begin to appear. Some strains may be more precocious and start rooting after 8 or 10 days, while others can take up to 20 days. Over 25 day-old cuttings that have not rooted and remain green will hardly end up rooting.

10. Transplant the cuttings to their growing pot and apply rooting fertiliser for cannabis during the following weeks.