shmicky
Well-Known Member
How To Clone A Marijuana Plant
Clone is a slang term amongst marijuana growers that means to propagate by rooting a cutting from a mother plant.
The reason growers root cuttings from a mother plant is to get a consistent quality. A cutting from a mother plant once rooted and grown properly will produce the exact medicine every time. Of course there is always a limit. Some plants or clones last longer than others and some have been passed around for over 30 years and still exist today.
Cloning or rooting a marijuana cutting isn't that difficult once you learn how.
I like to use a simple approach to cloning. Since I grow in soil I don't need a fancy aero cloner. I don't use rooting hormones or other rooting agents either. All you actually need to clone successfully is a Jiffy7 (or other rockwool ext)pellet, a clear Rubbermaid type container with a sealed lid, a cutting and some ph corrected water.
Soak the Jiffy7 pellet (or other rockwool ext) in cool PH corrected water until it swells to it's maximum capacity. Once the pellet swells out to it's max size insert 2 nodes of the cutting into the pellet. Make sure to keep 2 nodes in the pellet. I have found this to be a crucial success factor. Nodes are the points where the leaves attach to the stem.
Squeeze the pellet tight so there is absolutely no air on the stem. When I do it the pellet looks like a large Hershey Kiss.
Before you insert the cutting into the Jiffy7 (or other rockwool ext) pellet trim the leaf stems back to the main stem and cut the leaves back on an angle. Cutting the leaves back helps keep mold from occurring due to leaves touching each other and creating stagnant rot areas. It also helps the cuttings from falling over if they get a little "wilty".
You also need to keep the cuttings moist and by putting an air tight lid on top of the Rubbermaid container you accomplish this. The moisture inside the pellets will create a terrarium effect. If the lid gets dry simply add some more ph corrected water to the Rubbermaid container. The container should get condensation on the lid in an hour or less.
You don't have to use a Rubbermaid container. you can use a mini greenhouse or other containers that will provide a sealed terrarium effect.
Another important issue is temperature. 73 degrees Fahrenheit is about optimal but 70 - 75 degrees works ok. If it's too cold you may need to get a heating pad to place your container on. A thermostatically controlled heating pad unit works perfect and helps keep a steady and optimum temperature. If you are trying to root cuttings in when it's warm you may have to find a cool place like a basement and set up a heating pad. it's easier to warm your "cloning unit" than to cool it.
This method is not only extremely practical it is extremely effective. I usually get a 100% success ratio since I have switched to this method.
Care and Feeding Instructions
Congratulations! You have successfully taken cuttings. Now the challenge is to keep them alive long enough to root. The cuttings are obviously very vulnerable at this point and must be handled with care. If you follow the steps below you should have few problems.
Once you have your cuttings in the growing medium, mist them with the spray bottle filled with water and place them in the tray. Mist the inside of the clear humidity dome and place the dome over the tray. (NOTE: The cuttings need some ventilation and a couple of small holes in the dome will usually do the trick).
Remove the dome and mist the cuttings 2 or 3 times a day. This keeps the cuttings from drying out and also changes the air under the dome. This step is critical as the cuttings have no way to replenish lost moisture until they develop roots. Mist the inside of the dome and replace on tray. The humidity under the dome needs to be about 90% until roots appear on the cuttings. (NOTE: Be careful that the air under the dome doesn't get too warm. If it does, you may have to increase the amount of venting, as well as the number of mistings per day). Cuttings need to be kept between 72° and 80° Fahrenheit. Too hot or too cold will inhibit root growth. If you live in a cold climate you may need a heated propagation mat.
The cuttings will require lighting at this time. Dappled sunlight is fine if you are leaving your cuttings outside. Indoors, we recommend t5 fluorescents. They are cooler and more energy efficient then metal halides and provide equal to superior results. Keep in mind that fluorescent lights don't penetrate so you must keep the lights 1-2 inches above the plants.If you are using a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium fixture you must keep the cuttings much further away (2 - 3 feet away for 175 - 400 watt bulbs and 4 - 6 feet for a 1000 watt bulb).The lights should be turned on for 18 to 24 hours a day.
To water the cuttings we suggest using either plain distilled water or RO (reverse osmosis) water. It is recommended but not absolutely necessary to add a very mild fertilizer such as Olivia's Cloning Solution or Wilder's Clone Root Concentrate at this time. You can also use your hydroponic fertilizer at 1/4 strength. Don't forget to adjust the pH of the water/nutrient solution at 5-5.5 for Rockwool and 5.5-6.5 for most everything else.
Water the cuttings approximately every 2 days unless you live in a very dry climate in which case you will probably need to water every day. Never let the growing medium dry out. Do not let it set in water either, or the stem will rot. A great method for watering the cuttings is to use two trays, one with holes and the other without. Fill the tray without holes about half way with water and then slowly lower the tray with the holes and the cuttings, into it. Let sit for a few moments and then slowly raise the tray back out and let it drain. Small Hydroponic systems are available to automate the watering cycles of the cuttings, greatly reducing the amount of manual labor.
After about a week you can test to see if your plants have started to root. Remove the humidity dome and leave it off for an hour or two. If the plants have not wilted at all then they probably have enough root development to support themselves. If no wilt is noticed leave the dome off. If they are wilted, spray the cuttings and dome and replace the dome on the tray. Once you have determined that the plants can support themselves, stop misting the cuttings and leave the humidity dome off. (NOTE: Once the plants have roots, constant misting can actually be harmful to the plants).
If the lower leaves start to turn yellow and die, don't worry. This is perfectly normal. It is the plant feeding off of itself to sustain life, moving valuable nutrient and water from the older growth. Do not remove any dead growth until the plant is well rooted. If you remove the dying growth the plant can starve and die completely.
When the cuttings are completely rooted you can move them into your hydroponic system or the soil.
Final Notes
Cloning cannabis plants is easy once you get the hang of it. Just remember that every step must be done properly. Skipping a small, seemingly insignificant step can have very significant consequences. We suggest that the first time you take cuttings, take twice as many as you need. With a little practice this method of propagation should produce a 95 to 100 percent success ratio.
The use of distilled or RO water can drastically increase your success ratio, especially if you don't have good quality water where you live. Do not continue using distilled water once the plants have gone into the hydroponic system or soil as it can lead to mineral deficiencies. RO or other chlorine/chloramine free water should be used at this time.
This is one tried and true method of propagation that works well on most types of cannabis plants. There are several other ways to clone your plants, including, air layering, dividing, and tissue culture. There are even hydroponic systems that do a good job of rooting cuttings using no growing medium at all. Once the cuttings form roots you simply transplant them to whatever growing medium you will be using.
Peace & happy growing!
Clone is a slang term amongst marijuana growers that means to propagate by rooting a cutting from a mother plant.
The reason growers root cuttings from a mother plant is to get a consistent quality. A cutting from a mother plant once rooted and grown properly will produce the exact medicine every time. Of course there is always a limit. Some plants or clones last longer than others and some have been passed around for over 30 years and still exist today.
Cloning or rooting a marijuana cutting isn't that difficult once you learn how.
I like to use a simple approach to cloning. Since I grow in soil I don't need a fancy aero cloner. I don't use rooting hormones or other rooting agents either. All you actually need to clone successfully is a Jiffy7 (or other rockwool ext)pellet, a clear Rubbermaid type container with a sealed lid, a cutting and some ph corrected water.
Soak the Jiffy7 pellet (or other rockwool ext) in cool PH corrected water until it swells to it's maximum capacity. Once the pellet swells out to it's max size insert 2 nodes of the cutting into the pellet. Make sure to keep 2 nodes in the pellet. I have found this to be a crucial success factor. Nodes are the points where the leaves attach to the stem.
Squeeze the pellet tight so there is absolutely no air on the stem. When I do it the pellet looks like a large Hershey Kiss.
Before you insert the cutting into the Jiffy7 (or other rockwool ext) pellet trim the leaf stems back to the main stem and cut the leaves back on an angle. Cutting the leaves back helps keep mold from occurring due to leaves touching each other and creating stagnant rot areas. It also helps the cuttings from falling over if they get a little "wilty".
You also need to keep the cuttings moist and by putting an air tight lid on top of the Rubbermaid container you accomplish this. The moisture inside the pellets will create a terrarium effect. If the lid gets dry simply add some more ph corrected water to the Rubbermaid container. The container should get condensation on the lid in an hour or less.
You don't have to use a Rubbermaid container. you can use a mini greenhouse or other containers that will provide a sealed terrarium effect.
Another important issue is temperature. 73 degrees Fahrenheit is about optimal but 70 - 75 degrees works ok. If it's too cold you may need to get a heating pad to place your container on. A thermostatically controlled heating pad unit works perfect and helps keep a steady and optimum temperature. If you are trying to root cuttings in when it's warm you may have to find a cool place like a basement and set up a heating pad. it's easier to warm your "cloning unit" than to cool it.
This method is not only extremely practical it is extremely effective. I usually get a 100% success ratio since I have switched to this method.
Care and Feeding Instructions
Congratulations! You have successfully taken cuttings. Now the challenge is to keep them alive long enough to root. The cuttings are obviously very vulnerable at this point and must be handled with care. If you follow the steps below you should have few problems.
Once you have your cuttings in the growing medium, mist them with the spray bottle filled with water and place them in the tray. Mist the inside of the clear humidity dome and place the dome over the tray. (NOTE: The cuttings need some ventilation and a couple of small holes in the dome will usually do the trick).
Remove the dome and mist the cuttings 2 or 3 times a day. This keeps the cuttings from drying out and also changes the air under the dome. This step is critical as the cuttings have no way to replenish lost moisture until they develop roots. Mist the inside of the dome and replace on tray. The humidity under the dome needs to be about 90% until roots appear on the cuttings. (NOTE: Be careful that the air under the dome doesn't get too warm. If it does, you may have to increase the amount of venting, as well as the number of mistings per day). Cuttings need to be kept between 72° and 80° Fahrenheit. Too hot or too cold will inhibit root growth. If you live in a cold climate you may need a heated propagation mat.
The cuttings will require lighting at this time. Dappled sunlight is fine if you are leaving your cuttings outside. Indoors, we recommend t5 fluorescents. They are cooler and more energy efficient then metal halides and provide equal to superior results. Keep in mind that fluorescent lights don't penetrate so you must keep the lights 1-2 inches above the plants.If you are using a Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium fixture you must keep the cuttings much further away (2 - 3 feet away for 175 - 400 watt bulbs and 4 - 6 feet for a 1000 watt bulb).The lights should be turned on for 18 to 24 hours a day.
To water the cuttings we suggest using either plain distilled water or RO (reverse osmosis) water. It is recommended but not absolutely necessary to add a very mild fertilizer such as Olivia's Cloning Solution or Wilder's Clone Root Concentrate at this time. You can also use your hydroponic fertilizer at 1/4 strength. Don't forget to adjust the pH of the water/nutrient solution at 5-5.5 for Rockwool and 5.5-6.5 for most everything else.
Water the cuttings approximately every 2 days unless you live in a very dry climate in which case you will probably need to water every day. Never let the growing medium dry out. Do not let it set in water either, or the stem will rot. A great method for watering the cuttings is to use two trays, one with holes and the other without. Fill the tray without holes about half way with water and then slowly lower the tray with the holes and the cuttings, into it. Let sit for a few moments and then slowly raise the tray back out and let it drain. Small Hydroponic systems are available to automate the watering cycles of the cuttings, greatly reducing the amount of manual labor.
After about a week you can test to see if your plants have started to root. Remove the humidity dome and leave it off for an hour or two. If the plants have not wilted at all then they probably have enough root development to support themselves. If no wilt is noticed leave the dome off. If they are wilted, spray the cuttings and dome and replace the dome on the tray. Once you have determined that the plants can support themselves, stop misting the cuttings and leave the humidity dome off. (NOTE: Once the plants have roots, constant misting can actually be harmful to the plants).
If the lower leaves start to turn yellow and die, don't worry. This is perfectly normal. It is the plant feeding off of itself to sustain life, moving valuable nutrient and water from the older growth. Do not remove any dead growth until the plant is well rooted. If you remove the dying growth the plant can starve and die completely.
When the cuttings are completely rooted you can move them into your hydroponic system or the soil.
Final Notes
Cloning cannabis plants is easy once you get the hang of it. Just remember that every step must be done properly. Skipping a small, seemingly insignificant step can have very significant consequences. We suggest that the first time you take cuttings, take twice as many as you need. With a little practice this method of propagation should produce a 95 to 100 percent success ratio.
The use of distilled or RO water can drastically increase your success ratio, especially if you don't have good quality water where you live. Do not continue using distilled water once the plants have gone into the hydroponic system or soil as it can lead to mineral deficiencies. RO or other chlorine/chloramine free water should be used at this time.
This is one tried and true method of propagation that works well on most types of cannabis plants. There are several other ways to clone your plants, including, air layering, dividing, and tissue culture. There are even hydroponic systems that do a good job of rooting cuttings using no growing medium at all. Once the cuttings form roots you simply transplant them to whatever growing medium you will be using.
Peace & happy growing!
LoL
