Knowing how to clone your plants is a useful skill for a grower of any type of plant, but it is especially helpful for those growing marijuana. Cloning cannabis is a reliable way to produce a plentiful harvest with your desired attributes. If you’ve found the perfect potency and characteristics, why not clone it?
This guide will explain how to successfully clone cannabis plants, while also providing specific tips for marijuana. We will cover the various methods for cloning and transplanting marijuana plants properly, as well as more advanced techniques and options. Keep reading and learn to clone like a pro!
Why you might clone
The first thing to understand about cloning is the fact that you do not have to clone your marijuana plants. Marijuana plants produce seeds as a result of sexual reproduction. These seeds are a random combination of two parents’ characteristics. Like humans, each marijuana plant grown from a seed is going to be unique simply because genetics provides so many possibilities. When you clone, however, you remove the randomness from the equation.
Clones are a consistently reliable way to ensure that your plants will maintain a high quality because they share the same genetic code as their mother. Their growth habits will be the same, and they will eventually produce buds, taste, and potency that are identical to the original plant. With clones, the genetic line progresses without any change. Some marijuana growers have kept clone lines going for over 15 years. One mother plant can easily produce over 50 clones per week!
If you have ever had a successful harvest, a strain of marijuana you particularly like, need some more seeds or have any other reason to continue one of your plants, you need to consider cloning. Cloning is about as close to a guarantee as you can get in the marijuana growing business. After one successful season, it’s always a good idea to clone your marijuana plants to better the odds of a more successful harvest in the future.
Want to clone a specific marijuana strain that you’ve successfully harvested? Buy seeds of the same strain in my seed store.
Buy feminized seeds
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Clones are also a great way to produce more of the same type of marijuana without sacrificing THC. You could seed your favorite plant and grow more, but when a marijuana plant produces seeds, it naturally produces less THC. A clone, however, can easily have the same levels of THC as its mother. You could also clone some plants specifically to produce seeds for future use.
What is cloning
What is cloning? Cloning is the process of producing genetically identical plants. The method is simple: take a cutting from any plant, place it into the ground and wait for it to root. While the theory is straightforward, the actual practice isn’t foolproof. Marijuana plants follow the same process, but there are a few more steps to make sure the plants clone successfully.
For outdoor growers, cloning is the most successful when it’s done in a region with a long growing season. Even with a very long growing season, you can’t expect your clones to reach their full height potential, since they only start growing about 3 months into the growing season when your original plant is mature. That being said, even short clones can end up with a superb yield, sometimes having a top full of buds.
Most cloners prefer to take the bottom branches from their plants since those branches would receive less light and struggle for survival anyway. If you take between two and four of each of your plant’s bottom branches to make clones, you have at least doubled your harvest.
Choosing a cannabis plant that is younger (between two and three months old) is usually best, although as long as the plant is mature, it should be able to be cloned. Older plants can be cloned, but you should pay careful attention to their needs in the first few weeks, especially with regard to water.
Although cloning is relatively risk-free since it does not risk the health of the original plant and your main harvest, clones often die before they are even able to root. It is not uncommon for just one out of ten clones to survive, so don’t be discouraged when most of them die.
Selecting a mother plant
Cloning starts by choosing a mother plant. Don’t be hasty when you are trying to decide which of your plants to clone from. You need a plant that is hardy, growing rapidly, with great yields, large roots, and strong buds. Indoor and outdoor-grown marijuana plants are both suitable for cloning, but it is best if you can replicate its environment. In other words, it is easier to clone an indoor plant for indoor use or an outdoor plant for outdoor use.
It is best to take cuttings from plants in the vegetative stage. You can take them during the flowering stage, but it will be more difficult for your plant to take root, thus making your clones’ mortality rate higher. If you choose to clone a flowering plant, and the cutting roots, there are additional things to be concerned about. I’ll discuss those later.
If this is your first time cloning, then you may not actually know your plants well enough or have enough experience to know which ones are the best to choose. Regardless, if you choose a female that is in its vegetative state that appears relatively healthy, then you are probably choosing one that will work fine for cloning.
At the absolute minimum, choose a plant that is at least two months old. If you cut sooner than this, the plant may not be mature enough to root. The longer, the better, as long as it is still in the vegetative stage. Ideally, your mother plant should have been in the vegetative stage for two or three months already. If you can wait this long to remove branches for cloning, then you should be able to get many clones from the one plant. You can also try topping your mother plants to produce more side branches and more clones.
Once you decide on a plant, be sure to prepare it properly. It should receive ten percent less nitrogen than normal starting a week or two before you clip its branches. This will help its clones have a higher chance of successful rooting after you have clipped them off.
Buy Autoflower seeds
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- Feminized seeds for guaranteed bud
It’s best to clone plants from feminized seeds instead of autoflower seeds. Marijuana plants are forced to produce feminized seeds only by stressing them. If plants from those seeds are stressed again, they can become hermaphrodite. Do not use autoflowering seeds, they will not have enough time to grow before flowering, ruining your yield. Regarding strains, those with Sativa genetics tend to clone easier than Indicas. Indicas will still clone but prepared to spend more effort.
Viral infections
If you select a healthy mother plant, your clones are more likely to be healthy as well, but sometimes, a clone’s characteristics can differ from that of the clone mother. For example, I observed one group of clones showed poor potassium uptake which caused the leaves to twist, unlike their parent. This particular characteristic became more problematic as more clones were created.
When a plant from this clone line was placed in a hydroponic system in the same water as a plant from another line, the second clone began showing the same signs of poor potassium uptake. Interestingly, the problem did not show up when the plants were grown in planting mix, which could have been in response to the mycorrhiza in the organic mix. It was concluded that a virus had infected the first line and spread to the other line.
As explained above, a mother plant can produce thousands of clones over multiple years. Unfortunately, however, when these long-lived plants produce generational clones, it also increases their susceptibility to viral infections. Usually, annual plants like marijuana can fight off generational infection because viruses don’t migrate into the seed. Thus, the germinating cannabis plant begins life free of infection, but still faces challenges from the environment.
However, once a mother plant is infected, the disease begins to spread throughout its tissue, and that tissue is used to create clones. It’s also possible for the virus to be transferred to other plants through the planting medium, water, or even air (depending on the virus). Also, like humans, as a plant ages, it has a greater risk of becoming infected – causing older mothers to be at a higher risk of infecting late generation clones.
BTW picking the right plant for cloning is very important if you are looking for high yields. Make sure to download my free Grow Bible for a step by step guide.
Clones kind of ruin cannabis’ natural anti-infection defense. Rather than living for only a few months, the plant can technically live for years through its many clones. As time passes, the chance of a viral infection becomes greater. Some of the viruses are non-specific (i.e., they attack many different plant varieties). The mosaic and ring viruses are both examples of non-specific viruses.
Although the probability of infection increases over time, it’s still possible to see gardens with healthy, potent clones that have been removed from their original plant by several generations. The growers often report no noticeable changes to the clones.
Some variance in cloned plants might also be caused by mutations, but, for the most part, viral infections are the culprit. Keep in mind that infected plants cannot be “cured” of their virus. In these cases, it’s ideal to get rid of the plant and wipe down the area with a sterilizing agent like hydrogen peroxide or Zero Tolerance.
Healthy, high-performing clones are generally not going to be infected with any damaging virus. But, subtle changes can appear that might not catch your eye at first. For this reason, it’s probably a good idea to keep a large sampling of the original bud to test it against the quality of its clones.
Cutting your stems
Once you’ve selected your mother plant, your first step should be to clip one of the branches. Think about the exact place where the root will start growing before cutting it. Make sure it is long enough. There should be a couple of nodes below the top of your chosen cutting.
Remember to cut branches from the bottom, since they aren’t as productive as branches higher up on the plant anyway. Choose one with larger leaves as this will promote faster rooting. That being said, some growers choose to cut from the top to produce a plant that flowers more.
When you cut the branches from your plants, make sure you leave 6 to 8 inches on there. Also, be sure to maintain at least one pair of leaves so that two new branches can sprout. Cut the branch at an angle, similar to how you’d handle fresh flowers before putting them in a vase. This encourages water absorption by providing a larger surface.
Protect your cutting from the open air and keep it away from light. The darkness will cause etiolation, however, it also encourages the rooting process. You can wrap the area with tape to prevent light exposure.
Use sharp scissors or a pruner to take your cutting. Do not use a dull instrument because it can crush the stem and make it harder to form roots. You can use a razor blade, but be careful not to hurt yourself. Sterilize the stems after cutting.
The process of root formation requires air; however, you shouldn’t let too much air get on the cut area, as this will slow the capillaries and make growth difficult. You can prevent this from happening by immediately placing the cut stem in water or cutting it while under running water. After that, you can add a rooting hormone solution. Do the water first, but do not leave your cutting sitting in water for a long time. The forming roots will need oxygen.
Rooting your cuttings
There are many ways to help a young cutting develop roots. The first is preparing the cutting for root growth by using a rooting powder or gel. Your rooting hormone solution must be sterile. If the packaging doesn’t look sealed, it can be disastrous for your plants. If anything fell in it, even natural materials such as leaves or dirt, do not use it. After using it, seal it tightly and store in a cool, dry place.
Once the hormone rooting solution is applied, place the cuttings in their growing medium. You can use rooting cubes or small peat pots, which can be bought at any garden center or plant store (click here for the best online grow shop). You could also find soil-less mixtures. These come as a gel or a liquid. You’ll dilute these with mineral water or another kind of water that doesn’t come from the tap.
Your cuttings will also need an airy medium to create passive aeration since breathing is difficult for cuttings. You can make a plastic dome to lower the levels of transpiration and keep the cutting well hydrated. You could also purchase a propagator that does the same thing.
Some growers create a “tent” out of freezer bags, opening, and closing as needed. This encourages a constant flow of air during the day while preventing the forming plant from drying out. Another idea is cutting half of every leaflet to limit transpiration. This way, you will still have some leaves on your stem but with a smaller surface area.
Buy cloning gear like knives, rooting gel and rock wool cubes at this link.
After you have clipped and rooted your cuttings, keep them happy and healthy. Spray water on them every so often to make sure they are staying moist while also ensuring that the airflow is good, but not so good that it dries out your cuttings. Expose them to light for about 12 hours per day, unless you are cloning to reveal the sex. Roots should develop after several weeks, at which point you can replant them into your chosen growing medium.
How to make clones
Cloning cannabis plants for sex
If you are specifically cloning for females, you will need to take one more step. Do not keep light on your plants for 12 hours per day, but instead deprive them of light in order to initiate the flowering process. Make sure these cuttings were taken from plants that have already had at least three or four weeks of vegetative growth. You’ll know they are mature enough by looking at the calyx development.
The plants should have complete, uninterrupted darkness for twelve or more hours, for a solid two weeks. Be very certain this is done perfectly. If any amount of light reaches your plants for any length of time, the process will not work and you will need to start all over again.
After two weeks, you will start to see little blossoms in your cuttings, assuming you have done everything correctly. Continue the flowering process further, and you will soon be able to distinguish between your male and female plants. Dispose of the male plants, unless you need them for seeding, and transplant the female ones.
After less than one week after the transplant, your plants will go back to their vegetative growth, assuming you are able to provide them with thirteen hours or more of sunlight. If you are not seeing any results, try exposing them to light for 48 straight hours or more, and then you can allow them to go outside (if growing outdoors) where they will sync with the normal, seasonal patterns of light.
Cloning methods
There are numerous ways to clone cannabis plants once you have your cuttings. In fact, you can root your cuttings in Rockwool, peat moss, soil or even water. Choose the method that works best for you. Below are examples of how to root in Rockwool, soil or water. If you choose to use peat moss, follow the instructions on the packaging.
Whether you choose to clone feminized or autoflowering strains, you can buy seeds of your choice from my wide seed selection.
Making clones in Rockwool
Start with healthy cuttings from healthy cannabis plants. Make sure to clip off most of the leaves but leave the top ones intact. Dip each cutting in rooting gel or powder and then place it in a Rockwool cube under a CFL light.
The ideal temperature is around 72-75*F (22-24*C) and humidity over 90%. The roots should start showing up in 8-12 days. Make sure to soak the rock wool cubes in pH 5.5 water for a few hours.
Making clones in soil
Potting soil is a simple method for rooting clones. For this method, trim away any mature leaves that are on the stalk, then wet the sliced bottom of the stalk and dip it into rooting gel or powder. Right after that, stick the plant into the saturated potting soil under CFL lights, where it should remain while roots are forming.
Making clones in water
Plain water can also work to start your cuttings. Remove mature leaves and locate a container of some sort. A 16 ounces plastic bottle is best since it has a narrow neck that will be helpful in holding the plant up. Fill your container with water that has some plant food in it.
Submerge the stalks of your plants into this water and leave them there, mixing things up every couple days to make sure algae doesn’t grow too much. If you do discover an algae problem, you can change the water. Algae can easily clog your roots and cause the clones not to grow properly. You can prevent this by using a dark container because this will block algae from growing.
Keep sunlight indirect or less intense than normal until new leaves are growing at the top. This new leaf growth usually happens at the same time as root growth. You should soon have a nice ball of roots as a sign that it’s time for a transplant.
How to make your clones root faster
Marijuana cuttings will naturally root rather quickly if they are kept in perfect condition and are prepared correctly. Until they form roots, however, their ability to obtain and maintain water is limited. To avoid a water shortage (a cause of wilting and, ultimately, death), you need to trim your plants well.
A rooting machine is the best way to root cuttings, although it can be done by hand as explained above. Ideally, you should use Rockwool, oasis cubes, planting mix or some other sterile soil. Water is appropriate only if you are cloning a few plants.
To keep conditions sterile, boost the amount of oxygen in the water, and encourage rooting, make a solution of one part hydrogen peroxide (3%) and 5 parts water. Give the cutting 10 Watts of cold, white fluorescent light per square foot. Keep the clones in a location where the humidity is at least 65% or more. If you use a cover to make sure the humidity is just right, be sure to take it off once 5 or 6 days have passed. Even after you take the covers down, continue to keep the humidity high.
After about 5 days give it a dose of flowering formula fertilizer at 25% potency. Raise the strength of the light to 20 Watts per square foot. For the next 10 days increase the strength of the nutrients by mixing in a little grow formula. From the time you started to the time you are done, it should take about 2 weeks to see roots.
Caring for your baby clones
While your cuttings are attempting to grow their roots, they need careful attention, and you may need to make a few adjustments to your setup. Their growing environment should be a bit warmer than the standard grow room. A temperature of between 72- and 77-degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.
You’ll also want to change how you water. You’ll need to spray your cuttings with water several times a day. Since cuttings don’t have roots yet, watering the soil around them will not do any good. They absorb water and nutrients through their leaves. It is okay to use a mild nutrient solution by mixing it in with the watering spray.
You must also maintain good lighting. Do not use direct sunlight because it will heat the cutting (especially if under a dome) way too much. However, a dark environment is not good for growing either. That’s why fluorescent lighting is the best solution since this emits on low amounts of heat.
CFL lights will not burn your plants as long as you keep them around 2-4 inches from the leaves. You can also use HID lamps, but make sure they stay a safe distance from the rooting system or individual cuttings. Indirect sun from the window is also a good idea if you keep your cuttings in a warm place.
Some growers make the decision to not use any lights at all for a day or two while the clones are adjusting to their new surroundings. Others start with a bright light and then use a dimmer grow light after a couple of days. For roots to form, there should be at least some darkness each day. Try 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness.
A mechanized cloner can also help automate some of the processes if you are willing to invest a bit. With this tool, you won’t have to worry about monitoring the moisture or temperature. The cloner will do it for you.
Taking cuttings from flowering mother plants
Cuttings can come from mother plants that are as young as two months old. They can also come from flowering plants. If you take a cutting from a flowering plant, use the less mature buds. These can be found on the part of the plant that stays shaded. Then, simply remove those baby buds, since they are going to die anyway. Do not clone plants that have already reached their second week of flowering.
Stay clear of woody stems when you are selecting your clones. The harder the stem, the more difficult it is for the clone to start rooting. Select your medium and place your cuttings in it. Give them 10 to 14 hours of light daily. It is difficult to root cuttings taken from a flowering plant, and it typically takes longer if successful. During the process, your plant may look like it’s dying. Give it time before you throw in the towel.
Once rooted, clones from flowering plants will behave a bit differently. However, as long as you maintain lighting and good conditions, they will look more normal after a couple of weeks. When successful, these types of clones tend to be bushier than their mothers.
Transplanting clones
Clones rooted in soil or Rockwool are transplanted just like any other marijuana plant. Once they have rooted, remove them from their dome or tent (if you used one) and transport them to their new homes. However, water-rooted clones require a slightly different method. To transplant into the Earth for outdoor growing, dig a one-foot deep by one-foot wide hole. Then carry the entire container holding the rooted plant, including its water, all the way to the site where you will transplant it.
It is important to remember that, regardless of how inconvenient it is, you should not expose the roots to air while transporting it to its new home. If moving into a pot, prepare the container with your growing medium before moving the clone. Try and maintain the same climate while transporting your clones.
Want to know what happens after the flowering stage? Our free little Harvest Guide will help you determine the best moment to cut your plants. Download it here
For every method, the final step is gently placing the plant in the hole and fill it with potting soil. If you are growing outdoors, mix potting soil into the dirt. Pat down the soil firmly but gently, then water the entire area with a half-gallon or more of water mixed with plant food.
In general, when you clone cannabis plants that have already taken root have a very high chance of survival. This is simply because the original plant, they were a part of, was already mature and strong, meaning that a clone with roots is no different.
The clone should begin the flowering stage within two or three months if outdoors, or once you induce flowering by changing the lighting from 18/6 to 12/12. You can extend the vegetative stage if growing indoors. Keep your eye on your plants once they begin to flower. While clones of cannabis plants are genetic replicas, marijuana plants are hermaphrodites. Sometimes a cannabis plant clone ends up being a different sex than its mother plant due to stress, so don’t be shocked if it happens.
FAQs about cloning cannabis plants
If you purchase clones, how big should they be?
You can buy clones at any age, but if you are ready to plant, you want clones with good roots. If you are buying a cutting that does not have a good root system yet, make sure that it has at least a couple of nodes on it, so that those roots will be able to form. If you’d like to purchase seeds instead, check out my Seed Shop.
Why shouldn’t you clone autoflowers?
If you take a cutting from an autoflower, your yields will be significantly lower. This is because the clone will not have that much time to grow more buds. Since it is autoflowering like its mother, it will simply continue the flowering stage (with fewer buds) instead of reverting into a temporary veg stage like non-autoflowering plants. Here’s more on growing autoflowers.
What is etiolation?
Etiolation is a method of survival that flowering plants use when there isn’t enough light. It causes the plant to shift more of its energy underground and seek out nutrients from its roots rather than the parts existing above ground. In general, this process is a bad thing, however, when you are trying to grow roots, a little of this can be good.
When should you place clones outside?
Clones are ready to transplant once they are fully rooted. You can place your clones outside late Spring but wait until it is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit. You should also make sure there is enough time left in the season for your plant to continue growing in size before it flowers, or else, keep it inside under lights. For more on scheduling your outdoor grow, read my Outdoor Grow Calendar.
Are cuttings sensitive to light?
When you create your own cannabis plant clones, you need to make sure the roots that develop are strong enough to support it. One way to encourage strong root production is to keep your cuttings away from light. Remember, roots normally form in the dark, moist environment of dirt. Your cuttings will need something similar. For more on light’s effect on cannabis, and the best light schedule for growing weed, read our guide.
My first attempt to clone, I’m an old school dirt grower..I cloned a mother plant that was about 3 months old, I got 3 healthy clones started in buckets which I keep outside during the day and give them about 12 hours of sun and then place them back inside in a completely dark room with 2 fans going constantly..all 3 are now about 2.5 to 3 feet and probably the healthiest I’ve ever grown..none have ever even had a yellow leaf on them..their flowering now and I’m wondering if I should cut back on the time I leave them outside..other than that I have on questions..the mother plant is in the late flowering stage and smells really potent with lots of crystals..wish me luck..
Thanks mega millions??! I’m still quite new ar this, and have HAD to rely on my hubby to help me out, with LIKE EVERYTHING NOW
And it’s become when he can be bothered these days SLACK AS, And I threatened I’d look it up AND WOW!!!!¡ Yr sight is AMAZING AS, You have sorted SO many of my questions, the solutions, and a number of different ways to do stuff to, which is AWESOME, and BEST OF all I don’t have to ask HIM anything EVER again and work with what suits ME. Thanks heaps again
Do you actually clip the leaves of the cutting at the time of putting it in root gel then medium?
You are the best mr Robert Bergman would like to get some tips on DWC please
Fantastic thank you.for.all your love for the leace maker…
Peace ☝️
you cant make marijuana only god can do that you can make clones though
Very informative thank you…….everyone should download this when they start…..I learned from my dad
Hi Robert, you wrote… “Your new cutting should be wrapped and kept in the dark. This method is called etiolation…” but then you don’t mention etiolation again or show photos of exactly what you mean. Can you please elaborate? Thanks!
Hi Brian, thanks for the heads up. We still keep track of comments regularly so I will have our team elaborate on the loose end. Thanks again!
Will cloning From a Clones Plant Over Time Affect The Quality of The Plants … Like Taking a Photocopy of a Photocopy it Slowly gets Lighter In Color??
Hi Neil, he mentioned in the article that over time each generation is more susceptible to disease. Other authors also mention genetic defects (leaves curling sideways, triplet nodes, etc) increase in likelihood with each cloned generation.
I cloned about 60. budded 4 wks in,and I got 2 after 2 months and about 5 still trying have tiny roots but won’t take, they look sick but fresh green in center new growth.what can I do to do better?
Why would you give a clone flowering fertilizer? I start giving my clones vegetative growth fertilizer to promote root growth…I don’t want my clones to Flower… you got it backwards
Hi ILGM, I have a question ? does cloning reduce the potency of the plant & can you take a clone from a clone.
Dan,
No. Cloning actually can help increase potency because the plant adapts to your method of growing and potentially has less stress.
Yes. You can clone form a clone.
Looking to see if I received answer
Hi Rena, this is such an old article I suspect Robert doesn’t view the comments anymore.
This is a great guide for cloning since it’s my 1st time. 1 question when you say wrap your cutting and keep in dark what do you wrap in and do you unwrap to water? Thank you
Rena, I am not sure what you mean by wrap. I went through the article and could not find mention of wrapping anything.
In the dark (relating to photo period) is a matter of choice; Or, there Was A Mention To Cover The Vessel If Cloning In Water, referring to keeping algae from growing in water by using a “blackout” method”.
We can reach you a lot better in the support forum of ILGM. the blog is not set up for Q & A; More of a comment driven parameter.
Happy growing
Rena is correct… Robert did mention wrapping… “Your new cutting should be wrapped and kept in the dark. This method is called etiolation…” However, he did not elaborate. I also posted a question asking for clarification.
This is very helpful as I am trying to clone for the 1st time
Thank you so much following your instructions makes it easy.
Only’real’ issue was the clones started flowering VERY low @ the net pot level & they struggled staying upright. Did I cut them too high on the mother plant?
Burley, It is hard for us to say where you sliced the cuttings. Best to join our support forum, and we can show you how to clone successfully
Great Article! Always learning a lot from this Site!
On the cloning – i use an airator in the water. Fail safe. Roots in 14 da ys.
How do germinate old seeds i have tried soaking them in water with hydrogen peroxide for 24 hours and suger water for 48 hours then in the paper towel thing and still nothing. Tired of wasting some good seeds can you help me.
Put in warm area to germi nate. I put in water fo sev hours b pap towel
I had seeds germinated after over a week. Just give them time.
Don’t know your method but I always use jiffy to germinate. Then put it into a little plastic bag to create a sort of a “greenhouse” and just put them into a warm place and check them every day.
This is some incredible information. I will be ordering seeds in a few days so I plan to go all out and take this process as far as I can
Wow
Nice
Thank you Robert for the precise information and all the help.
Thank you for the info what i was doing wrong was not moving my clones to a propagator Thank’s again.Scott
I am very naive about this. Why clone if your plant produces seeds? Or are they programmed to not produce seeds?
Suki,
I suggest you download and read our free grow bible. Unless you are breeding you do not want to pollinate and produce seeds. Seeded plants are low in THC due to spending all the energy producing seeds.
We clone because genetically we have a plant that once rooted is the same age as the Mother plant, and can be vegetated in 2-4 weeks and flowered cutting off one month of grow time; Approximately. We also can expect all clones to be the same size as the next one taken form the same Mother.
I tried to clone with making a easy clone . Done everything I was supposed to none lived . ihave no idea why
chris Thompson,
Evidently something was wrong or you would have succeeded. Keep trying. Perhaps do as desecribed in one of the fool proof methods above.
Join us at: [email protected] if you have any more issues. We have a friendly staff and sharing members, always willing to help.
Chris,
Evidently you did something wrong. Try one of the proven methods described here and if you continue to fail, come see us at ilgmforum.com
Nice article that explains all types with easy way to understand each step. But I saw one small mistake when you guys talk about cloning in water. You describe that we would have to use water with EC 5.8. But I think that you wanted to say PH instead EC. So could you check that for us?! Thank you guys for sharing one more great article and congrats for all team.
Dr. Belem, You are right, Sir. Thanks. Will pass this on to the editor.
This is my first time cloning but my friend.gave me.clones.that been in soil.for about 3weeks already when do they start to fower
Noel espinoza,
They do not flower unless you induce flower by changing light photo period from 18/6 to 12/12
You should veg for at least a month before inducing flower. The longer you veg the larger yield you will have.
Can I clone with peat moss to start?
pea
Tracy,
Yes you can. Just follow directions on the package. 🙂
David,
Plastic around what? hmmm… Let me do some mind reading; Can I assume you are talking about rockwool cubes? If so, yes you remove the wrapper when you transplant.
Hope this is what you wanted to know 🙂
Hi. You did not say to cut the plastic off from around it. I would assume I would need to do that when transplanting, right?
Great information! We use basically these same steps when doing our clones.
Off course 😀 – I❤️GM
Can you clone Gold Leaf’s, I was going to try on my current flowering ones but I might wait for my next to round?
Can you clone auto-fem seeds?
No, you should not. Happy growing
This year will be my first attempt at cloning… thanks for the great info!
Big Bud Kitten,
Moving clones is simple. They should be moist, and not stored or transported in any normal temperature range. Not too cold, and not too hot.
Happy growing 🙂
Wondering about transporting clones? Can you move them from one location to another with a stabilized temperature inside the transport van be ok?
Salute fam, Cannabands.
Jasp3r,
You should really join our support forum. This is a clone article.
I will gibe you something. Plants will not bloom outdoors until the days are short enough to cause flowers to show. Plants from seed do not always take on the same characteristics. Being that almost all strains are hybrids; You can see different results from plant to plant.
Happy growing! 🙂
dave,
Size of the clones does not really matter, as long as you have a couple nodes below top in order to promote root growth.
Happy growing 🙂
My white widow seeds I ordered are growing .. They’ve been in the ground about 3 months .. One plant is about a foot tall and the other is almost double in size .. I moved the plants in position over time trying to compensate for a lighting imbalance .. I’m curious why that may be, also I am curious if 3 months since I planted seeds .. Is it time to bloom or should I wait until plants are like 2-21/2′ tall?
how big of a clone should you use? 3″? 4″? a single stem shoot?
rebel,
IN general it is beyond time to take and root clones from this plant. We recommend taking cuttings no later than week 2 of flower.
however; If you may be able to root a couple of stems, and if you do place them under 14/10 light and hope they root. If they do and it wil;l take longer than timely cut clones; You can take cuttings from them eventually.
The current flowers will die during this process and the plant will appear almost dead. be patient if you want to try this experiment. 🙂
Good Luck and Happy Growing
I was given a seedling seam to be a female stuck it in the veg. garden did great a lot of good bud still getting a lot of new small buds .from what I have read I think the bigger buds are close to time to harvest .can I still clone from the smaller lower smaller sprouts even though they have small flowers on them to try to keep my strain going.
Pottsey,
A CGL is a compact fluorescent lamp. 🙂
What kind of light is cfl?
I am sorry. I had a typo. A “CFL” is a compact fluorescent lamp.
Very informative i am a newbie to farming with no experience at all really teeing my best but severely sucking.
i really don’t know what to do in having problems germinating my one seedling is not thriving i have a whack rinky dink set up i made with two vintage grow lights and 3 1400 lumens cfls with a air purifier blowing into a card board box i lined with aluminum and foil tape for reflection but nothing seems to really be going i did Better in the window sill
I strongly recommend you download and read our free grow bible. Better yet; Join our Support forum and receive help from our many knowledgeable members and expert staff.
Thank you Robert, I like this cloning tutorial! You are definitely going to be getting my business in the future. Ps your white widow is outstanding, we love it. Peace out
Hey Sean! Always good to hear we’re helping out! And yes, that WW is one of the queens! 😀
J.F. Young,
Glad you got something out of this information that was useful to you,
Happy growing
Thanks for all the information on cloning. Super helpful sense I have been doing it wrong for 3 years and wondering why my clones success rate was so low. Main thing I learned , don’t water the soil at first , just the leaves… THANKS !
For cloning light should we use a daylight or soft grade CFL?
Every time I read ILGM I learn something !! I successfully clone my roses using honey as a cloning assistant..My success rate is about 75% ..Guess what I’m trying tomorrow !!
Yes! You can take cuttings from each new generation and clone them.
Can u make a clone from a palant and grow it then take a clone from that plant and so on?
This post has helped me think things thorguh
All auto flower plants flower right away. We do not clone auto flowers. If you want to start a clone program; I recommend getting feminized seeds and sexing a Mom in order to start a clone program.
What about cloning auto flowering feminized plants at the 3 month period? Will clones have same plant maturity as mother plant and start flowering right away? Growing 4 such at present and want to map out a plan. Indoor using 2 sunblaster 200`s.Good site ;thanks Norm.
[…] the article How to make marijuana clones for more […]
It takes approximately 2 months for a MMJ plant to mature. The clones take on the age of the Mother plant, and thus, if you cloned to early, your yield could suffer for it. 🙂
The cloning article suggests that the clones should be remove from a plant that is at least two months old. Please explain why. Thank you.
That depends on how long it will stay warm enough. You need 4 months to finish a grow.
I advise you to join out Support Forum. There we have many growers that live out your way, and they can advise you better, perhaps 🙂
I live in Cali desert , would this be the time to start clones outside. Its to hot in summer to grow here.
How large are your clones? And where are you located?
Here in NoCal, we are having an unusually warm Sept. I just planted some “teenage clones” yesterday, in an area where they get maximum light. Although these clones won’t be very large when the light fails enough to start the budding stage, they will still yield enough to make it worthwhile. All my plants are vegging like crazy, except for a few of them that are in shade now for part of the day. These are starting to flower.
I have a question that maybe someone can help me with. I just recently acquired 5 clones that had been planted in the small square pots and then I transplanted them into bigger pots. However, these are going to be outdoor plants as I have no means to properly start an indoor crop. It is also the wrong time of year to be planting outdoors. Can someone please give me some suggestions about taking care of these plants for the next 6 months until planting season?
Jeffrey,
All you can do is keep them in vegetative photo period all winter. Perhaps clone these when they get too big. For the amount of %%% you are wasting; I woudl find a way to do an indoor grow.
[…] Last but not least, don’t forget to check the pH of the soil and the nutrient concentrations for your fresh marijuana clones. When the cutting is beginning to grow this means it has developed roots and you can remove the dome. Have in mind that at first the cutting may easily die so you have to give some mist to it to make it stronger. More on marijuana clones here […]
[…] of the above methods can be risky, so many growers will simply clone their female plants. It doesn’t feminize the seeds, per say, but it does guarantee you to have a […]
Laura, I am not much on home remedies. Hoever; Greenhouse farmers spray diluted milk on plants with powdery mildew. If you continue to just put anything all over your plant, you are going to run into issues. Neem oil will not help, and it makes the buds taste horrible.
Best way to help you is to advise you to read up on what causes “powdery mildew”, and get proactive with your environment. Powdery mildew is caused by a damp, humid environment.
Copper and a little soap
I have had problems in the past with powdery mildew. One of the things you suggest is cinnamon oil. Where can I buy this? Checked online no luck. Using neem oil an organic 3 in 1. also tried apple cider vinegar.
Hi Laura, I would like to know if you had any luck with the apple cider vinegar?
Regular cinnamon works to stop mold as well.
For your mold use apple cider vinegar
Powdery mildew is a fast crop killer, you’ll have no choice but to get safers soap for plants. Its strong , but it works ! Good luck. I tried EVERYTHING, all the stuff from the hydo store, big waste of money. Go to Home Hardware of Canadian Tire..save your mind and your money.
Powdery mildew is in the plant so you need to clean all equipment and run a ozone generator then start over sorry if it’s in your mother you need a new mother
What’s the average shipping time to aust?
Cheers
I got mine in aust. In 12 days…
I am using fluorescent light and am curious to know what distance clones should be from lights. I’m getting that they don’t need a ton of light until the roots start growing? I don’t want to overheat them by having them too close.
Hey Mike. To answer your question, cfl lights emit a rather low heat, at least compared to other types of lighting. Generally to over heat or burn the plant with cfl’s, the leaves or stems would actually have to touch the light. Generally cfl lights should be kept 2-4 inches away from the plant. I prefer to be as close as possible since cfl lights don’t have great penetration. You should however, consider how much your plant grows in a day and how often you check it. If it is growi.g 2-3 inches daily and you can only check on it once or twice, then you should station them cliser to four inches. Since its clones and they shouldnt grow much, get those ligbts nice and close. Clones prefer a slight increase in temperature anyway, and again, cfl’s put oug very low heat.