Tools For The Job

• Very sharp scissors
• Scalpel or any type of razor blade
• Rooting hormone - gel form
• Rooting hormone - powder form
• Something to plant the cuttings in (Jiffy pellets or rock-wool cubes seem to work best.)
• Tray with suitable vented dome lid
• PH balanced water (5.5-6.5)
• Spray Bottle

Top 4 Reasons To Clone Your Cannabis

Growing from seed can be great and I am a huge supporter of being self-reliant as well as producing your own seeds. In some situations growing from seed can be impractical or the benefits of cloning can far outweigh the potential of starting from seed. In this tutorial I will cover my tried and tested method which yields healthy roots in about 7-10 days with few to no lost cuttings.

There are many reasons to clone a cannabis plants rather than growing from seed, these are my top 4;

• 100% guarantee of plant sex (If you clone a female, the clone will be female!)
• Consistent traits such as plant structure, potency, yield
• Plants start off bigger, shaving 1-2 weeks off of veg. time
• Save money/seeds

How To Clone Your Cannabis Plant

Step 1 - Soaking Your Pellets/Plugs

Be sure your water is at the proper PH level using the testing and adjustment methods of your choice. A PH of 5.5-6.5 will be most suitable for your cuttings. Soak your starter medium to capacity and squeeze out about 1/3 of the water, placing your pellets/plugs in the tray afterwards. If using another medium water until runoff. Do not use nutrients.

Step 2 - Plant & Branch selection

There are really 2 things which are definitive when choosing which plant to take cuttings from.

• Choose a healthy plant with vigorous growth and no deficiencies
  When taking cuttings you'll want to give them as good of a start as you can. Ensuring they are healthy to begin with is a great way to ensure you will have a high rate of success when taking cuttings.
• Choose a plant that is showing the characteristics you desire
  Some examples are; rapid growth, plant size, node structure, sex, etc...

Now that you've chosen which plant(s) to take cuttings from we will look at branch selection. When taking cuttings, branches from the bottom 1/2 of the plant are said to contain and produce more of the hormones related to rapid growth and root production, making these lower branches the most suitable candidates for cuttings. It is possible to take clones from the top of the plant, I've done it many times. You can expect root development to be slightly delayed when compared to cuttings from the bottom half of your plant.

The specific characteristics we will be looking for when choosing our cuttings will be;

• Branch size
  I look for branches that are too small to produce substantial flower, but large enough to manage and have a decent chance of surviving. If you are taking tiny cuttings you're not really getting that much of a head start on seeds, although sometimes you will need to take the size that you have available. I have taken cuttings only 2" tall that have come around to produce awesome plants!
• Node Structure
  The "nodes" are the intersections in the branches where the plant is shooting out new branches. This is where flowers will grow. More nodes = more buds! I shoot for 2 or more nodes on all of my cuttings.

Step 3 - Cutting Your Cutting

When cutting a branch off of your cannabis plant be sure to do as little damage as possible to your plant to reduce shock and trauma. When cutting the branch I use 4 steps

1. Cut the branch with scissors as low as possible
   If you can, cut right at the main branch, or wherever you prefer to whatever end you choose.
2. Trim unwanted leaves from cutting
   Cuttings don't take in or synthesize much light so you'll want to get rid of most of the leaves. The plant will actually draw nutrients from the leaves to survive instead of pushing roots. This will slow down the rooting process, which you don't want.
3. Make a second cut at the desired location, on a 45-60 degree angle directly on a node
   Angled cuts allow for more surface area for root development and initial water uptake.
4. Use your scalpel or razor perpendicular to the stem to gently scuff up the stem around the cut
   This will massively increase the available surface area for root development. Roots are more inclined to develop out of this scuffed and damaged stem than an undamaged stalk.

All of the cutting steps must be done in as short of a period of time as possible to eliminate the potential for air to be sucked up into the stem of your cutting. Trimming unwanted leaves prior to making your second cut gives you a few seconds to work with the cutting. Your second cut will get scuffed and go directly into your gel, reducing time for air uptake. You can drop your cutting immediately into a container of PH balanced water if you prefer, or proceed directly to the next step which is what I prefer. The idea is to have the end of your cutting exposed to the air for as short of a time as possible. As soon as that second cut is made get your clone into water, or preferably right into your cloning gel.

Step 4 - Dipping The Cuttings

Some plants respond better to the cloning gel, some respond better to the powder. I am sure there are many variables as to why this is. Due to this fact I've stuck with the "double dip method". As soon as you have made your final cut and scuffed your cannabis branch you will;

1. Generously coat the bottom 1/2"-1" of your stem with cloning gel
2. Dip the coated stem into your cloning powder to fully coat the gel with the powder

Again, I find it consistently works best if you use both the gel and the powder. If you can not get your hands on one or the other, just work with what you got! If you're really in a jam I have heard you can use gel from an aloe plant mixed into your water and used to coat the stem. The salicylic acid in the aloe will act as a rooting stimulant. I have yet to try this method but it is definitely on my to-do list!

Step 5 - Insert Clone Here

Now that your cutting is all coated up you're ready to plant her! If you are using a jiffy pellet, or going straight into a growing medium. It helps to use something to make a 3/4" deep hole that is just wider than your stem to slide your cutting into. This will prevent the medium from scraping all the rooting hormone off of your stem. If using rock-wool the cubes will have a hole already. Sometimes the hole will not be wide enough and you will need to wiggle a tool of sorts in the hole to widen and keep your rooting compounds on your cutting. I use a wooden skewer for this purpose.

• Insert cutting into starter medium of choice
  If using the rock-wool be sure to push the cutting into the bottom of the cube slightly to ensure your cutting is stable. You will feel resistance as your stem slides in the rock-wool. Don't go too far!
• Close, or lightly pack, the medium about your stem
  Make sure your cuttings aren't flopping around!

You'll notice most of my cuttings have 3 or more nodes, most of the fan leaves are removed and they are a decent size (About 4"-6").

Check this little guy out! It's the smallest one but has 6 nodes! This will make an awesome cutting and will most likely have great plant structure.

Step 6 - Mist, Cover, Fan, Repeat

Now is where your spray bottle and dome lid come into play. You will want to fill your spray bottle with PH balanced water and set the mist to a very fine spray. Mist all of the cuttings until covered and mist your dome lid until fully coated with water. Place the dome lid on the tray, leaving the vents fully closed.

Leave vents fully closed for 3 days. You will want to lift your lid and fan your cuttings twice daily until roots push out.

On the fourth day open your vents 1/4 of the way.

On the fifth day open the vents to the half way point.

On day 6 crank the vents wide open.

Your vents will now remain open for the next few days to allow your starter medium to dry out, forcing your cuttings to search for water by growing amazing root systems. You do not want to water the cuttings before roots have developed if you can help it, but be sure not to let your cubes dry out 100%. If mine are about to dry out and I don't see roots I will usually use the spray bottle to spray the bottom of my cubes to keep them moist but keep those roots searching for a water source. I will usually water until the bottom 30% is moist. Over watering cuttings may discourage and prevent root development. Don't forget to mist and fan twice every day! Once roots are shooting out everywhere, transplant into the medium of your choice and give nutrients (if required) at half strength for the first water.

That's it everyone! Hope you've found my cloning tutorial informative and I hope it increases your success! Keep growing everyone!