How to take cuttings/clones from a cannabis plant
Taking clones/cuttings from a cannabis plant is easier than most think and a great way to save genetics or grow an identical copy of a plant that you really liked. I think we have all grown a plant that was really special but by the time you realize this it's been harvested and cured, no way to get it back. You can of course go on a pheno hunt growing the same seeds but every seed/strain will have a number of genotypes meaning you may never get the same traits expressed in the plant you grew or may have to grow a good few out to find it again. If I grow from seed I will always take clones from each plant later into flower for this reason. Lots of people do not have space for a separate mother plant or clone area, you can get around this too.
Ideally to grow a healthy mother plant and healthy clones you need to treat them the same as your normal plants. Happy plants always do better. I'll cover my choice of kit and other options in this article. Cloning can be done with next to no kit or you can go all out and use some very cool tools that are available. You can take cuttings and root them in many ways, straight into soil, coco, you can use rock wool, dedicated cloning setups. You can clone on any budget and growing style. Taking your clones from a plant is the easy part and you need only a few items to do this.
Tools needed to take clones
A sharp razor or scalpel. If using a razor blade wash it thoroughly with warm soapy water as they often have a thin protective layer of oil on them to stop them rusting.
A flat surface to work on and cut your clones on.
This is more down to preference but a rooting gel or powder, there are many brands available, I use Clonex as it's been around years so it's tried and tested.
A set of scissors.
A glass of water especially if you are going to taking several clones. As soon as you take a clone the plant will still attempt to draw liquid up its stem/branch. If you leave a clone for a long period after you have cut it off it will draw air bubbles into the stem which will make the cloning process harder or impossible.
Taking your clone
To take your clone simply cut off a branch from your plant with your scissors. This is not the final cut so it doesn't matter what angle you take it from. Just cut away a large branch and set it down on the flat surface that you will be working on.
Removing unnecessary plant matter
Now you have your clone in front of you you will want to remove any plant matter that's not needed. Half the battle keeping a clone alive long enough to root is keeping it from drying out, more plant matter = more liquid needed. Remove all growth except the top 2 side branches (node).
Before:
After:
Making the final incision
You now have a clean branch to work with and the next step is the most important. You will now need to make a cut at a 45-degree angle, don't panic, the plant won't know if it's a few degrees out
. But the important part here is a clean-cut, not a crushing cut. If you crush the plant fibers now your clone will be unable to draw fluids up and therefore will not survive. This is why we use a scalpel or razor blade for this.I've read many articles or guides in the past saying you must make this incision directly below a knuckle on the stem, I've found this to be not the case in my cloning experiences. A clean-cut anywhere on the stem at an angle and they will root if you get the later steps right.
Trimming the leaves
This is another important step. As I mentioned above about removing unneeded plant matter as it will need more fluids to keep the clone alive long enough to produce roots, the same applies with the remaining leaves on the top 2 side branches. I normally cut these in half as pictured below.
The following steps will vary depending on how you plan to clone and what system you are going into. You can now put your prepared clone into soil, coco, rock wool, root riot cubes, aero propagator or bubbler, and other things.
I will do a follow on write-up comparing the different rooting methods side by side. I normally use an aero propagator myself.
I few things remain the same no matter how you choose to root your clone after the above steps have been completed.
Humidity:
Absolutely vital. If you cut a side branch off and leave it on the side you will know how fast it dries out and shrivels up. Your clones are no different. Your cones need very high humidity for the next 7-10 days, maybe longer. Systems like aero propagators or bubblers should keep the humidity high on their own. If you plant to root in a standard propagator or a plastic bag you will need to add moisture, probably regular. A spray bottle is a great tool for this with it set to a fine mist. You can give the clones a spray to which will help them absorb moisture.
Time to root
This will depend on when the clones were taken, how old the growth is that you are using (woody or newer suppl growth.
In general, a clone taken from a plant in the veg stage of growth will root in 7-14 days.
A clone taken from a flowering plant will normally take longer. 14-28 days. A clone taken from a flowering plant will then need to revert back to the veg stage, ill do a write-up on this soon.
Lighting
You will want to provide your clones with light while they root. Not an intense light, just enough for them to know they are alive and still in the veg period or are starting to revert back to it if the clone was taken in flower. An LED dimmed down, even a household LED would be enough for this. T5 units and other fluorescent-style lights work great too.
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