Cannabis cultivation often involves two primary methods for starting new plants: seeds or clones. A cannabis clone is a cutting taken from an established “mother” plant. This cutting is encouraged to grow its own roots, resulting in a new individual that is an exact genetic replica of the source plant. This technique of vegetative propagation is widely used by cultivators to ensure predictability and maintain desirable characteristics across harvests.
The Biological Definition of a Clone
A plant clone represents asexual reproduction, a biological process that does not involve mixing genetic material from two parents. The new plant is created through vegetative propagation, where a segment of the parent plant develops into an independent organism. The clone is 100% genetically identical to the mother plant because the process relies on mitosis, or simple cell division, to grow new tissues and roots. This means the clone possesses the exact same DNA, which determines its potential for yield, growth pattern, and chemical profile, including cannabinoid and terpene content. Starting a plant from a seed results in genetic variation, making the outcome less predictable.
How Cannabis Clones Are Created
The process begins with selecting a robust and healthy mother plant, typically one that is in its vegetative growth stage, to ensure the cuttings are vigorous. Using a sterile blade or scalpel, a grower takes a cutting, usually a branch tip that is about 4 to 8 inches long and includes at least a few nodes. Making a clean, angled cut at the stem’s bottom increases the surface area exposed for root development.
The next step involves preparing the cutting to encourage root growth. Any large or excess leaves are trimmed to reduce the amount of water the cutting loses through transpiration, as it currently has no roots to absorb moisture. Growers often lightly scrape the bottom inch of the stem to remove the outer layer of tissue, which exposes the inner cambium layer where new roots will emerge. The prepared stem is then dipped into a rooting compound, which is usually a gel or powder containing plant hormones like auxins, to stimulate root formation.
The cutting is then placed into a propagation medium, such as a rockwool cube, peat moss plug, or specialized soil mix, to hold it upright. New clones require a controlled environment that is warm and very humid to prevent them from drying out before roots form. Placing the cuttings under a humidity dome helps maintain moist conditions, often with humidity levels near 90%. Temperatures are typically kept between 70°F and 77°F, and clones are given low-intensity light for 18 to 24 hours per day until they develop a root system, which usually takes around 10 to 14 days.
Advantages of Using Clones Over Seeds
One of the most significant benefits of using clones is the guarantee of genetic consistency from one harvest to the next. Since the clone is an exact replica of the mother plant, growers can reliably predict the plant’s growth structure, its time to maturity, and the final quality of its flower, including potency and flavor profiles. This consistency is highly valued in commercial operations where product uniformity is a major concern.
Clones also offer an advantage in cultivation speed, as they skip the initial stages of germination and early seedling growth. A cutting is a mature plant segment ready to begin its vegetative phase immediately upon rooting. This head start can shave off several weeks from the overall cultivation cycle, allowing for a faster time to harvest compared to starting from a seed.
The use of clones eliminates the uncertainty of a plant’s sex, which is a major concern when growing from regular seeds. Because female cannabis plants produce the cannabinoid-rich flower, growers only want to cultivate female plants. A clone taken from a verified female mother plant will be guaranteed to also be female, removing the need to identify and remove undesirable male plants, which saves both time and valuable space.