How To Clone Your Cannabis Plant

If you want to learn to grow marijuana, then learning how to clone your plant is a must. Cloning cannabis or marijuana is quite easy and will speed up the propagation process while allowing you to grow your favorite strains season after season.

There are a couple of different ways to clone your marijuana plant, but all use the same basic tools and supplies. Some household items and a stop at the local nursery, hardware or hydroponic store should have the necessary tools and supplies you need.

You will need a few common household items like scissors, an exacto knife, glass baking dish and spray bottle. A trip to the local hydroponic store for rooting hormone (I prefer a gel), cloning solution, vitamin B-1, a cloning tray and dome, and grow medium (I like rockwool), and you are good to go.

I find preparation and consistency key factors to producing quality clones. A day before the actual cloning, I start by making sure my mother plant(s) is healthy and will give her a watering a couple of hours before I take any cuttings. I prepare a one liter mixture of B-1 and cloning solution. I will use this mixture to store the cuttings, prepare the grow medium and feed the clones during the rooting phase.

Now take a plastic cup, strain label and fill with the prepared B-1/ cloning solution. Using a pair of sharp scissors begin taking initial cuts just below the leaf node and allowing for a 3-4 inch stem and 3 to 4 leaf nodes. Place the cuttings in the plastic cup and store in a cool dark place to allow a transition period and reduce shock.

The next day I will strain label the plastic sleeves surrounding the rockwool cubes and place them in a glass baking pan to soak for several hours in the cloning / B-1 solution. I make sure to turn over the cubes to insure complete saturation.

With my rockwool cubes saturated, I remove the dome and place them in the cloning tray. Next I take the rooting gel and pour into a shot glass. Using a shot glass will insure I don’t contaminate the entire bottle and is easier to work with. Using a toothpick I apply a generous amount into the premade holes of the rockwool cubes.

With the cubes in place in the tray, I pour water into the glass baking pan to about a 1 inch depth. I will use the glass pan to make my final cuts, holding the stem underwater to avoid creating any air bubbles in the stem that could kill my new clone.

I match the strain labeled rockwool cubes with the labeled cuttings in the plastic cups. I take a cutting from the cup and submerged it into the glass baking pan. Using my exacto knife I make a single downward 45 degree cut across the node at the bottom of the stem. Making a 45 degree slice at the node insures the greatest amount of surface area for roots to propagate.

I take the cutting and dip the bottom into the shot glass and apply a generous amount of rooting gel before placing the stem into the premade hole in the rockwool cube. The stem should be held firmly as you gently place the stem down into the hole. Be careful not to push the stem too far and avoid pushing the stem out the bottom of the rockwool cube. Once the cutting is firmly in place in the rockwool cube, I place the cube in the cloning tray and make my final 45 degree cut on the next cutting and continue until all my cuttings have been placed into rockwool cubes.

Using a spray bottled filled with my cloning solution, I give the new clones an aerial feeding. I also spray the inside of the cloning dome to create the humid environment that the clones require to propagate quickly.

I will need to monitor the tray of clones closely over the next few days. They will require a high level to humidity to thrive and often wilt if moisture levels are not maintained. If the clones continue to wilt due to insufficient humidity, I place a wet paper towel in the tray to help maintain moisture levels.

On the third or fourth day, I feed my clones by filling the bottom of my glass baking pan with a 1/2 inch of my cloning mixture and placing the rockwool cubes in the pan. I let the clones soak and feed in the mixture for a couple of hours before returning them to the cloning dome. After the initial feeding, I continue the feeding cycle every other day. I continue to monitor my clones and gradually reducing the amount of moisture in the dome. For most strains, tiny root hairs will begin poking out the bottom of the rockwool cube in about a week or so. I find it generally takes 7-12 days to develop sufficient roots that are ready to transfer into a permanent grow medium.

I believe cloning your favorite strain is one of the most efficient ways to grow your own medicine. You shorten the propagation stage by weeks versus starting from seeds. You are guaranteed a female plant that will consistently provide quality medicine harvest after harvest. It is a simple technique to learn and once mastered, you can virtually have a continuous supply of your most treasured strain.

Want more cannabis gardening help? Check out Hal Kemp’s website for more on Cloning Your Cannabis Plant and Cultivation Workshops