Posted on February 24, 2010.
Making Cannabis Clones The art of cloning plants could be the most useful of all inside "technology. Cloning allows growers to make the most of every female plant and it is a skill anyone can master with a little practice.
Outdoor growers who clone their plants are able to identify gender early in the season and multiply their female plants during the growing season long. With artificial light of low power, a woman may even be preserved for promising crops in the open air next year.
With its frequent association with indoor growing and hydroponics, cloning might appear as a complex process. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Like cannabis plants take advantage of the smallest chance to grow, cuttings will quickly make roots and be healthy small plants if some conditions are met.
Good cuttings are made from strong, green stems, preferably young shoots of the stem and branches.
If possible, cuttings should be 10-20cm long and few millimeters thick. Avoid stems that are turning woody or hollow, because they are less likely to root. If the goal is to produce a few strong cuttings from all plants, growers should select 12cm sections of the healthiest top shoots. Larger cuttings have more energy and have a better chance of survival.
If the goal is to make as many clones as possible, any 5-10cm piece of green stem with a shoot more and one or two sheets can be used. A branch of 30 cm can be cut at each node, making 3-6 clones. Tiny cuttings can also turn into clones, but they may take too long to reach a decent size after rooting. However, pieces of stem 3cm thickness of 1 mm in length and can root with force in the clear, wet conditions.
Before planting, treat with rooting hormone powder cuttings or gel.
If a good root soaking in solution is sufficient to get many clones started, a final treatment with a rooting aid that clings to their stems will increase success rates.
With a razor blade, make a diagonal cut to remove the last few millimeters of the stem, then dip the cutting in hormone powder / gel. To encourage rooting, many growers gently scrape the lower stems before diving. A disposable safety razor is a good way to remove a few ultra-thin slices of the stem.
Place treated cuttings in a moist, airy medium that holds them firmly - expanding peat tablets, a 50/50 mixture of soil and perlite, coconut fiber or rockwool, if available. Clones have no problem rooting in a small block of rock, then transferred into the soil.
After planting, outdoor clones are given the cycle of natural light. Some growers shade rooting clones during the hottest part of the day, while others adopt a "survival of the fittest" attitude. viable clones will appreciate direct sunlight, and should quickly roots.
In hot, dry climates, rooting clones may require a transparent coating to retain moisture. Keep moist medium clones, but not saturated. Under good conditions, clones should root in 10-20 days.
Cloning sex
The first clone of a plant can reveal the sex of the parent with an accuracy of 100%. It is easy to reduce the light cycle of cuttings - allow them 12 hours a day, then cover them or move them to a dark area. It is much simpler than covering a single branch of a large plant to reveal gender.
When the seeds of plants reach 30cm, they can give a cup or two, which can be given a 12/12 immediately after planting. They show their sex in 10-14 days, and in many cases they root.
That is if these first clones do not become healthy small plants. Their purpose is to reveal the sex of the parent at the beginning of the season, which eliminates the men and all subsequent sections are taken from female plants.
As a bonus, cloning.
