Are you looking to save some cash while also fulfilling your inner desire to learn more about gardening and science? In this article we’re going to detail how to start perfecting your process when it comes to growing your own flower!
Getting Started
At some point every seasoned stoner runs out of weed and has the thought, “Man, I should just grow my own.” If you’ve ever done light gardening for your mom, or grown Lima beans in elementary school, you’re already in great shape.
If you have no idea how to keep a succulent alive but are still interested in trying, there’s a place here for you too! Just be sure to try and follow these instructions EXACTLY because while cloning your own plants isn’t necessarily difficult, it’s about being methodical and exact.
So try and channel your inner Dr. Frankenstein, and let’s get started!
Finding A Clone
Cloning a marijuana plant is simple. First you must find or gain access to a healthy “mother” plant and take a clipping that’s not too thick, but not too thin. You want that Goldilocks zone that’s just right. Typically cuttings are 6-8 inches long.
It’s really important that you find a truly healthy mother plant! That way, when your cuttings start to take off they will have inherited their mother’s good genes and will be able to replicate the exact same flower that you wanted to clone in the first place.
Some things to keep an eye out for when you are looking for the right mother plant are: color, smell, how prolific the THC production is, and if you like the way it makes you feel when you’re high.
One of the best things about cloning your own weed is that you don’t need to mess with growing a marijuana plant from a seed and then having to identify it’s sex along the way. If the original mother plant is female, it’s clone is female, and that eliminates the guesswork of, “Will this plant I’m about to grow turn into a stupid seedy male plant?”
Be sure to ONLY TAKE A CLIPPING from a mother plant that is in a VEGETATIVE STATE. If you take a clone from a plant that is flowering you will have to mess with all of the aforementioned seeds and sexing.
What You Will Need
Be sure that you aren’t just using your house scissors for these clones, and that you are working with a dedicated pair of scissors to avoid contamination.
- Scissors
- A spray bottle filled with non-chlorinated water
- A cheap razor blade for trimming up cuttings
- Rooting Setup
- You can buy one of these at any big garden store. The entire arrangement is: a tray, tray-cell insert, and a domed lid with a couple of adjustable vents on the top.
- You could also use root cubes, but the benefit to using tray-cell inserts is that you won’t need to transplant your clones immediately once they begin to root.
- A heat mat (optional)
- The sun, or grow lights (T5 was specifically made for clones, but you can use a stronger light if it is a little further away that a weaker light would be)(also optional)
- Rooting hormone (optional)
Prepare Your Soil
It is extremely important to have the tray-cell inserts ready to go so that when you’ve harvested your clones they can go directly into the soil.
When choosing which soil to purchase keep in mind that you want to go with one that has good aeration and has an ideal pH range from 6.3-6.8.
You can buy soil that is specifically formulated for growing cannabis, or you could use regular potting soil so long as you inspect it first for pests, mites, and fungus.
You’ll want to make a 2-3 inch indentation with your finger in preparation for the new cutting to go in. Mist each tray-cell with more un-chlorinated water.
Time To Cut!
Okay, so you’re standing at the mother plant with your pair of scissors (we recommend Fiskars because they automatically spring back open so you can work more efficiently). Before you start snipping, be sure to have a cup of non-chlorinated water nearby so you have somewhere to place your clones before you move on to the next step.
Again, you’re going to be searching for a stem that is neither spindly nor particularly girthy, but still healthy and green and about 6 inches tall. You’re going to want 2 nodes on the final cutting, so make sure the stem you choose has a couple.
Feel free to take more clones than you think you’ll need in case some don’t flourish properly or in a timely manner.
In a few days, the stems that you choose and cut are going to start shooting roots out of the bottom, so you want it to be a good size to improve your chances of the roots growing healthily.
Once you have your little clone snipped off of the mother, you’re going to remove the bottom leaves and keep the top ones.
Here’s where your razor comes into play. Scrape the tough bottom of the outer stem, this will allow roots to develop more quickly.
Then you can rest the cutting in that cup of non-chlorinated water while you snip a few more cuttings and add them to the cup.
Now, We Plant!
This is the easy part. Since you already prepared your soil, you can dunk your little cuttings one at a time into a rooting hormone (but you don’t have to), and then gently and lovingly place them individually into their tray-cells that are inside of the larger tray.
Mist everybody gently with water, but do not soak because this will lead your roots to rot.
From here, you are going to set the tray onto the heat mat, but place a towel between the tray and the mat so as to avoid burning the clones. Then, place the domed lid on top with the air valves closed.
Heat Specifications
The goal with clones is to get the root cuttings to tolerate a regular grow environment as quickly as possible.
Clones like to exist between 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit, 78 being the ideal temperature. If possible, find a heat mat that can be set on an automatic timer to turn on and off every 5-15 minutes.
Keep an eye on the humidity in the dome. Clones do well with about 70-80% humidity.
You are going to want to start weaning the clones off of the humidity in the dome and start opening the vents gradually on the 4th day and prepare to have the vents all the way open by day 10.
Transplant!
Okay now that this process worked perfectly for you and your little guys, it’s time to give them bigger containers.
In Conclusion
Growing thine own weed from clones is a satisfying and smart hobby that will eventually pay for itself!
This same tactic of plant propagation can also work for succulents, roses, and other root/vine-type plants. Once you start, you’ll see how easy it is.
Nature has been doing this stuff forever without heat pads or grow lights, so don’t be afraid to try cloning out without these larger investments.
