Here's how to turn 5 plants into 15 - in one afternoon! I'm using "cloning", a plant cultivation technique involving cutting off a small portion of a healthy plant and growing it into its own individual, genetically identical to the first. There are many advantages to cloning, such as propagating genetics you otherwise would lose, skipping the seedling stage, multiplying a crop for more yield, separating out a large bushy plant, and so on. Techniques have advanced and simplified in recent years as more people grow and clone cannabis plants at home. This is how I do it!
Method
As I mentioned recently, the MK Ultras have several tall healthy shoots ideal for cloning. Long, straight, healthy stalks with actively-growing tops are best.
Prepare your pots by cleaning them and arranging them on drainage pans. Once you take the clones and set them in the pots, it's best not to move them around too much for a while.
I use coffee filters in the bottom of my pots to stop soil loss. This is optional. Non-bleached is best.
Prepare your soil mix, favouring aeration over heavy nutrients. They'll need some drainage so they don't "damp off". My basic soil recipe is here. Mix well, and ensure there's a bit of moisture in the soil. Not damp or wet, but not dry either.
Fill the pots pretty much right to the top.
Label the pots with the original plant name followed by some designation like 1, 2, 3 or a, b, c, etc. Then use a chopstick, pencil, marker, or your finger to make a hole deep enough for the clone. It should go as deep into the pot as possible without hitting the very bottom.
If you pull out carefully, and your soil is the right dampness, the hole won't cave in.
Spray water gently into the hole, then more forcefully as it wets and sticks together. Make sure the hole is nice and wet!
Ready your clone by snipping any side branches or leaves off the stem, except the top 2 nodes (the actively-growing top and one set of leaves below that).
Now clean a razor blade or small sharp scissors with hot water or alcohol. Then use the sharp edge to scrape lightly up and down the stem. This will help moisture absorb, and stimulate root formation.
Make sure your hole is ready, since once you make the cut there's no going back. Slice the stem, on a diagonal, just below a node (where a leaf previously grew from).
Immediately pop the clone into some water. This wets the stem (now the "root"), and ensures an air bubble (embolism) doesn't form in the stem. Plants are constantly "sucking up" moisture from the roots. The clone doesn't stop sucking moisture when you cut it, and if there's no moisture, it sucks in air. This can cause issues for the new plant, so do your best to avoid it.
Next just slide your wet "root" directly into the hole, settle the soil around it, and dampen generously.
Some people use a rooting agent prior to inserting the clone in the hole. This is some stuff from the 1970s I inherited from my grandfather, which I've never tried before. I only used it on 1 of the 10 clones, as a little experiment to see if I notice a difference. Generally with this method, you don't need to use any rooting powder or other products - just water, a clean blade, and good technique.
It's That Easy
Now just go easy on the direct light, and keep them nice and moist. After 2 or 3 days, allow them to dry out before the next watering, to avoid damping off the new stems. Once they perk up, they'll be able to handle more light, and before long, be treated just like any other plant in vegetative stage!
It's really that easy. Most gardeners with basic plant skills under their belt can handle cloning if they apply themselves. Not every clone will take, but as you get better at it, more and more will make it, and they'll bounce back even quicker. These simple instructions should help you get started, or improve your existing cloning game!
That's a full garden! Especially considering once they take, they'll really fill in. I've got 15 MK Ultras and 1 Mango Kush. None of the 16 plants are sexed, and males will be discarded, so doing this has ensured I'll end up with at least 6 or 7 healthy adult female plants going into flowering stage, which I've decided will be in about 3 weeks.
Here's a look at that Mango Kush "Beau", the youngest plant in the garden, but suddenly the largest!
Cloning can be a powerful tool for the intermediate cannabis grower. If you've been hesitating, maybe now is the time to level up your skills! If not, bookmark this post so you can find it when you're ready.
Clone in peace,
DRutter
