What are the advantages of
Marijuana Cloning
Marijuana Cloning is
the process of making an exact copy of a living thing, in this case a marijuana
plant. Cloning has many advantages to offer the advanced grower: first, the
process of germination can be skipped over, saving valuable time. Second, the
exact genetics of your best female can be preserved forever. Third, growers will
save money by not having to purchase seeds every year. Though you should really
only clone the same plant( genes) 3-4 times after this the chance of your clone
becoming hermaphrodite greatly increases, also the plant quality slowly
decreases. the first 3-4 clones of the same gene should be fine. For marijuana
(cannabis) growers cloning is a must to ensure that only females will be grown
and no space is wasted on males. also means that a whole crop of females will
not be made to seed by one or two males in the same room.
What do I need to start
Marijuana Cloning?
To begin cloning you will
need a mother plant. A mother plant is the plant all of the cuttings will be
taken from. It should exhibit qualities such as fast growth, high potency and
mould and pest resistance. this is why its so important to get good seeds to
start with. The mother should be kept in vegetative growth( 16 = hours light) all
the time under a Metal halide light. Other things that will be needed are small plate), a
shallow tray that will hold about three inches of water. An aquarium air pump,
rooting hormone and high P fertilizer. Light will be provided by fluorescents
hung seven inches above the plant tops. Many people today use rock wool
for examples check out weed pics this
site has pictures of marijuana plants being cloned.
Set-up
First set the tray in a
separate area from all the other plants. A separate closet or basement is good.
Fill the tray with water (boiled for 20 minutes) mixed with liquid rooting
hormone. Install the aquarium air pump to oxygenate the water. The size of the
pump depends on the size of the tray. Make an anti-siphon loop in the hose to
the pump to prevent water from getting into it if the power should go out. Next
hang the fluorescents about 12 inches from the top of the tray. This will leave
about 7 inches from the tops of the cuttings to the lights. if you use rock
wool, to clone marijuana the air pump to oxygenate the water is less necessary.
Taking the cuttings
Once the cloning area is
set up the clones can be taken from the mother cannabis plant. Taking clones is almost
the same as pruning so when you prune instead of throwing away the cuttings they
can be made into clones. The first cut should be made with sharp scissors or a
razor blade sterilized with rubbing alcohol. The cutting should be about 6 to 8
inches tall. Next trim off the bottom leaves with a sharp razor blade. There
should be three or four sets of leaves remaining on the cutting. Bring the
cutting to the rooting tray and get out the Styrofoam plates. Poke a hole in the
middle just big enough for the stem to fit through. The cutting can be secured
in place with some sticky tack (looks like gum). Now submerge the bottom of the
cutting and make another cut diagonally. This will expose more stem surface
to the water and make it easier for the cutting to absorb nutrients. This cut
must be made under water to prevent a bubble forming in the stem, blocking
nutrient intake.
Rooting the cuttings
Now that the cuttings are
floating in the rooting tray the water needs to be changed every other day. Just
siphon it out and replace it quickly with new hormone treated water. Be careful
never to drain all the water out. If the stem bottoms are exposed a bubble will
developed inside the stem and the clone will die. After about 10 days in the
rooting tray the stem bottom will start to come out slightly. This is the first
sign that the roots will appear shortly. Foliar spray with a chemical fertilizer
that is high in P at 1/4 strength every three days. Remember to spray the plants
the day after foliar feeding with water to clean the leaves of any un-absorbed
nutrients. Soon the tiny immature roots will be visible and when they reach
about one inch in length they can be planted in the soil and will grow as an
exact copy of the mother plant.
Using
rock wool to clone marijuana
rock wool makes the process
of marijuana cloning much more successful. simply follow the above steps, after
making the cutting and applying a SMALL amount of hormone stick the root into
the rock wool cube, keep the rock wool wet through the entire process1-2 weeks.
though not waterlogged at all times. when the marijuana cloning process is done
you will see roots popping through the bottom of the rock wool, now simply plant
the square. Another advantage of cloning marijuana with rock wool is that you
are not just dealing with fragile roots so upon transplant you stress the
marijuana plant much less. speeding up the whole process.
More info on Marijuana Cloning to come |