Cloning Cannabis

Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants, that includes three species, known as cannabis indica, cannabis sativa and cannabis ruderalis, which are native to Central and South Asia. Cannabis is a genus of dioecious plants, which means that the male and female reproductive organs are found in separate plants. In other words, there are separate male and female cannabis plants. Cannabis has a long history of being used for a number of medicinal purposes and as a recreational drug in the form of marijuana. The plant is also cultivated for its fiber or hemp, which can be used for making durable clothing. The leaves and seeds of the plant are known to contain a compound THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is a psychoactive product. Generally, the species, cannabis ruderalis is considered as a non-drug cultivar and is grown for industrial and agricultural purposes. You can grow cannabis plants either from the seeds and by cloning. Cloning enables to preserve the characteristics of a high quality plant.

Planting Cannabis in Soil Through Cloning

For cloning, first of all you need to choose the best and strongest plant, whose qualities you want to preserve by cloning. The things that you will need to perform cloning successfully are, a clean and sterilized razor blade, hand gloves, planting medium or potting soil, rooting gel and a container. The container or planter should be ideally 8 to 9 inches in height and diameter. Fill the container with the potting soil. The soil to be used for planting cannabis should be well-drained. Now, you can take the cutting from your chosen cannabis plant. Wear a pair of hand gloves, or wash your hands properly before taking the cutting. Use the sharp and clean razor to take a cutting from the bottom of the plant. Usually, cuttings can be taken from the lower 1/3 of the mother plant. Try to make the cut at an angle.

Now, dip the cut end of the stem in rooting gel, in order to protect them and promote rooting. The cutting is now ready for planting. So, gently plant the cutting in the soil and move the soil around it slightly. The soil should be wet for promoting fast growth of the clone. After planting, the cutting is usually kept in a humidity dome for a few days. To create a humidity dome, cover the container with a clear plastic lid or a plastic wrap. You can open the lid or wrap once in a day, or cut a small hole in it to provide ventilation. During this period, water and mist your cannabis clone to ensure faster growth. Usually, cuttings are obtained from a plant that is in the vegetative stage. However, flowering plants can also be cloned. But, cloning marijuana plants during flowering can take a lot of time to turn back the clone to the vegetative stage.

Planting Cannabis in Water Through Cloning

Another method is water cloning, which is comparatively much easier than soil cloning. The only requirement for this method is water and sufficient amount of light. You can begin in the same way to get cuttings from the mother plant, as mentioned above, after which just immerse the cutting in an opaque container filled with water and keep it this way, until it develops a strong root system. Place the container in a partially shaded area, and make sure that the place does not get direct sunlight. Otherwise, you can use an incandescent bulb to grow the clones. Once, the clones or cuttings develop strong roots, they are ready for transplanting. For transplanting, fill a container or pot with potting soil and moist it a bit. Now, make a hole on the top soil and insert the plant in it. Then cover the container or the pot with a clean plastic lid or plastic wrap to create a humidity dome, in the same way as has been mentioned already.

While cloning this plant, one needs to be a bit careful, as the process can pose certain risks to the health of the plant. The most common problems while cloning are the risk for fungal diseases and invasion by pests. Therefore, the plants that are resistant to pests and fungus are selected for cloning. The clones can become particularly susceptible to fungal growth, as they are put in a humidity zone for a couple of days, after cutting. High humidity is known to be a favorable condition for fungal growth. So, it is important to use a fungicide to protect the clones from such problems. However, fungicide needs to be used very carefully, as excess of it can ruin the clones. So, growing healthy and strong cannabis plants by cloning would require a little bit of care and precaution.