Cloning Cannabis: How to Clone a Weed Plant, From Cutting to Rooting

What is cloning weed?

A clone (also called a cutting) is a shoot that you cut from a living cannabis plant and allow to form roots in a moist growing medium. Unlike with a seed, no new genetics are created: the clone grows into a plant that matches its mother in every trait. If it comes from a female plant, the clone is female too.

Legally and botanically, clones are young plants or plant parts used for propagation that do not yet carry flowers. Together with seeds, they count as propagation material.

Many growers search specifically for Gelato, Gorila, White Widow or Northern Lights clones. The simplest route there is to grow the strain from seed, pick the best plant and make it your mother plant. From then on you take your own clones.

Seeds vs clones: which is better?

Both routes lead to a plant ready for harvest, but they differ clearly:

In short: seeds are the clean, flexible start — ideal for a first grow, for autoflowers and for trying new strains. Clones are worth it once you have found a particularly good plant and want to grow exactly that one again and again.

The mother plant: the basis for good clones

A clone can only be as good as the plant it comes from. A mother plant is a plant you keep permanently in the vegetative stage so that it keeps producing new shoots.

• Photoperiod strains only: mother plants come from feminized seeds or regular seeds. Under 18 hours of light a day they stay in the vegetative stage for as long as you like.
• Selection: grow several plants from seed and keep the strongest one with the best growth and aroma. With regular seeds you first have to remove the male plants — how to do that is explained in our guide male vs female cannabis plant.
• Age: only take cuttings once the plant is strong and has several side shoots — as a rule of thumb, after about six to eight weeks of growth.
• Health: check the undersides of the leaves for spider mites and thrips. Whatever the mother has, every clone will get.
• Shape: topping and LST create a bushy mother with many equally strong growing tips — and therefore many clones per cut.

Important: always take clones during the vegetative stage. Shoots from a flowering plant root slowly and first have to switch back to vegetative growth.

How to clone a weed plant step by step

What you need

• a sharp, clean scalpel or razor blade (disinfect it before cutting)
• rockwool cubes or small pots with light seedling soil
• a propagator tray with a clear lid
• a glass of water for the freshly cut shoots
• optionally a rooting gel or powder
• a gentle light source (LED or fluorescent tube) and a spray bottle

Taking the cuttings

1. Prepare: moisten the propagation cubes before you cut. Soak rockwool beforehand in pH-adjusted water (pH about 5.5–6).
2. Choose a shoot: take strong growing tips from the middle and lower part of the mother, 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long, with two to three nodes.
3. Cut at an angle: make the cut at about 45° just below a node. The angled surface takes up more water and forms more roots.
4. Straight into water: put the clone directly into a glass of water so that no air gets into the stem.
5. Reduce the leaves: remove the lower leaves and cut large fan leaves back by about half. That way less water evaporates while there are no roots yet.
6. Plant: optionally dip the end of the stem in rooting gel and push the clone 2–3 cm (about 1 in) deep into the cube.

Rooting clones

In the first days, clones have no roots and take up water almost entirely through their leaves. That is why the climate under the lid is decisive:

• Humidity: high, about 80–90% in the first days. Mist the inside of the lid rather than flooding the cubes.
• Temperature: 22–25 °C (72–77 °F). Cooler conditions slow rooting down noticeably.
• Light: gentle, 18 hours a day. Light that is too strong makes the clones wilt.
• Airing: open the lid briefly every day so that no mould forms. Once the first roots appear, air for longer and longer until the lid comes off completely.
• No feed: until roots appear, clones need only water.

How long do clones take to root? The first roots usually appear after 7–14 days; with some strains it takes up to three weeks. Slightly yellow lower leaves are normal. If a clone is still limp after several days and the stem turns brown, it hasn’t made it — which is why you always take a few more clones than you need.

Transplanting

As soon as several white roots stick out of the cube, move the clone into a pot with soil or coco. For the first few days keep the light gentle, then increase it gradually. From here on the clone grows like a young plant — more on that in our guide to the cannabis seedling stage week by week.

Which soil is best for cannabis clones?

Clones need a medium that stays moist but still lets enough air reach the cut. Nutrients don’t matter at this stage — they can even damage the cut.

• Rockwool cubes: the classic. Clean, evenly moist, and the roots are easy to see. Soak them first and adjust the pH.
• Seedling soil: light, fine and only lightly fertilised. Mixed with a little perlite it stays loose.
• Peat or coco pellets: pressed peat or coco tablets that swell up in water. Handy, because you later pot them up together with the clone.
• Coco: airy and good for rooting, but you will have to feed the plants yourself later.

Ordinary pre-fertilised potting compost is too strong for clones. How to feed correctly after transplanting is explained in our cannabis nutrients and feeding schedule.

Can you clone autoflowers?

Technically you can take a cutting from an autoflower — but it makes no sense. Autoflowers flower after a fixed time, regardless of the light. A clone has the same “internal age” as its mother: it starts flowering almost immediately while it is still tiny, and gives only a very small harvest.

If you grow autoflowers, you therefore start every plant from a seed. The difference between the two plant types is explained in autoflower vs photoperiod; suitable strains are in the autoflowering seeds category.

From clone to flowering

Clones have one advantage: they are genetically “adult” and can go into flowering early. Many growers let them grow for only one to three weeks after rooting and then switch to 12 hours of light. Several small plants in a small space give an even, flat canopy.

Plan for the space, though: after the switch the plants often still stretch considerably. What happens in the flowering weeks is shown in our guide to the cannabis flowering stage week by week.

Common cloning mistakes

• Blunt blade: crushes the stem and blocks the vessels.
• Too long in the air: the cut must go straight into water or gel.
• Too little humidity: the clones wilt before roots form.
• Never airing: stale, humid air under the lid encourages mould.
• Too much light or feed: stresses the clones at a stage when they can hardly take up water.
• Cuttings from a flowering or sick mother: slow rooting and inherited problems.
• Clones from autoflowers: they flower too early and stay tiny.

Cannabis clones and the law

The rules on clones differ widely from country to country. Where home growing is permitted, there is often a limit on the number of plants — and a mother plant counts as one of them, so plan ahead before you start taking cuttings. Some places also restrict passing on, selling or sending clones.

Check the regulations that apply where you live before you take cuttings. Pyramid Seeds sells only seeds, not clones. This text is not legal advice.

Strains for your mother plant

Photoperiod strains that grow vigorously and form plenty of side shoots are well suited to a mother plant. For example White Widow (easy to grow, 53 days of flowering under LED, up to 800–850 g/1.5 m² under 720 W LED), Gelato (Sunset Sherbet × Thin Mint GSC, THC 25–27%, up to 1,000 g/1.5 m²) and Gorila (Chem Sis × Sour Dubb, easy to grow, up to 850–900 g/1.5 m²). If you want to select your own mother, Gorila is also available as a regular strain.

All of them come straight from the breeder — Pyramid Seeds has bred its own genetics since 2002 — with a germination guarantee and discreet shipping. How to get your seeds to sprout reliably is covered in our guide how to germinate cannabis seeds.