Autoflowering plants are the future of cannabis cultivation.
They’re easy to grow and have a low cost of production, meaning you can start growing your own marijuana from autoflower cannabis seeds in no time.
This article will explain what cloning autoflowering plants is, why it’s important, and how to do it yourself. Whether you’re an experienced grower or brand new to the game, we’ll cover everything you need to know about cloning autoflowering plants in this post.
What Does it Mean to Clone Cannabis Plants?
For those unfamiliar with the term, “cloning” is a process by which you artificially create a replica of a plant. The process involves taking cuttings from a mother plant and then dividing those cuttings into many different shoots. Each shoot will then produce its own clone of the original plant.
Why are Marijuana Plants Cloned?
Cloning is useful for many reasons, including the following.
It can help you ensure that your plants are growing as they should be and will produce high-quality cannabis without any interference from pests or diseases.
You can clone cannabis plants so that you can grow them in different places or times of the year.
Cloning can be used to increase your yield and quality by creating multiple clones of the same plant.
Cloning also saves money by allowing you to reuse cuttings instead of buying new plants.
How are Cannabis Plants Cloned?
The first step in the cannabis cloning process is finding a healthy parent plant. This can be a plant you already have or one from a friend. Please note that the vegetative stage of a mother plant is the only stage of growth from which clones should be taken.
The next step is picking a suitable branch of your cannabis plant. You should search for a branch that has recently grown and at least a few sub-branches growing off of it. An excessively large and well-established branch should not be severed because it is unlikely to produce a rooted clone. On the other hand, you don’t want to chop a tiny branch since you want the clone to eventually root to be robust enough to grow into a big, powerful plant. A branch 8 – 10 inches long should do.
When you locate a suitable branch, cut it off, being careful not to leave a “stub”; instead, make the cut flush with the bigger branch you are removing it from. If you do not, the original plant may get branch rot. Next, cut the clone’s base at a 45-degree angle. This will enhance the base’s interior surface area, which is necessary for the subsequent step.
The base of the clone should be dipped in a rooting hormone soon after the initial 45-degree angle cutting. Rooting hormones can be found in various forms, such as cloning gel, rooting powder, and watery solutions. For optimal results, follow the label’s instructions and cover as much exposed plant tissue as possible with gel or powder. The rooting hormone will hasten the rooting process, leading to quicker and healthier clone roots.
The clone should then be placed in your preferred growing medium and exposed to low-intensity grow lights (made of CFL bulbs) until it forms a firm root base. This will take about three weeks. Various options are available, such as organic soil, “super soil,” and Rockwool cubes.
Can I Make Clones from Autoflowering Plants?
Although it is technically possible, cloning an autoflower plant could be disappointing, especially compared to photoperiod marijuana seeds. You can end up with fewer buds or even THC and CBD levels that are lesser.
Hindrances to Cloning Autoflowering Strains?
When cloned, autoflowering plants are known to perform poorly. Clones and mother plants have the same genetic makeup, including age. Cloned photoperiod strains perform better because the environmental change they need to begin flowering gives them time to grow and mature properly.
The genetic chronology of an autoflowering clone would be the same as that of its mother because it would be the same age and not be light-dependent. It would result in a small plant with few buds because it would have less time to grow.
It is far more challenging to clone autoflowers because it is impossible to predict when the plant will begin to flower. The idea that autoflowering plants can’t be cloned is debunked by some growers, and others even assert that they have successfully done so.
Regardless of whether this is the case, it’s extremely improbable that autoflowering clones would produce a successful harvest because it’s hard to return the plant to its vegetative state.
Conclusion
Theoretically speaking, yes, you can clone autoflowering cannabis seeds. But is it a wise plan? No, not always. It might work if the plant is cloned before the sex manifestation, but that time window is quite small. The most you should hope for is a little plant with a few buds. The best way to guarantee a good harvest from autoflowers is to grow them from seeds. Get your best quality autoflower seeds from the Herbies Seed Shop to start your autoflower weed garden.
