What Are
Cannabis Clones?

What Are Cannabis Clones?

What Are Cannabis Clones?

A cannabis clone is a cutting taken from a living cannabis plant, called the mother plant, that has been rooted and grown into a new, genetically identical plant.

Every cannabis clone is an exact genetic copy of the plant it was taken from. The same DNA, the same terpene profile, the same structure, the same flowering time, the same potency, everything that makes a cannabis strain distinctive is preserved exactly in a clone.

This is the fundamental difference between growing from clones and growing from seeds. Seeds produce offspring that share their parents’ genetics but express them differently, like two siblings who share parents but aren’t identical. Clones produce an exact duplicate of the parent plant, every time.

How Are Cannabis Clones Made?

The process of taking a cannabis clone (called “cloning” or “taking a cutting”) involves:

Step 1, Selecting the mother plant A healthy, vigorous female plant is chosen as the source. The mother plant is kept in a permanent vegetative state, never allowed to flower, so it can continuously produce cuttings.

Step 2, Taking the cutting A 4-6 inch section of a lateral branch (ideally with 2-3 leaf nodes) is cut at a 45-degree angle with sterile scissors or a razor blade. The angle maximizes surface area for root development.

Step 3, Preparing the cutting The lower leaves are removed, and the cut end is immediately dipped in a rooting hormone (gel or powder) that stimulates root growth.

Step 4, Rooting the clone The prepared cutting is placed in a rooting medium, typically rockwool, peat pellets, or aeroponic mist, under high humidity (80-90%) and low light (T5 fluorescent or LED at low intensity) until roots develop. This takes 7-14 days.

Step 5, Transplanting Once roots are visible and established, the clone is transplanted into its growing medium (soil, coco, or hydro) and begins the vegetative stage.

At Clones Up, we complete steps 1-4 before shipping. You receive a rooted clone with an established root system, ready to transplant.

Why Do Growers Choose Cannabis Clones?

1. Guaranteed Female Plants

Every cannabis clone from Clones Up is taken from a female mother plant. That makes every clone female-guaranteed, 100%, without exception.

Growing from seeds, even feminized seeds, carries residual risk. Regular seeds are roughly 50% male. Feminized seeds are typically 95-99% female, but “typically” isn’t 100%. A single undetected male in your garden can pollinate every female, destroying the harvest.

Clones eliminate this risk entirely.

2. Exact Genetic Replication

When you find a phenotype you love, the terpene profile, the yield, the structure, the potency, a clone lets you grow that exact plant forever.

With seeds, even from the same genetics, each plant is a new phenotype draw. You might get something as good or better. You might not. Clones remove that uncertainty.

Professional cannabis cultivators run clones precisely because consistency is the foundation of any repeatable cultivation operation. Same plant, same inputs, same result.

3. Weeks Faster Than Seeds

The time advantage of clones is real and compounds over multiple cycles.

Starting from seed:

• Germination: 3-7 days
• Seedling stage: 2-3 weeks (slow growth, low light requirements, fragile plants)
• Early vegetative growth: 1-2 weeks before the plant reaches the vigor of a rooted clone

That’s 4-6 weeks of the growth cycle before the plant reaches the productivity of a day-1 clone.

In a perpetual grow setup running 4-6 cycles per year, saving 4-6 weeks per cycle can mean the difference between 4 and 5 harvests annually. That’s an entire extra harvest from the same space with no additional setup cost.

4. Known Performance

When you buy a clone from Clones Up, you’re buying documented genetics. You know the strain’s expected THC range, terpene profile, flowering time, yield, growth structure, and common grow issues before you ever plant it.

Seeds, even from reputable breeders, involve phenotype hunting. You might run 10 seeds to find the one expression you want. With a clone, the selection work is already done.

Cannabis Clone Types: Rooted vs. Unrooted

Not all clones are the same. There are two main types:

Rooted clones, Have an established root system before they leave the source. The cutting was taken, treated with rooting hormone, placed in rooting medium, and kept until roots developed (7-14 days). Rooted clones can be transplanted directly into your growing medium.

Unrooted cuttings, Are fresh cuts shipped before roots develop. They need to be placed in a rooting medium immediately upon arrival and rooted by the recipient. Higher risk of failure; requires more equipment and attention.

Clones Up ships only rooted clones. We believe shipping unrooted cuts is a disservice to growers, the transit stress is hard enough on plants with established roots.

What to Look for in a Quality Cannabis Clone

When evaluating any cannabis clone source, including Clones Up:

Visible root development, Roots should be white and actively growing. Brown or slimy roots indicate root rot. Limited root development means the clone needs more time before transplanting.

Firm, upright stem, A healthy clone holds itself upright. A wilted or floppy stem indicates shipping stress or poor root development.

Healthy green foliage, Some yellowing of the lowest leaves is normal and expected during rooting. The upper leaves should be green and firm.

No pests, Check the undersides of leaves for spider mites, fungus gnats, or powdery mildew. A reputable source is diligent about IPM (integrated pest management) for all mother plants.

Documented genetics, The source should be able to tell you the strain, the parentage, the expected terpene profile, and the flowering time. If they can’t or won’t, that’s a red flag.

How to Care for Cannabis Clones After Arrival

The first 72 hours are the most important:

Immediately upon unboxing: Remove clones from packaging right away. Don’t leave them boxed for hours after arrival, the plants need light and fresh air as soon as possible.

Light: Place under low-intensity light for the first 3 days. T5 fluorescent, CFL, or LED at 40-50% power on an 18/6 schedule. Full-power LEDs will stress recently shipped clones.

Humidity: Maintain 70-80% relative humidity for the first 3-5 days using a humidity dome or tent. Reduce gradually to your normal veg humidity (55-65%) by day 7.

Watering: Water lightly with pH-balanced water (6.0-6.5 for soil, 5.8-6.2 for hydro/coco). Roots are established but small, overwatering is far more common and damaging than underwatering at this stage.

Nutrients: No nutrients for the first 3-5 days. Start at ¼ strength when you see active new growth.

Temperature: 70-78°F. Avoid temperature swings. Clones in cold environments recover slowly.

Read the full Cannabis Clone Care Guide for detailed week-by-week instructions.

Cannabis Clones FAQ

Are cannabis clones legal? Cannabis cultivation is regulated by state law. Clones Up ships only to states where personal cannabis cultivation is legal for adults. Verify your state and local laws before ordering. Compliance is the buyer’s responsibility.

Can you clone clones? Yes. You can take a clone from a clone indefinitely. There is no genetic degradation from cloning clones, the DNA is identical in each generation. Professional cultivators maintain “mother libraries” of cloned genetics that have been propagated for years without change to the plant’s genetic expression.

How many clones can you get from one mother plant? A healthy mother plant can produce dozens to hundreds of clones over its lifetime, depending on size and how frequently it’s cut. Commercial nurseries maintain mother plants specifically for clone production, taking batches of cuttings on a regular schedule.

What’s the success rate of cloning? With proper technique, humidity, and rooting hormone, success rates of 85-95% are normal. Clones Up ships clones that have already successfully rooted, your success rate begins with established roots, not fresh cuttings.

Do clones need a different setup than seed plants? No. Once your Clones Up clone is transplanted and has acclimated (3-5 days), it grows identically to a seed plant at the same vegetative stage. Same lights, same nutrients, same training techniques.