If you’re growing at home and want to learn how to clone marijuana, you’re in the right place. Cloning lets you create a new plant from a healthy existing one. This blog post will walk you through cloning a cannabis plant step by step, and also touch on how cloning fits into growing marijuana broadly. After reading, you’ll feel confident—and you’ll know when to shop for quality goods like cannabis seeds or gear at your trusted dispensary like Get Kush.

What Does “Clone” Mean in Cannabis Growing?

In the context of growing marijuana, a clone is a cutting taken from a healthy cannabis plant that is encouraged to grow roots and become a new plant. It has exactly the same genetic material as the original plant, so it will grow the same way, produce similar buds, and have the same cannabinoid profile.

Cloning is different from planting new seeds. When you use seeds, you’re relying on germination and you may not know exactly how the offspring will turn out. With a clone, you already know the traits.

This article covers cloning within the larger topic of how to grow weed, and how it intersects with your use of seeds, plants, and growing techniques.

Why You Might Choose to Clone Instead of Relying Only on Seeds

Here are key reasons why growers clone their plants:

Genetic consistency: A clone from a strong plant replicates all its traits: growth rate, flavour, potency.
Time savings: Clones skip the germination phase that seeds go through. So you move faster to the vegetative phase.
Guaranteed female plants: If you clone a female plant, you know what you’re getting—no surprises from seeds.
Cost-effective in the long run: Once you have a good mother plant, you can clone it rather than buying new seeds.

Of course, cloning isn’t without challenges: if the parent plant has pests or disease, those will carry over. Also, using only clones means less genetic diversity.

Step 1: Choose the Right Mother Plant

To start cloning successfully, you need a healthy “mother” plant. Here’s how to select one.

What to look for:

A vigorous, healthy cannabis plant free of pests and disease.
A plant that is in the vegetative stage (growing leaves and stems) rather than flowering. Clones root more easily when taken during vegetative growth.
A plant that exhibits traits you want to replicate (yield, aroma, flavour, growth habit). Cloning passes those traits on.

Avoid:

Stressed or weak plants. A stressed mother will likely yield weak clones.
Plants that show signs of disease or mould. These issues can propagate.
Randomly picking if you want consistent results—the idea is to pick your best performer.

Step 2: Gather Your Tools and Prepare the Environment

Here’s a list of tools and conditions you’ll want to set up before taking cuttings. This helps make cloning reliable and smooth.

Essential Tools & Setup:

Sharp, sterile pruning shears or razor blade (for clean cuts).
Rooting hormone (gel, powder, or liquid) to stimulate root production.
A rooting medium: starter cubes (rock-wool, peat plugs), or a moist substrate.
Humidity dome or some way to maintain high humidity around the cuttings.
Gentle grow lights (fluorescent or low-intensity LED) and stable temperature/humidity.
Clean environment (sanitised tools, no contaminants). Good airflow but avoid drying the cutting out.

Step 3: Taking the Cutting (The Clone)

Now you’re ready to actually take a cutting from your mother plant.

How to do it:

Select a branch on the mother plant that has at least one or two nodes (where leaves or branches attach).
Use a clean, sterile razor or shears and make a diagonal cut just below a node. A 45-degree angle helps.
Immediately apply rooting hormone to the cut end. This will stimulate root growth and reduce infection risk.
Remove lower leaves so that the cutting has minimal foliage (to reduce water loss) while leaving a few healthy leaves to allow photosynthesis.
Insert the cutting into the prepared rooting medium (cube, plug, or moist substrate) so that at least one node is buried or in contact with the medium. Firm gently.

Step 4: Caring for the Clone Until Roots Develop

After you’ve taken the cuttings, you need to care for them carefully until they develop roots and are ready to be treated like a full plant.

Environment and care:

Maintain high humidity (around 70-80% relative humidity) so the cutting doesn’t dry out.
Keep temperature stable—around 20-25°C (68-77°F) is ideal for rooting.
Use low-intensity lighting (e.g., fluorescent or gentle LEDs). Too much light too early can stress the clone.
Mist the leaves once or twice daily if needed to keep humidity up, especially if you don’t have a dome.
Keep the medium just moist—not waterlogged—to avoid rot. Good airflow is also helpful.

Rooting timeframe:

Most clones root in about 7–14 days under good conditions. Some may take up to 3 weeks depending on strain and conditions.

Step 5: Transplanting and Moving On to Growing

Once you see a good root system and healthy growth, you can transplant your clone and continue growing your cannabis plant.

When to transplant:

When the roots are visibly emerging from the medium or are well-established.
When the clone is showing strong leaf growth and is no longer simply surviving but thriving.

How to transplant:

Prepare your soil or growing medium (or hydroponic system) and make sure it’s well watered and aerated.
Gently place the clone in the medium, making sure not to damage the roots.
Keep humidity high for a few days after transplant to reduce shock.
Gradually adjust to your regular light and nutrient schedule for your growing phase.

Integrating Cloning Into Your Growing Cycle (How to Grow Weed)

Cloning is just one piece of the larger process of growing marijuana from start to finish. Here are a few ways cloning fits into your entire grow:

Starting with cannabis seeds: Many growers begin with seeds, which gives genetic diversity and a fresh start. Cloning complements this by preserving the best performers.
Vegetative stage: After a seedling develops, it enters the vegetative stage (leaf and stem growth). Clones skip part of this because they come from mature tissue.
Flowering stage: Once your plants are ready, you induce flowering (via light cycle change) to produce buds. Cloned plants should behave similarly to their mother.
Seed-to-harvest: Whether from a seed or a clone, you ultimately aim for healthy buds. Cloning often gives you a more predictable crop.

When you’re shopping for cannabis seeds or preparing your grow setup, remember: clones and seeds both have a place—and a dispensary like Get Kush is a good stop for gear, information, and support.

Tips to Improve Cloning Success

Here are extra pointers to boost your chance of success when you clone a cannabis plant:

Take more cuttings than you think you need. Some will fail.
Label your clones and track their origin so you know which mother plant produced which batch.
Keep the mother plant healthy and well maintained—her condition determines clone quality.
Use clean tools and a clean workspace to avoid contamination and disease.
Don’t rush the clone into full light or low humidity; let it adjust gradually.
If you’re also using seeds in your grow, compare how clones perform vs seedlings—it helps you decide what works best for you.

Cloning vs. Growing from Seeds: Which Should You Use?

Both methods have pros and cons. Here’s a quick comparison:

Cloning

Pros: consistent genetics, faster growth, known female plants.
Cons: requires a good mother plant, risk of inherited issues, less genetic diversity.

Growing from seeds

Pros: fresh genetics, more variety, good opportunity for beginners to learn.
Cons: need to germinate, sex the plants (if not feminized) to avoid males, slower start.

Many successful growers use a mix: start with seeds, identify top performers, then clone those to build a reliable crop. That way you combine the best of both worlds.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve followed this guide, you now know how to clone marijuana and how cloning fits into the broader process of growing marijuana and working with cannabis seeds. By choosing a strong mother plant, preparing your environment, taking and caring for cuttings, and transplanting and growing them out, you can build a consistent garden of cannabis plants that reflect the traits you like.

If you’d like more guidance, gear, or seeds to get started, head over to GetKush.cc—where you’ll find helpful resources for growers just like you.

Happy growing, and may your next crop thrive.

References

Haze, N. (2025). Picture Guide to Cloning Marijuana. Available at: https://www.growweedeasy.com/cloning-marijuana-guide

Corroon, J., ND, MPH. (2025, November 4). How to Clone Cannabis. Available at: https://www.wikihow.com/Clone-Cannabis

Dr. Leslie Lars Iversen, CBE FRS MAE