cloning the clones of the clones of clones

Interesting. I have always been under the impression that when a plant is in Veg is the best time to take cuttings due to the rooting hormone dying off during flower. I can see how a few days could be reasonable. The hormones don't change for a few days after being put into flower. I dont know why they would root any better than cuttings taken from plants in veg though.

Anyone care to explain that theory?

statik said:

Interesting. I have always been under the impression that when a plant is in Veg is the best time to take cuttings due to the rooting hormone dying off during flower. I can see how a few days could be reasonable. The hormones don't change for a few days after being put into flower. I dont know why they would root any better than cuttings taken from plants in veg though.

Anyone care to explain that theory?

Click to expand...

I think the plant is in a very rigorous root growth state. I think Fdd flowers for a few days before he takes cuttings.

I take them from vegging plants. I clone very successfully but when I clone from something just starting to flower I get those single for three bladed fans. I don't really like that.

Edit, I actually don't make clones too much right now. I don't have a legit veg room and the guy I get clones from makes fucking trees. Look at this thing. The stalk is .25" thick. It's producing bark when I pick them up. He won't tell me how he does it.

I haven't seen anything close yet...

DubsFan said:

I think the plant is in a very rigorous root growth state. I think Fdd flowers for a few days before he takes cuttings.

I take them from vegging plants. I clone very successfully but when I clone from something just starting to flower I get those single for three bladed fans. I don't really like that.

Edit, I actually don't make clones too much right now. I don't have a legit veg room and the guy I get clones from makes fucking trees. Look at this thing. The stalk is .25" thick. It's producing bark when I pick them up. He won't tell me how he does it.

I haven't seen anything close yet...

Click to expand...

Holy crap! I wanna know how to get clones to grow like that. Just rooted obviously...but still.

...a clone is an exact replica of it's mother. Doesn't that say enough? LOL, I'm just say'n....I've grown plants from seed to clones of clones of clones that we're passed on to a friend...I reobtained the strain as a clone over a year later (after he done the clone of clones of clones exc...) and low and behold...NO DIFFERENCE! LOL

...clone = exact replica, same dna exc...it's the same'o hoe years later! (as long as she isn't stressed to start the cross dress! )LOL, good luck.

doitinthewoods said:

Hey brother, you don't have to take my word for it. Just because this guy hasn't seen any change doesn't mean it's not happening, and if you do it long enough, you will see a change. A marijuana "clone" isn't actually a clone. It's a cutting. If it were a clone, then the genetics would stay the same. Being that you're taking a one cutting, and exposing it to slightly differen't conditions, and feeding, it will change over time. Even if you don't change anything, it will still happen.

Click to expand...

this guy is wrong overall, You said in the beginning 4 or 5 times and it will be a different plant?!?!?!!?!? NOOOOOO, not ever will it be a different plant! Not ever! After years and years of this it can and probably will lose some vigor, aka takes longer to root, and doesn't quite grow as well but will still be the same strain and same potency. I do not know how someone can say a plant will change. Thats simply not true at all. In fact ever heard of OG Kush or Chemdog they are cuttings that have been passed around for like 20 years and its one of the best marijuana strains around, tell me it changed?!?!?!

I have a few strains that I run clones then flower the mom. Some can take it better than others but I notice no degradation in quality, if anything the shit gets better every time as my experience grows.

I'm definitely subscribing to this thread. It seems the general consensus is that you can make clones of clones of clones ad infinitum.

All the arguments are there:

1. The DNA will NEVER change.
2. Experienced growers are still using the same clones of clones 20 years later.
3. The only change you MAY, NOT WILL, experience is a little reduced vigor (ie rooting might take a little longer, flower times my extend a little, etc. All growth speed related; nothing to do with harvest size or potency.).
4. The condition of the plant that you're taking clones from might have an adverse effect on the condition of the clones.
5. You will want to make one, or several, of the new clones, mothers to replace the worn-out original mother.
6. If there is a case that you notice a severe drop in vigor, potency, it should have been enough time passed to acquire new seeds.

Really great information in this thread guys.

Great thread! Been thinking about this for a while now. I'm going with Do It! I personally don't have the time or space to deal with a mother plant so this works for me. I've even read that Subcool, a breeder from TGA has done this for about 10 years with no negative affect. He says that his mothers don't get to be more then a foot tall and if they become to big or unruly he just clones them again.

I know its a bit old, but... about aging - as far as i know age is coded genetically. For example, humans have all their cells (except nervous system) completely replaced every 7 years, still the body keeps track of time, and is DNA coded to die after a certain time. This is probably true for plants too (in some ways), after several years this effect might show as well.
You can also keep humans alive for a very long time in a very professional and hi tech environment, so experience and grow conditions are for sure very important factors.

I get what you mean its like they do call it gorrilla growing for a reason. Cause you are "really" gorilla growing marijuana. Just like what you said about why the call it clone because they are "really" clones, not

I get what you mean just like why do you think they call it gorilla growing,?, because you "really" are a gorilla growing Marijuana.just because they call it a Clone doesn't mean its "really" a clone? no. Its a damn cutting.

I can see newbs arguing over the genetic degradation issue but watching seasoned growers do it boggles my mind .

Multi generational clones can degrade in genetic traights or they can remain stable forever , it all boils down to 2 things , the most important issue being that the phenotype your working with is a stable pheno , next is continued plant health , if your mothers or table plants were stressed or any adverse condition was happening your next generation plants can inherit undesireable traights & sub par yeilds .

Ive had it go both ways , im currently running a blue widdow strain from a single clone i mothered 4 yrs ago & she's still banging out great product , on the other hand i just had to dump a strain i had nearly 2 yrs when my new mothers showed signs associated with multiple phenotypes within the same strain .

There is no wrong answer .

doitinthewoods said:

You could do it up to about 4 or 5 times, and then you'll usually start to get a degredation of quality, and a genetic drift. I won't really be the same plant anymore.

Click to expand...

I kept cloning and the clones started showing pre-blooms earlier and earlier. The last clone from that plant has no branches with nodes. Four female clones have sun leaves and lots of buds in the middle and a few on the sun leaves. Unless you can clone a sun leave with no nodes I can't do anything but hope for seeds out of these last four and start over from seeds. I think this last four were the fourth generation from the mother.

I start from the best genetic clones I can get. Currently I have a perpetual grow from 2 clones I bought over 3 years ago and have made a bastards amount of clones. If you keep them healthy you can clone infidelity. Certain strains are "clone only" such a green crack and many others.

Read, read, experimentation and personal experience will teach you this. Start learning about Phenotype and what the seed-banks look for then. Under optimum growing conditions all seeds from the same plant are not created equal...but all clones are exactly the same.

Start with excellent genes or deal with the crappy results others have posted about.


Learn more about genetics and what breeders look for in a fun way.

Cloning a clone will eventually cause genetic drift. I was a horticultural sciences major in college and one of my botany experiments was researching the genetic drift of cuttings taken from successive clones. I used coleus as the test plant as it is easy to grow and cuttings root quickly.
The parts of a healthy coleus that are in brighter light respond with less chlorophyll in the leaf structure and thus create a beautiful array of colors. Cuttings taken from various parts of a single mother would tend to maintain coloration closer to that of when they were cut than reverting back to the mother plants color. Successive cloning was easily able to exploit the fact and within a few generations I was able to produce a "clone" that was nothing like the mother. Seeds taken from these cuttings were unpredictable but mainly reverted back to the stable parentage.
In short, cannabis clones are relatively stable but I'd get new seed stock every 4th or 5th gen.

Ive been cloning a black Widow since 2021 its on its 14th generation of cutting, clone from a clone , Id argue its the same , even better, sometimes I think its changed in a good way in my head, its pheno changes with the temps in basement as the season changes, better quality in cooler flowering temps.
Rambling aside I do a 50/50 drench of peroxide and water a week or so after roots have established themselves to clean the clone as best as I can and it responds well to that .