For generations, the art of growing weed from clones has been both extensively explored and refined. These days, thousands of the world’s best growers instinctively opt for cloning techniques, rather than the classic approach whereby seeds are germinated from scratch. But at the same time, there’s quite a lot of confusion when it comes to the true advantages and drawbacks of cloning, along with when and where it represents the most sensible approach.
Technically speaking, anyone interested in getting into marijuana cultivation really should read up on growing weed from both clones and seeds, in order to gain good understanding of what’s going on. Cloning is an incredibly popular and simple approach to growing, which involves taking cuttings from existing marijuana plants and using these to grow strong separate plants. Which in essence sounds like an obvious way of going about things, but there are both advantages and disadvantages to take into account before going ahead.
The Advantages of Cloning
The list of advantages that accompany clone growing techniques is certainly extensive and appealing – the following examples in particular:
Quicker Start
First and foremost, the fact that you don’t have to go through the seed germination process means that you can get up and running much quicker than if you were to grow from seed.
Faster Grow
In addition to this, cloned marijuana plants generally grow at a much faster rate than plants grown from seed, while at the same time have the potential to produce even better buds.
Same Traits
To clone marijuana plants from a strong mother plant is to produce a second plant that has all the strength, resilience and qualities of the original. This may in turn mean a highly robust plant with excellent disease resistance.
Bigger Grow Opportunities
Technically speaking, to enter into a process of cloning is to have the opportunity to grow literally infinite number of plants. For those who intend to expand their growing operations quite significantly, cloning can be an excellent way of going about it.
Cost Effective
Given the fact that to take cuttings from existing marijuana plants will cost you nothing, cloning represents a significantly cheaper option of purchasing seeds and grow from seeds.
Stronger Plants
What’s more, by cloning marijuana plants you eliminate the risk of your entire crop of seedlings being wiped out by in perfect conditions – cuttings are naturally much stronger.
The Disadvantages of Cloning
Of course, the art of cloning is not without its fair share of critics and there are definitely a few disadvantages to take into account. Primary examples include the following:
Same Flaws
If the mother plant selected for the cuttings is in any way inferior or of poor quality, each and every clone created by way of cuttings will present the same flaws. It is therefore possible to end up with an entire crop of plants that all carry the same defects.
Not All Viable
There are certain types of marijuana plants that simply cannot be cloned successfully, in term limiting the strategy to certain types of marijuana plant only.
Decreasing Variation
Some argue that to clone marijuana plants is to go against the important ceremony of starting out from scratch and finishing with something beautiful. They also argue that standard weed cloning does very little for weed strain diversity.
So it’s clear to see therefore that it is a process and a strategy that has its own unique mix of ups and downs. But if you were to consider all the facts from the perspective of the standard at-home weed grower, it’s hard to deny that the list of advantages does somewhat outweigh the drawbacks.
Just make sure you choose the most appropriate and high quality mother plant in the first place – the rest tends to take care of itself pretty naturally.
