HEMP CLONES

To make hemp clones the stem of an adult hemp plant is cut. The piece which is cut off – this is called a cutting – is placed into the substrate (soil or another growing medium) where the cutting grows its own roots and becomes a fully functional hemp plant.

We generally refer to the adult hemp plant from which the clone cutting has been taken as the ‘mother’ plant. Mother plants can live for a long time and create many hundreds – even thousands – of clones. The mother plant is retained in a constant vegetative state by way of a consistent and non-varied light cycle; that’s how she can live for so long and produce so many clones.

Our cuttings are stem cuttings. There are at least five types of cuttings using roots, leaves, or stalks but we use cuttings from the stems of the mother plant as we find these cuttings are more resilient.

Once we have our cuttings it’s time to give them a new home. Depending upon the growing conditions we plant our cuttings in rock wool, coir jiffy pellets, or sometimes vermiculite. The cuttings are placed under carefully controlled light conditions to avoid over-lighting and ensure they get enough darkness to promote root development.

Hemp cuttings usually develop their own roots in around 15 days. Unlike plants grown from seeds, clones do not generate a tap root. A tap root is a large central root which extends vertically into the growing medium. This tap root acts as an anchor; helping the hemp plant resist severe weather events. So, if you’re planning on growing your hemp outdoors in an area prone to above average winds and storm conditions, you might want to consider growing hemp from seed rather than buying clones. Mountain Strong Hemp Company sells a range of hemp seeds – check them out here.

Once they’ve developed sufficient root structures to help them resist transplant shock the hemp clones are ready to be transplanted into the soil or medium where it will mature into an adult plant. Commonly this is a field or if growing indoors a type of large container is used.