Cannabis cloning is undeniably a convenient yet complicated process to reproduce any of your favorite buds at home. It would help if you consider many factors thoroughly before jumping into this project, and one crucial of them is choosing the Best Cloning Medium.
The suitable medium will boost the characteristics of the clone and give it a kick-start to be a stronger and healthier plant in the long run.
So, we have listed a few Best Cloning Medium to save you from the confusing and overwhelming options out there. Keep reading the valuable details regarding cloning and pick any mentioned cloning mediums you feel comfortable working with.
Why clone any plant/cannabis ?
Cloning cannabis ensures you will get the exact characteristics of the mother plant, and also, being able to reproduce your favorite plants is an amazing experience.
What is a mother plant?
When we grow a high-quality and rare plant and aim for cuttings of the same plant to reproduce the same characteristics than that source from where we cut the branch is what we call the mother plant.
Benefits of cloning
Apart from that, it saves your money from buying expensive seeds every time, so it is more like a one-time investment where you have less risk on how the final result will turn out.
Besides, cloning doesn’t require a longer duration of germination or seedling phases, so it can harvest plants more often while skipping the time frame and additional cost.
What is a Cloning Medium?
Cloning is simply growing the cutting from another plant, and there are various options regarding the mediums where you can place the cutting. Some common mediums are mild nutrient soil, peat plugs, hydroponic, aeroponic, and rockwool.
If you prefer monitoring the root development, any transparent medium like peat plugs or rockwool is better. Other growing methods work equally, except you cannot observe the change.
Best Cloning Medium
Cloning a plant comes out as good as an organic creation if you have the proper idea on how it works. Using the best medium ensures higher success rate and so here are a few best cloning medium to help you grabbing the most effective medium for cloning-
List of 7 Best Cloning Medium
| Image | Product | Details | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
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MIXC Seed Trays | ☞ Plastic made ☞ L= 1.5”, W= 1.5” ☞ 12 packs each tray |
Check Price |
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Rockwool/Stonewool Grow Cubes | ☞ Molten rock made ☞ 20% more air space ☞ 28 in each package |
Check Price |
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Grodan Rockwool Hydroponic Grow | ☞ Rockwool cubes ☞ Cube size: 1 inch ☞ 50 separate cubes |
Check Price |
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OxyClone Cloning Propagation System | ☞ Durable plastic ☞ oxyCERT foam ☞ 20 cloning sites |
Check Price |
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EZ Cloning System | ☞ HDPE plastic ☞ Alpha symbols ☞ Quantity: 128 slots |
Check Price |
1. MIXC Seed Trays
Highlighted Features:
- Plastic made
- Transparent design
- Inner humidity dome
- Water draining holes
- Length= 1.5”, Width= 1.5”
- No assembly required
- Quantity: 12 packs in each tray
MIXC seed trays are made of sturdy plastic. This transparent material lets you monitor the root growth easily. And when you observe the growth daily, you will instantly know when to transplant the seeds into another medium.
This rectangular-shaped seed tray has a clear humidity dome that works effectively while adjusting the temperature and humidity. By opening or closing the window as much as needed, you can have complete control over the temperature. Also, with its help, you can ensure humidity for 50-100% inside the seed starter stray.
In addition, the long-lasting trays work best under 120°F, and so you can even use a heat mat during germination.
The cell size is 1.5 inches in both length and width. This compact size perfectly accommodates small seeds like tiny flowers, fruits, or vegetables, including tobacco. It helps them get strong and healthy by providing the right amount of water and nutrients because the seedlings’ of the plants are weak.
If you think it might have a complicated watering system, then the next feature will surely amaze you. MIXC trays have drain holes at the bottom of each tray that ensures no extra water is clogging up the medium.
Not only that, it reduces oversaturating roots so that these trays serve longer than any other seed starter tray in the queue and are also reusable if maintained with care.
Wondering what MIXC includes in the packaging? there you go-
- 10pcs of seed trays
- 10pcs of humidity dome
- 10pcs of watertight bases
- 10pcs of plant labels
2. Rockwool/Stonewool Grow Cubes
Highlighted Features:
- Molten rock made
- 20% more air space
- Easy transplantation
- 1.5” L x 1.5” W x 1.5” H
- Widely applicable
- Quantity: 28 in each package
The Rockwool cloning method has a more natural approach as it is made from molten rock spun. It has been made by compressing the molten rock into a fiber-like candy and then shaped as cubes, slabs, or blocks.
These stonewool cubes encourage the initial rooting to grow faster. Also, when the medium for cloning is entirely saturated, it provides extra 20% airspace so that the plants can absorb enough nutrient mix solution from retained oxygen.
A unique feature of why Rockwool is one of the best cloning method is because transplanting the seeds from this medium to another is a piece of cake. Unlike a few others, which are indeed the best medium for the seedlings but cause real struggle while transferring the roots, Rockool guarantees the firmness of the cubes; thus, you can replace the roots without hurting them.
Each block is 1.5 inches in length, width, and height. These blocks are pre-drilled and have a suitable size that fits a package of 28 cubes into a standard-size flat growing tray. Besides, 28 cubes can be used both by hobbyist growers or commercial growers.
The Rockwool plugs are widely applicable in several plant growing systems such as seed starting, propagation, hydroponic, aeroponic cloning and cutting. Working with the seedling is a delicate process, but Rockwool makes it easier for you in these wide ranges of mediums.
But remember to dip the plug into a nutrient solution where the PH level is less than 5.5, and also do not squeeze the plug while soaking the plugs or making the holes broader.
3. Grodan Rockwool Hydroponic Grow
Highlighted Features:
- Rockwool cubes
- Cube size: 1 inch
- Pre-drilled holes for planting
- Suits Hydroponic growing media
- Quantity: 50 separate cubes
The Grodan Rockwool Hydroponic Grow is another Rockwool creation but with an advantage that can affect many things in your grow stuff. It provides 50 cubes in one packaging, and the highlight is all the blocks are separated.
So you can grab as many as you need for growing in private space and equally beneficial for the commercial growers when they are producing different plants simultaneously.
However, if you are a constant user of seed starter trays, you must know the awkwardness between leaving the seedling space empty or going with the complete box harvesting.
With this growing medium, you can avoid the wastage of unused spaces and grow the number of convenient plants.
These lightweight cubes are 1″ x1″ and well aerated to work best with passive growing and drip irrigation. Additionally, you can place Grodan’s stonewool growing cubes individually for different clones, which will reduce the congestion among the blocks, raising access to oxygen promptly.
You might have heard seedlings initiated from Rockwool don’t have a 100% success rate after transplanting into a different medium which is just a prediction from novice growers. Because it grows excellently with the hydroponic solution and does an excellent job with moist soil and fertilizer mixture too.
If you look closely, the cubes are in V-shape. So that, even if you put them together in one tray, there is hardly any chance the roots will tangle with the next plug’s root.
4. OxyClone Cloning Propagation System
Highlighted Features:
- Durable plastic construction
- Applicable all year round
- Reusable oxyCERT foam
- Ensures maximum oxygenation
- Quantity: 20 cloning sites
OxyClone is the ultimate package of cloning systems because it has so many overwhelming features that allow you to experience a tabletop perpetual indoor garden. You can grow 20 plants at once in this cloning kit.
This medium uses an Active Aqua Pump where each site contains 1.75-gallon water and 120 volts to run the cloning system. The pump delivers enough dissolved oxygen in the form of abundant bubbles, which develops the rooting faster and stronger.
OxyClone uses non-toxic foam with a no-pinch design; as a result, the weak seedling or cutting will be free from the attack of bacterias or fungus. During the rooting stage, the EVA foam treats your seedlings gently yet firm enough to hold and spread without being misplaced.
Another fantastic thing about these foam inserts is they can be used more than once if you maintain proper cautions. It has an evaporating cooling system and retains less amount of heat so that the cutting will stay under a moderate temperature.
The manufacturer assures that all the components used in constructing this cloning tool are of premium quality and professional grade. Continuing that, the reservoir is BPA-free, and also the lids are FDA approved. That means this medium is absolutely a food-safe system.
Lastly, to provide you with a brief understanding of this product, the packaging includes a 20-site reservoir, 20 lids, 20 packs of oxyCERTS where you can put the clones in, 160 GPH Active Aqua pump, 3 feet and 0.25-inch tubing, 4-inch round air stone.
5. EZ Cloning System
Highlighted Features:
- HDPE plastic made
- Alpha symbols for plant identification
- Leak-proof design
- Necessary kits included
- Quantity: 128 slots·
The UV-protected EZ Cloning system has the utmost passion for making things easier for the growers and is undoubtedly one user-friendly tool. It has recently reduced its height by 4 inches to maintain structural integrity.
And the new design has 128 clone sites where each plate holds 12 plants. This massive amount of clone slots in one packaging is a tremendous gift for commercial or large-scale growers. It has developed the interface design that helps monitor the newly growing seedlings and improved the system to be leak-proof.
Leaving all its task achievement aside, let’s confess one common thing that is possibly irritating to most growers. We often grow several kinds of plants simultaneously, so it becomes hard to keep track of every plant individually.
On top of that, you might detect the plant difference but finding out the same plants of other strains is definitely not going to be easy. EZ has Alpha-numeric symbols directly on the plastic to rescue you from this trouble, so you do not have to label each clone. You can take notes in your grow journal by only identifying the numerics.
The aeroponic cloning system of EZ includes an extended baseplate water pump, extra suction cups for manifold tipping, rooting gel, 4-different colored cloning collars, and 128 clone slots.
How to make my clones grow faster?
Growing clones is a time-consuming phase and also probably the one where you can barely detect any change. But again, the beginning phase of clones’ life matters a lot to predict successful growth. So while waiting patiently for its next phase, we can apply a few things to speed up the process.
To be fair, these things should have been followed by default while cloning, but still, if you have missed anything on the checklist below, don’t worry because it’s never too late.
- While choosing any specific plant for cloning, recheck if that plant is in good condition or not because you wouldn’t want to replicate a sick plant. Always cut the branches at the bottom or in the lower section, as cutting from these branches has a higher survival rate.
- The only tool going to be used in the entire process is a scissor. Make sure to arrange a sterilized, finely working scissor and cut the exact portion of the mother plant. We do not advise using a knife as it can mess up the cutting.
- Apply a rooting stimulator like a rooting gel for quicker and stronger growth after cutting.
- Dip the medium into proper nutrients through fertilizer or compost to ensure the clones have all the contents to grow up swiftly. If it doesn’t have adequate nutrients, it’s only natural that the lack will slow down germination success rate.
- The temperature and humidity affect the plant’s life stage differently depending on whether you are growing inside or outside. There is not much to do while cloning under the sun, but for indoor cloning, ensure accurate light intensity and proper humidity level so the clones will live a long time.
- Mismanaging the humidity during cloning lengthens the germination and hurts the plant severely to the point of not coming back thus, cut short the lifetime.. Because the clones are weak at this stage and easily get attacked by pests, bacteria, and diseases, try to keep a 65% humidity level in this phase to bring out the best result.
- Check the ventilation system and adjust it while cloning. Heavy airflow can cause the clone to dry, so this stage doesn’t require much flowing air. That is why, provide moderate breezing so the cloning space wouldn’t be full of stagnant air.
How much light does a clone need?
While light intensity is an essential factor for the clones to develop, it is undeniable that too much light will burn them.
Whether you purchase the clones from any dispensary or dark heart directly, there is a high chance they were under the light for 24 hours. When the clones become stable and are in the vegetative stage, 18 hours of lighting is adequate to thrive.
Apparently, you are only allowed to use ambient and low heated lights during this phase. Placing any light directly to the plant backfires and slows down the process. So LED lights or fluorescent lights (T5, CFL) are a safer choice.
How much nutrient does a clone need?
When you first cut and place the clone in a medium, the clones instantly don’t need any nutrients. Enriching the soil or solution with too much protein at this time is nothing but a waste.
Because the cutting already has nutrients from its mother plant and the rooting gels, it cannot absorb the nutrients even from the moist soil or any other medium.
Once the roots appear, nutrients become an essential element instantly. Here, it would help if you could find out the perfect balance between too many nutrients and no effective nutrients.
However, at the earlier phase, try to provide less nitrogen and, as it keeps growing healthier, provide nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the ideal ratio of 1-3-3.
How much water does a clone need?
Watering is not much of a concern while cloning. At this specific point, plants require the lowest amount of water. But of course, no life can survive without water, so spraying a limited amount of water twice a day is what the expert suggests following.
Before spraying, make sure your cloning medium has a proper drainage system; otherwise, the water will clog up, which is an open invitation for the pests and severe diseases to the delicate clones.
Frequently Asked Question
1. Do you need to remove the cube before transplanting it?
Ans. You should not remove the clone and transplant it if the root has not fully developed. If it has, then, in that case, the clones should be healthy and sturdy to be placed into a different grow medium.
Now at this point, apply rooting gel to strengthen the rooted section and then if you want, you can easily remove the plugs and transplant the clones. But consider transplanting the clones along with the soil mix or plugs as it is a risk-free procedure.
In Closure
Cloning is the initial life stage of a plant that requires extra care. That being said, to choose the Best Cloning Medium, follow our guidelines and purchase from the options that are already available.
Not to mention, not all the cloning mediums near you will work seamlessly, so it is crucial to look rigorously when providing the growth medium to your clones.
