How to Clone Cannabis: Taking Cuttings Step by Step
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How to Clone Cannabis: Taking Cuttings Step by Step
Sooner or later, most growers end up with one plant that is just better than the rest, more vigorous, better yielding, tastier, and they wish they could grow that exact plant again. Cloning is how you do it. By taking a cutting from a plant and rooting it, you create a genetically identical copy, so you can reproduce your best plant indefinitely, guarantee it is female, and skip germinating from seed entirely. It sounds like advanced horticulture, but it is genuinely straightforward: with a sterile blade, a dab of rooting hormone, and a warm, humid dome, most cuttings grow roots in one to two weeks. We sell the domes, heat mats, and propagation gear that make it reliable, so we have no reason to make it sound harder than it is. This guide walks through what cloning is and why it is worth doing, how to choose a mother plant, exactly how to take a cutting step by step, the rooting mediums and environment that make it work, and the mistakes that cause cuttings to fail. We don't upsell.
Cloning is one of two ways to start a plant, so if you are weighing it against starting from seed, our germination guide covers the other, and if your cuttings are struggling, our clones-not-rooting troubleshooter digs into fixes.
The 30-Second Answer
- Cloning is taking a cutting from a healthy plant and rooting it into a genetically identical copy, which is guaranteed female if the mother is female.
- Take cuttings from a healthy plant in veg: cut a 3 to 4 inch shoot with 2 to 3 nodes at a 45-degree angle just below a node, using a sterile blade.
- Root them: trim the lower leaves, dip the cut end in rooting hormone, insert into a moist plug, cube, or cloner, and cover with a humidity dome.
- Give them the right environment: 70 to 90 percent humidity, around 72 to 75 F, gentle light, and a moist medium, and roots appear in about 7 to 14 days.
A healthy mother, a clean cut, and a warm, humid dome do most of the work. We stock the domes, mats, and gear. We don't upsell.
What is cloning, and why do it?
Cloning, also called taking cuttings, is a form of asexual or vegetative propagation: instead of combining two parents' genes through a seed, you take a piece of an existing plant and grow it into a whole new plant that is genetically identical to the one it came from. That genetic copy is the entire point, and it brings several real advantages. You can preserve and replicate a plant you love, reproducing its exact yield, potency, flavor, and growth traits again and again. Because the clone shares the mother's genetics, it is guaranteed to be the same sex, so a cutting from a female plant is always female, removing the uncertainty of seeds. You skip the germination stage entirely and start with an established piece of plant, which can be faster to a harvest than starting from seed. And when you clone several cuttings from one mother, you get a uniform crop that grows and finishes together, which makes a grow much easier to manage. The trade-off is that clones carry no genetic diversity and inherit any weaknesses or diseases of the mother, so they are about replication rather than improvement. The graphic below lays out the whole process.
When to take clones, and choosing a mother
Successful cloning starts with the plant you cut from, so choosing and preparing a good mother matters as much as the technique. Take your cuttings from a healthy, vigorous plant that is in its vegetative stage, and avoid taking them from plants that are stressed, flowering, or too young, since those root poorly and pass on problems. The mother should be free of pests and disease, because a cutting inherits whatever the mother has, and a clean mother is the single best defense against spreading trouble to your new plants. A couple of simple preparations improve your odds: water the mother thoroughly about 24 hours before you take cuttings so the branches are fully hydrated and turgid, and take your cuttings early in the morning when the plant is at its most hydrated. Many growers keep a dedicated mother plant permanently in vegetative growth specifically as a clone source, taking cuttings from it repeatedly, which lets you preserve a favorite genetic line indefinitely. If you do not keep a mother, simply take your clones from a plant while it is still in veg, before you flip it to flower, since once a plant is flowering it is a poor and unreliable source.
What you need to clone
Cloning requires only a modest kit, and none of it is expensive. You need a sharp, sterile cutting tool, a razor blade, scalpel, or clean scissors, wiped with rubbing alcohol before each cut, since a dull or dirty blade crushes the stem and invites infection; replace or re-sterilize it regularly. You need a rooting hormone, available as gel, powder, or liquid, which supplies the auxins that stimulate roots. You need a rooting medium, most commonly rockwool cubes, peat or composted plugs such as rapid rooters, or coco plugs, pre-soaked in pH-balanced water, or alternatively an aeroponic cloner. You need a humidity dome or propagator to hold in moisture, sitting in a growing tray, and a small spray bottle for misting. A heat mat is optional but helpful for keeping the root zone warm, and a low-intensity light source, fluorescent or gentle LED, provides the gentle light cuttings want. A pH meter and pH adjusters round out the list, since your medium and water should sit around pH 5.5 to 6. You will find domes, heat mats, rooting hormone, and plugs in our catalog. We don't upsell, so buy a fresh blade and good rooting hormone and skip the gimmicks.
How to take a clone, step by step
With your mother prepared and your kit ready, the cutting itself takes only a minute per clone, but doing each step cleanly and quickly is what separates success from a tray of wilted failures. Start by sterilizing your blade with rubbing alcohol. Select a healthy shoot three to four inches long with two or three nodes, the points where leaves and branches emerge, since nodes contain the cells that will form roots. Make a clean cut at a 45-degree angle just below a node, which increases the surface area for rooting hormone absorption and water uptake. Work fast and get the cutting into water or its medium within a minute or two, because if the cut end sits in open air, an air bubble can enter the stem and block water transport. Remove the leaves from the bottom inch or two of the stem so at least one node is bare, and trim the tips of the remaining upper leaves to reduce water loss through transpiration. Dip the cut end in your rooting hormone, following the product's directions, for a gel or liquid a direct dip of ten to twenty seconds, for a powder a quick wetting of the stem then a roll in the powder with the excess tapped off. Finally, insert the hormone-coated cutting into your pre-moistened medium so the bare node is buried, firm it gently, and place it under the humidity dome.
Rooting mediums and methods
Where you root your cuttings shapes how reliable the process is, and there are a few options with different trade-offs. The most common and dependable approach is a solid rooting medium, such as rockwool cubes, peat or composted plugs, or coco plugs, which give the stem structural support while balancing the moisture the cutting needs with the oxygen the developing roots require; soak these in pH 5.5 water before use. A second option some growers use is simply placing the cutting in a glass of water, which can work but is generally slower and less reliable, since plain water holds little oxygen and the roots that form can be fragile. The fastest method is an aeroponic or bubble cloner, where the cutting sits in a collar with its cut end suspended in a chamber that mists or bubbles the stem with oxygen-rich water, producing quick, vigorous roots, though it is more equipment to buy and manage. For most home growers, a tray of plugs or cubes under a dome is the sweet spot of simplicity and reliability, while a cloner is a worthwhile upgrade if you clone often. Whichever you choose, the medium should stay moist but never waterlogged, a balance our watering guide explains in general terms.
The rooting environment
Getting the environment right is what actually roots your cuttings, and it hinges on one key fact: a fresh cutting has no roots yet, so it cannot drink from the medium and instead absorbs water through its leaves, which is why humidity is everything. Keep the humidity high, in the range of 70 to 90 percent, using the dome, and mist occasionally with plain water if it drops; university guidance on propagation stresses maintaining high humidity with a cover or misting while burying a node in moist media. Keep temperatures warm but not hot, around 72 to 75 F in the air, and take care not to overheat the root zone, since the medium temperature should stay a little cooler; a heat mat helps gently warm the base. Give the cuttings low, gentle light rather than intense grow-light output, since strong light stresses a rootless cutting, and a low-intensity fluorescent or LED on around an 18-hour cycle is ideal, which is the same soft light seedlings prefer, as our seedling lighting guide covers. Under these conditions, roots typically appear in about 7 to 14 days. As they form, begin hardening off by gradually venting the dome to lower the humidity, so the new roots take over the job of drinking.
Rooting hormone: what it does
Rooting hormone is the one product that most improves your success, and it is worth understanding why. These products contain auxins, plant growth hormones such as indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or the synthetic naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), which stimulate the initiation of new roots. The benefit is well documented: a peer-reviewed study of cannabis cuttings found that treating the cut end with a synthetic auxin like IBA improves the rooting success rate, speeds up rooting, and increases the number of roots that form, with an IBA gel delivering more than double the success rate of a natural willow extract in that trial. Rooting hormone comes in gel, liquid, and powder forms, and honestly the differences between them are minor compared with the difference a fresh blade and good humidity make, so any quality product works. To use it, dip only the amount of cutting you need to and avoid contaminating the main container by pouring a little out into a separate cup to dip from. While cuttings can sometimes root without any hormone, using one meaningfully raises your odds and speed, which is why it is standard practice, and it is inexpensive enough that there is little reason to skip it.
Caring for clones as they root
The one to two weeks between taking a cutting and seeing roots is mostly a matter of holding the environment steady and being patient. Keep the dome on to hold humidity high, misting the inside or the cuttings lightly with plain water if it looks dry, and remember that at this stage you are watering the leaves and air, not the roots that do not yet exist, so the medium needs to stay merely moist rather than repeatedly drenched. Keep the temperature warm and the light gentle, and resist the urge to check the cuttings constantly or tug on them to look for roots, since disturbing them slows things down. Watch for two problems: cuttings that wilt badly, usually a sign the humidity is too low, and any that turn to mush or grow moldy, usually a sign of too much moisture, poor sterility, or stagnant air, which should be removed so they do not affect the others. After the first several days you can begin cracking the dome open for increasing periods to gradually harden the cuttings off as roots start to establish. When you see roots emerging from the bottom or sides of the plug or cube, the clone has rooted and is ready for the next step. If your cuttings consistently fail at this stage, our dedicated clones-not-rooting guide works through the causes.
Transplanting rooted clones
Once a clone has visibly rooted, the goal is to move it into a normal growing setup without shocking it, and timing matters because a clone left too long in a small plug becomes rootbound and loses vigor. When roots are clearly emerging from the plug or cube, first finish hardening the clone off if you have not already, opening the dome fully for a day or so and lowering the humidity toward room levels so the plant adjusts to drinking through its roots. Then transplant it gently into its next container of your chosen growing medium, being careful not to damage the young, delicate roots, and treat it from that point like any rooted young vegetative plant. Begin feeding lightly, at roughly quarter to half the normal strength, since a freshly rooted clone has a small root system and does not need heavy nutrients yet, and check that your medium and feed are at the right pH, which our pH guide details. Gradually increase the light intensity over a few days as the plant establishes, moving it from the gentle propagation light toward full vegetative lighting. Within a week or two the clone will be growing vigorously and can be treated exactly like a seedling that has found its feet, ready to be trained and grown out.
Keeping a mother plant
If you want a steady supply of clones from a genetic line you love, keeping a mother plant is the way to do it, and it is a simple practice worth understanding. A mother plant is simply a plant you keep permanently in the vegetative stage, never flipping it to flower, so that it stays in the growth phase from which you can take cuttings indefinitely. You keep it under an 18-hour or longer light cycle to hold it in veg, feed and care for it well so it stays healthy and vigorous, and take cuttings from it whenever you want to start a new batch of plants. Because the mother never flowers, a single healthy plant can supply clones for months or years, preserving your chosen genetics without needing to hold back seeds. Many growers top and train their mothers specifically to encourage lots of branching, since more shoots means more available cuttings, a technique our plant training guide covers. The keys to a good mother are keeping it healthy, disease-free, and not over-fertilized, since every cutting you take carries her condition with it. A well-kept mother is the most efficient way to run a perpetual, uniform garden from proven genetics.
Common cloning mistakes
Most cloning failures trace to a short list of avoidable errors, and knowing them heads off a tray of dead cuttings. The most common is poor sterility, using a dirty or dull blade or dirty hands, which introduces infection and crushes the stem. Close behind is a humidity that is too low, which lets rootless cuttings dry out and wilt, since they cannot yet drink from the medium. On the flip side, keeping the medium waterlogged, or the air stagnant, rots cuttings before they can root. Other frequent mistakes include skipping rooting hormone and then wondering why rooting is slow and patchy, cutting in the wrong place rather than just below a node, giving cuttings intense light or an overheated root zone that stresses them, and taking cuttings from an unhealthy, stressed, or flowering mother. Finally, growers often give up too early, since rooting can take up to two weeks, or conversely leave rooted clones crammed in a tiny plug until they lose vigor. Avoid these by working clean and fast, using hormone, keeping humidity high and the medium merely moist, giving gentle light, starting with a healthy mother, and being patient. We don't upsell, and we would rather you master a clean, humid dome than buy every gadget on the shelf.
What We'd Tell You at the Counter
If you came in wanting to clone your favorite plant, we would tell you the whole thing hinges on three unglamorous things: a clean sharp blade, rooting hormone, and high humidity. Sterilize the blade, take a three-to-four-inch shoot with a couple of nodes, cut at an angle just below a node, and get it into hormone and a moist plug fast so no air gets into the stem. Then dome it and keep the humidity up around 70 to 90 percent, because a cutting has no roots yet and drinks through its leaves, warm it gently, and give it soft light, not your big flower light. Expect roots in one to two weeks, and resist poking at them. We would remind you that a healthy, pest-free mother matters more than any product, and that the difference between gel, powder, and liquid hormone is trivial next to keeping things clean and humid. We sell the domes, mats, and hormone, and we will still tell you the technique is what matters. We don't upsell.
Frequently asked questions
How do you clone cannabis?
Take a cutting from a healthy plant in the vegetative stage and root it. Sterilize a sharp blade, then cut a three-to-four-inch shoot with two or three nodes at a 45-degree angle just below a node, working quickly so no air enters the stem. Remove the lower leaves so a node is bare, trim the tips of the upper leaves to reduce water loss, and dip the cut end in rooting hormone. Insert the cutting into a pre-moistened rooting medium such as a rockwool cube, peat plug, or coco plug, or into an aeroponic cloner, so the bare node is buried, and cover it with a humidity dome. Keep humidity at 70 to 90 percent, temperatures around 72 to 75 F, and light gentle, and roots typically form in about 7 to 14 days, after which you harden off and transplant.
When should I take clones?
Take clones from a healthy, vigorous plant while it is in the vegetative stage, not while it is flowering, stressed, or very young. If you keep a dedicated mother plant permanently in veg, you can take cuttings from it whenever you want a new batch. If you do not keep a mother, take your cuttings from a plant before you flip it to flower, since a flowering plant is a poor and unreliable clone source. For the best results, water the mother thoroughly about 24 hours beforehand so it is fully hydrated, and take the cuttings early in the morning when the plant holds the most water. Always make sure the mother is free of pests and disease first, because clones inherit whatever the mother is carrying.
Do you need rooting hormone to clone cannabis?
You do not strictly need it, since cuttings can sometimes root without it, but using it meaningfully improves your success rate and speed, so it is standard practice. Rooting hormones contain auxins such as IBA or NAA that stimulate new root formation, and peer-reviewed work on cannabis cuttings shows that a synthetic auxin like IBA raises the rooting success rate, speeds up rooting, and increases the number of roots. It comes in gel, liquid, and powder forms, and the differences between them are minor compared with the effect of a clean, sharp blade and good humidity, so any quality product will do. Since rooting hormone is inexpensive and clearly helpful, there is little reason to skip it, though clean technique and a humid environment still matter more than the hormone alone.
How long do cannabis clones take to root?
Under good conditions, cannabis clones usually root in about 7 to 14 days, though some root a little faster and others take up to three weeks. The speed depends heavily on the environment and method: warm temperatures around 72 to 75 F, high humidity of 70 to 90 percent, gentle light, rooting hormone, and a healthy cutting all shorten the time, while cold, dry, or overly bright conditions lengthen it. An aeroponic cloner often roots cuttings a few days faster than plugs. You will know a clone has rooted when roots become visible emerging from the plug, cube, or medium. Resist the urge to tug on cuttings to check for roots, as this disturbs them and slows rooting; simply hold the environment steady and be patient through the first couple of weeks.
What humidity and temperature do clones need?
Clones need high humidity, in the range of 70 to 90 percent, because a fresh cutting has no roots and absorbs water through its leaves rather than from the medium, which is why a humidity dome is essential and misting helps if it drops. Keep temperatures warm but not hot, around 72 to 75 F in the air, and be careful not to overheat the root zone, since the medium should stay a little cooler; a heat mat can gently warm the base without cooking it. Give cuttings low, gentle light rather than intense grow-light output, since strong light stresses a rootless cutting, with a soft fluorescent or LED on roughly an 18-hour cycle being ideal. As roots begin to form, gradually harden the clones off by venting the dome to lower the humidity so the new roots take over drinking.
Can you clone cannabis in water?
Yes, you can root cuttings in a simple glass of water, and some growers do, but it is generally slower and less reliable than using a rooting medium or a cloner. Plain water holds relatively little oxygen, which roots need, and the roots that form in water can be fragile and sometimes struggle when transplanted into a solid medium. A moist rooting plug or cube, or an aeroponic cloner that mists the stem with oxygen-rich water, tends to give faster, sturdier roots and a smoother transition to your growing medium. If you do clone in water, change the water regularly to keep it fresh and oxygenated, keep the humidity around the cutting high, and transplant carefully once roots appear. For most growers, a tray of plugs under a humidity dome is a more dependable and equally simple choice.
Can you take clones from a flowering plant?
It is possible but not recommended for beginners. Taking a cutting from a flowering plant, sometimes called monster cropping, forces the cutting to revert from flowering back to vegetative growth, which stresses it, makes rooting slower and less reliable, and produces unusual bushy growth. Because flowering cuttings root poorly compared with vegetative ones and the process is unpredictable, the standard advice is to take clones only from plants in the vegetative stage. If you have only a flowering plant and want to preserve its genetics, you can attempt it, expecting a lower success rate and a longer, more awkward transition, but the reliable approach is to always keep a plant, or a dedicated mother, in veg as your clone source so you never have to clone from flower.
Whether you are cloning one prized plant or running a perpetual garden from a mother, the domes, heat mats, rooting hormone, and plugs that make cloning reliable live in our catalog, and our team is glad to help you set up a simple, clean propagation station. Cloning is easier than it looks once you keep things sterile and humid, so pair this with our guides to starting from seed, troubleshooting clones that will not root, gentle lighting for young plants, and the full week-by-week grow guide. Because, as always, we don't upsell.
For informational and educational purposes only. This article is general horticultural guidance and is not legal advice. Cannabis cultivation laws vary by country, state and locality, and growing cannabis may be illegal where you live. Always understand and comply with the laws and regulations that apply to you before growing any cannabis plant.