Clone Care

Emerald Triangle regularly stocks clones for the outdoor growing season between Early May and Mid June.

Below is some information that can be helpful for growing plants from cloned genetic material.

EDUCATIONAL LINKS FOR CLONE CARE AND TRANSPLANT

It is important that you do your research about home growing of cloned cannabis starts. Clones are not ready for immediate transplant and must be conditioned before outdoor growing.

It is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that you synch your indoor light cycle with the natural outside light cycle before you move them outside. If you do not they will start to flower immediately, not grow, and could get very messed up never to recover. Our plants are under a 18/6 cycle, and you put them out in April when the natural light cycle is at 14/10 they will start to flower. Since the days are getting longer, the plant will get confused, try to go back into veg and not finish flowering. Going back and forth like this is REALLY bad for the plant. They may not grow again for months after this happens to them.

You will need to figure out what the length of the days are when you want to put your plants outside for your location. For example, you want to put them out on May 1st when the days are 15 hours long. Since our clones are under 24 hours of light , that means you need to reduce the light cycle by 9 hours before they go outside.

The natural light cycle changes by 15 minutes a week which is what you want to replicate. So, since I want to be at 15 hours of light indoor by May 1st, that means by the first week of February I need to start reducing the light cycle indoor by 15 minutes a week. If I start this in February I will be down to 15 hours by May 1st and the plants will not go into shock when I move them outside.

DO NOT RUSH THIS PROCESS OR YOU WILL REGRET IT. 

The fastest you can adjust plants is one hour a week but this is a little rough on them. For example I was gifted some clones early last summer when the days were 15 hours long and the clones had been grown under a 18/6 cycle. It is rough, but you could run light cycles for one week at 17/7, one week at 16/8, and one week at 15/9, then put them outside.

You need to be sure the plants are hardened off before they go outside too. Natural sunlight is far more powerful than even the best indoor grow light and you can scorch them if you are not careful. Always put your clones under shade cloth or something like that when you first put them outside so they can get used to the more intense light.

If the leaves feel "soft" at all they are not ready yet.

Transplanting Clones

Preparing for Transplanting

First, prepare your media. Some types of media require soaking, conditioning, or some other form of preparation. Popular amendments include organic fertilizer, oyster shell meal (for pH buffering), and various substances to improve soil structure.

Next, Fill your pots with your chosen media. Fill to 1 inch from lip of pot and gently tamp soil by pressing it down with your hand. By gently tamping you help ensure that air pockets have not developed in the pot; air pockets can dry out your roots and will negatively affect plant health. After tamping you should have 1 1/2 to 2 inches of space between the lip of the pot and the media. This space is important so that you do not overflow the pot while watering.

Pro Tip:

Some growers reduce “transplant shock” to their clones by soaking them in a vitamin and hormone solution. These products contain vitamins and hormones that are reported to minimize stress on growing plants. Soak clones for 15 minutes before
transplanting.

Clones Are Easy to Transplant:

First, Dig a small well in the media about twice the size of the soil cube (3 to 4 inches square). Place the clone  in well. The top of the cube should be level with the media. If the media level is above the cube it may come into contact with the stem. This can cause fungal disease.

The stem of the clone should be as vertical as possible. We find that having a vertical stem leads to superior growing results.

Next, fill in media around the clone’s cube. Be sure that the bottom and sides of the cube are in good contact with the media. The soil cube should be planted so that just the very top of the cube is exposed. If the cube becomes exposed through watering, gently pack some soil back around it. After several weeks the clone will be well enough rooted that this will not be an issue.

Finally, thoroughly water in in your newly transplanted clone. Thorough initial watering helps ensure there are no air pockets or dry spots in your media, and that the cube comes into good contact with it.

For the first week or two be sure to check the moisture of the actual soil cube. In some cases it is possible for the potting media to wick moisture away from the cube. In these cases the potting media would be moist, but the cube may be too dry to support the plant. If this happens pour about 1 cup of irrigation water onto the cube itself. Within two weeks the plant will develop a stronger root system, and this will not be an issue.

https://darkheartnursery.com/how-to/hardening-off-cannabis-clones/

Current Selection

Emerald Triangle begins it’s 2023 clone season the first week of May. Call the shop for our current offerings.

Clone sales are first come, first served. We do not hold clones for any amount of time for customers. NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES. All Clone sales are FINAL.