There are a lot of methods for growing cannabis. However, cloning is beneficial for growers who want security in what they’re planting.
The process of cloning ensures the gender of the plant. Clones will always be genetically identical to their parent. Male cannabis plants have other uses such as pollinating female plants for seed production. But growers and enthusiasts also grow weed to produce buds for smoking. Growers can use feminized seeds so they can be sure that the plant they’re growing turns out female. But through cloning, growers could save up on seeds. All you need to do is to spend once on seeds to start.
Cloning’s main goal is to produce an exact copy of a plant with the genetics you prefer. Through the process, a parent’s characteristics, yield, and even THC profile get reproduced to its clone. This ensures that the cannabis plant that you prefer the most get produced again without altering anything that you loved about it.
However, cloning has its downsides too. As clones copy their mother’s good genetics, they also copy the bad genetics. If a mother plant attracts many bugs, its clone would attract many bugs too. In some cases, if a mother plant has a disease when it got cloned, the clone will also have the same disease.
Cloning doesn’t work with some strains. Other strains, like auto-flowers, do not have the time needed for cloning to be done. To top it off, cloning doesn’t promote weed strain diversity. It is a continuous process of growing the same plant over and over again. Some growers argue that it inhibits the plant to develop other characteristics as it only copies from the parent.