Truth or Myth: Can You Clone Autoflower Plants
Yes, autoflower plants can be cloned through the process of taking cuttings and rooting them. The complexity of cloning an autoflowering cannabis plant demands thorough comprehension of what autoflowering strains are, their mode of operation, and distinguishing features that set them apart from conventional strains. This is a crucial step in comprehending the cloning process…
Understanding Autoflowering Cannabis Strains
Autoflowering cannabis strains are distinct variety of plants that exhibit an autonomous transition from vegetative stage to flowering phase, negating requirement of any modifications to weed cultivation environment.
The plant commences producing buds as it matures, unaffected by lighting conditions.
In stark contrast, photoperiod strains – or conventional strains – necessitate at least twelve hours of darkness per day to trigger flowering.
Cultivating these strains outdoors involves planting them during spring to synchronize with sun schedule, ensuring timely harvest before winter sets in.
Autoflowering strains, on the other hand, merely necessitate prolonged period of warm weather to flourish.
The time zone and season are not critical factors, particularly in regions that experience moderate weather conditions throughout the year.
Autoflowering plants only require twelve hours of direct indoor lighting after budding to thrive, and after ten weeks, they are ready for harvest.
While this attribute represents a significant advantage for growers seeking to hasten their harvest, unique budding schedule of autoflowering strains presents challenges when it comes to cloning
In the following section, we delve deeper into this subject.
Essence of Cloning
Cloning cannabis plants involves propagation of new plant from cutting of original, vegetative cannabis plant.
This cutting is then placed in the preferred growing medium, with many cultivators opting to enhance the process by utilizing rooting hormone gel or powder.
In approximately ten days, cutting commences formation of its root system, soon after which it begins to grow into a distinct plant.
Clone’s characteristics are virtually indistinguishable from its parent plant.
Cloning presents a convenient alternative to growing plants from seeds, particularly for cultivators seeking to reproduce the same strain.
Elimination of delicate seedling stage is significant advantage, and clone’s femininity is guaranteed if cutting was taken from female plant.
Benefits of Autoflowering Cannabis
Autoflower marijuana seeds offer a host of advantages, including abbreviated growth and flowering cycle, ability to yield multiple harvests within a single year, and ease of seed production.
However, these strains are widely acknowledged to perform poorly when cloned.
Clones are exact genetic replicas of the mother plant, inclusive of age.
Photoperiod strains tend to thrive when cloned because alteration in an environment that triggers flowering provides sufficient time for growth and maturation.
Unfortunately, autoflowering clones are subjected to the same aging process as their mother, as they are not dependent on light.
This means that clone’s growth is limited, resulting in stunted development and insufficient yields of buds.
The Mystery of Autoflowering Cloning
Unpredictable nature of autoflowering plants, where it’s hard to determine exactly when they will enter the flowering phase, has made the process of cloning a challenging task.
Despite difficulties, some growers still believe in the possibility of cloning autoflowering plants, with some even claiming to have achieved successful results.
However, it’s unlikely that clone will yield a bountiful harvest.
The reason being that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to revert plant back to its vegetative state once it has matured.
Attempting to grow cloned, already-matured plant would prove to be a difficult feat.
So, to answer the question, it’s technically possible to clone autoflowering plants.
But, is it a good idea? The answer is not straightforward.
If the plant is cloned before its sex is revealed, there’s a chance it could work out.
But, that’s a small window of opportunity.
The most you can hope for is a small plant with few buds
If that’s acceptable to you, then go ahead and give cloning an autoflowering strain shot!
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