Taking cuttings

I just got my license for medical use. We are allowed to have 12 plants in any stage of growth and 42 grams of dried medicine. I am thinking of starting 12 seedlings of two different varieties. I will be using feminized seeds so I will have 12 plants. I will select the best for cloning until I have 6 cuttings growing vegetatively until the next batch is ready.

I just got my license for medical use. We are allowed to have 12 plants in any stage of growth and 42 grams of dried medicine. I am thinking of starting 12 seedlings of two different varieties. I will be using feminized seeds so I will have 12 plants. I will select the best for cloning until I have 6 cuttings growing vegetatively until the next batch is ready.

When should I take the cuttings?

Santos

Take the cuttings just as the plants go into flowering. If you took a cutting from each of the 12 plants you would be double the limit. If you took 6 cuttings you would have to discard 6 of the plants that are growing. Neither is a wonderful prospect.

One idea is to set up two separate sections in your garden, the cloning/vegetative section and the flowering space. Start all 12 plants in the vegetative section. After a month place one of the plants in the flowering room. Then each week place an additional plant in the room. Approximately 8 weeks after placing the first plant in the flowering section you will be harvesting it. At the same time you would be taking your first cutting.

The problem is that to stay within the limits you would have to take the cutting before you know how good the plant is, and if you have an exceptional plant among the first eight, which went into the flowering room without having a cutting taken. Instead, after you harvest the plant use regeneration to bring it back into vegetative growth. This takes about three weeks. Meanwhile you have a chance to evaluate the bud and yield. If you like the plant, let it continue in regenerate, if not destroy it. Do this for each plant as it matures. Eventually you will eliminate all but the best plants.

The regenerated plants can be placed back into flowering once they have grown a bit. Most varieties grow extensive branching when they are regenerated. Prune off the smaller weaker ones so the plant puts its energy into growing the remaining ones larger.

Once the plants regenerate, you can take clones from them to build up the numbers to replace plants that were eliminated. Once the population has stabilized, take a cutting for cloning from each plant as it goes into flowering.

If clones are available at dispensaries or patient self-help centers you may be able to purchase clones. This is a lot easier than maintaining your own clone center for several reasons. You don't have to worry whether your clone has rooted, you are able to try pre-selected plants of varieties that you are interested in trying, and it speeds up your garden.