Seed Vs. Clone
Seed Vs. Clone
Deciding your Grow-Op's origin story has a series of effects on the timeline, the success rate, and even the energy input required. Below we'll outline the positives and negatives of both options. Propagating from seed vs. planting female clones.
While growing from a seed is how Marijuana always begins, you have the option to grow from clones and shorten the grow cycle by 3-4 weeks and remove the risk of ending up with a male plant (which do not produce bud/flowers and will ruin a grow).
Always check your local State/city laws before inquiring about purchasing cannabis/hemp seeds or clones. Ensure you are legally compliant in your Country/State and city
Should I start with clones or seeds?
Clones will be more uniform than seedlings as they are genetic copies of the parent plant they were trimmed from. If you took 12 clones off a mother plant and grew them together they would look identical. As seedlings each come from their own seed, they have differing genetic properties, and will differ plant by plant.
As clones are directly trimmed from a successful plant, they are likely to have higher quality along with their consistency. Seedlings will vary plant by plant, and some will perform worse than others, demonstrated in the image above.
Starting with Female Clones
We strongly recommend beginning with female clones from a verified source like a dispensary or grow operation- as this reduces grow time, ensures feminized plants, and increases likelihood of quality.
Positives: Clones are already 3-4 weeks ahead of a seedling and should have favorable quality characteristics. Time is money and if you can save time every cycle from starting from a clone you can have more harvest per year which means more weed.
Examples of favorable qualities:
Quick growth (vigor),
Female plants
Drought resistance
Tolerate high amounts of fertilizer (EC) in substrate
Tolerate high light intensities (PAR)
Resistance to pathogens
Dense flowers
High yielding flowers
Rich terpene profile & second metabolites.
Rich cannabinoid profile
Negatives: There are some negative aspects from obtaining clones if not from a quality source.
Examples of Unfavorable qualities:
Pest or pathogen contamination
In order to avoid purchasing new clones after every cycle you must have mother plants to obtain clones from. You will need to have a separate tent to maintain. There will be additional costs, labor and time.
Acquiring Female Clones
By contacting local dispensaries and caregivers, you'll often be able to find a spot nearby to legally buy and acquire clones. Once acquired, you can start the growing process as soon as you get home! We strongly recommend having your tent and all items set up prior to obtaining clones, so you are able to transplant as soon as possible.
Time Expectation: It’s as easy as picking up rooted clones and transplanting them into your tent when you get home.
Cost: Varies on location, genetic, availability, and source.
Propagating from Seed
Negatives
Seedlings take about 3-4 weeks to become the size of a starter clone
Additional grow time can lead to less harvests per year.
Seedlings are more sensitive and need special attention
Phenotype differences
Less consistency
Some seedlings will grow much faster than others showing how diverse seedlings truly can be. This is expressed as having the same genotype but a different phenotype. The genetics may be the same (genotype) being offspring of the same parents, but the way they look (phenotype) will be different. This creates inconsistency within your grow, and is another reason why clones are favorable for providing more consistency in your garden.
Positives
If you decide that you would like to start with seeds, here are some of the benefits:
Seeds are generally cheaper
Easy to obtain online or locally
Less likely to have pathogens or pests
Easy to propagate
Sexing the Plants
The main risk associated with growing from seed is that you can't influence the gender of each seed. The males need to be removed as soon as they are discovered as they will not produce flowers, and can also fertilize female plants creating flowers with seeds. We want sinsemilla “without seed”. For users who are not breeders, there is no point in growing a male plant.
To determine if they are male, you will look at the internodes of the plant. Distinctively males will create pollen sacs while female plants will have 2 white hairs in the same exact spot called “stigmas”.
If you do decide to start from seed we highly recommend using feminized seeds. If you want to eliminate the chance of males being in your grow, stick with “feminized seed”. This will ensure female plants that will produce flowers.
Acquiring Seeds
Always check your local State/city laws before inquiring about purchasing cannabis/hemp seeds. Ensure you are legally compliant in your Country/State and city
State laws (US): Are cannabis seeds legal to purchase from a local or online distributor? The answer is found in the composition of the seeds themselves. When they aren't germinated, cannabis seeds are not considered drugs, but as adult novelty mementos. You can own any type of collector's items you would like. A plant with a THC content greater than 0.3% is, necessarily, “cannabis” and does not currently fall within the purview of the Seed Law.
State laws (Canada): Every province has its own unique rules on where to buy cannabis. You can also buy weed seeds from online dispensaries in Canada. Those who stay in remote areas can order marijuana seeds online. All Canadian provinces and territories run online stores where people of legal age can buy weed seeds legally.
Understand what type of strains you are interested in (a few things to note below)
THC percentage:
It's what makes people feel "high." This can be compared to the strength of the flower when consumed.
Effects of certain strains:
Different strains of cannabis produce different effects and thus can be used for different reasons.
Ex: Head high, body high or you are looking to solve a medical diagnosis.
Terpene/ flavonoids:
Terpenes are aromatic compounds that create the characteristic scent of many plants. Flavonoids contribute to the aroma/ flavor of cannabis and have their own therapeutic effects.
Cannabis appearance:
Different strains of cannabis may have different growing characteristics. Indica varieties will have less vertical height compared to Sativa varieties whose natural form is much taller.
Flower time:
The number of days when a plant is estimated to finish flowering. This will range from 8 weeks to 14 weeks of flowering.
Searching local/online:
Once you have a rough understanding of what strains interest you, you are ready to visit different distributors. Down below we have a few popular distributors you may be interested in. We suggest reviewing the photos and descriptions of multiple strains to see what's best for you.
List of our top 10 seed companies for quality genetics:
Exotic Genetix
DNA Genetics
Jungle Boys
Brothers Grimm Genetics
Grandiflora Genetics
Green Bodhi
Cannarado
Compound Genetics
Sirius Seeds
Dark Horse Genetics
