“Clone”, “cuts”, “babies”, it can all get confusing pretty quick if you’re a first-time cultivator of cannabis — be it for medical or recreational purposes. But we’re here to give you the scoop.

Marijuana Clones

In most reputable scenarios, a clone is a starter plant of true and tested genetics that will taste and yield within the standard range of whatever strain you select. When purchasing from a dispensary, who in turn purchase from reputable suppliers like Dark Heart, King Klone, or Purple City Genetics, you’re eliminating the chance of getting a bad phenotype.

When growing from seed, which is super important, too, for a healthy genetic diversity across the cannabis genome as a whole, you’re basically buying a genetic lottery ticket. You know your pot will be generally like its parents but there is still a bit of mystery to whether mom or dad will be more dominant. This can be a major factor in things like flavor and the yield of bud you’ll get in the end. This is why when searching for phenotypes of a particular cross, master growers can pop hundreds of seeds of the same strain.

“But I don’t want the same pot as everybody else,” you say.

Not to worry, think of the clone as the first ingredient to your masterpiece. The same clones cut from the same mother plant can come out very unique depending on the style of growing — whether it be indoor or outdoor. When looking for an example of unique end-results, look to the Candyland from King Klone which won the 2015 Humboldt Indoor Cup. Or when Purple City Genetics’ Girl Scout Cookies won The High Times NorCal Cup. These wins proved that the publically available genetics could be taken all the way to the top, but only in the right hands.

If you’re only doing a few plants and don’t want to risk any boys or bad phenotypes from your seeds, clones are the way to go for you.