Cannabis plants are now becoming very popular. As growers try to meet the demands of the market, several methods to stay ahead of the competition have been created. One of them includes making taleae.
Making taleae is not as complicated as you think. With a vigorous mother plant, a suitable cloning method, and the right equipment, you can make taleae. This article will help you when you're about to start, so keep it handy. Cheers!
What Is a Talea?
Making taleae is the act of creating genetic and identical copies of plants. For cannabis, this is done by cutting a branch or stem from a growing cannabis plant. Once they grow roots, these snipped tree parts turn into plants with the same genes as their mother plant.The length of a typical clone is six inches. After it has been removed from the mother plant, hormones are given to encourage root growth. The clone can be placed in a medium such as a root cube and then transplanted into a pot or the ground.
Why Is Making Cannabis Taleae Important?
Using clones instead of seeds can cut over a month of your production time, skipping the parts of seed germination and seedling formation. Moreover taleae are identical replicas of their mother plant and are generally constant in terms of cannabinoids and other secondary metabolites composition.
Tools You Need to Make Taleae
- A healthy and sturdy mother plant;
- Sterilized scalpel, scissors, or razor;
- Started cubes;
- Cloning gel or powder;
- Special lighting for your clones (mostly mild);
- High-grade alcohol to clean your tools;
- propagator(optional).
How to Make Taleae
- Choose your medium
Your rooting medium must be well-aerated and retain some moisture. For best results, choose Rockwool cubes.
Rockwool cubes create room for aeration and also retain moisture for a long time. It would help if you also got a plastic tray. These trays will hold the Rockwool tubes and help keep some water. You can also get a dome or propagator to maintain the humidity around your clones.
- Get your tools ready
Cleanliness is an essential factor when it comes to making taleae. Wash your hands, and use gloves to handle your plants. It would be best to disinfect your cutting tools and work area with alcohol before starting.
- Pick the mother plant you wish to cut from
You can take your cuttings from vegging or a flowering cannabis plant. Cuttings taken from flowering plants take time to root and also have a slow growth process. After taking your clones, you may need to bring them back to veg for two to three weeks before you can turn them into flowers again.
- Take the cut
This should be done at 45⁰ angle below the last node of your cutting. Doing this will increase the area of the rooting surface and help your clone develop more roots and grow more quickly.
Dip the cut into your rooting gel and stick it straight into your medium. Once in place, gently remove your clone's bottom leaves. Leave only the top fan leaves and growing tip intact.
- Place your clone in a dome
Once your clone has been placed in a medium, putting them in a dome is the next step. The dome provides the humidity required by your clone to grow. Aside from this, keep your clones on an 18/6 light cycle (18 hours on, 6 hours off) under low-power fluorescent lamps.
- Transplant
Your clones should be ready for replanting in 10-14 days. Sometimes it might take longer. You'll know when they're ready when the white roots are an inch or two in length.
Can I Make a Talea Without Using a Rooting Agent?
Yes, making a talea without using a rooting gel or any rooting hormone is possible: the roots will grow naturally. Hormones can just speed up the process.
What Are Cannabis Mother Plants?
With mother plants, you can be assured of genetic consistency. Each of the clones taken will have the same effects, characteristics, taste, and flavour as the mother plants. If the condition stay consistent, the clones will grow at the same rate and produce the same quality product.
The mother plants are kept in a vegetative stage to ensure that clones can be regularly taken for starting new cannabis crops. If appropriately maintained, mother plants can last for years.
How Can I Take Care of My Cannabis Clones?
- Create the right environment
Clones do well in temperatures ranging from 23-25⁰C. Relative humidity should also be between 75-85%.
- Water your clones
Your young clones do not have roots, and watering their medium won't do much. Instead, spray water on the leaves of your clones a couple of times per day. You can moisten your medium if you notice it's getting dry. Don't soak it or water it like your regular plant.
- Get the proper lighting for your cannabis clones
Clones are very fragile and will burn under strong grow lights or direct sunlight. Instead, keep them under compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. Place these bulbs roughly 10cm away from the young plants.
Clones require some level of darkness for their roots to form. Some growers may use different light cycles for their clones, but we recommend sticking to an 18/6 vegetative cycle.
FAQs for Making Taleae
Why are my cannabis clones turning yellow?
Yellowing is fine. Your clones will naturally yellow over time as they continue using the nutrients stored in their leaves. However, if you notice that your clones are turning yellow before they can develop roots, it could be due to the high humidity or temperature.
Why are my cannabis clones drooping?
Your young cuttings will naturally wilt after being taken from a mother plant. It's just your plant's response to the stress. Once it starts to grow roots, it will spring back up and reach for sunlight.
Can cannabis clones turn male?
Nope. Female cannabis clones do not change to male. However, they can turn hermaphrodites. This may happen due to stress or genetics.
How do I make cannabis clones root faster?
Unfortunately, there's no natural way to quicken the process. It will take some time for cannabis clones to grow roots. They can develop strong roots if you create an enabling environment. Nevertheless you can always add some rooting hormones to speed up the roots formation.
Can I make male cannabis clones?
Yes! All young male and female cuttings will turn into new plants when adequately catered for.
