The most challenging aspect of growing from seed – determining the sex of your plants- is remedied by using feminized seeds. These types of seeds are guaranteed to be female and therefore produce sinsemilla weed.
Seeds are nature’s way of encouraging genetic diversity. Each seed represents a cross between a male and a female cannabis plant instead of a single plant. Seeds may be created at random, or carefully bred by growers.
Advantages of using clones
Yes. This is because clones are branches without roots, and the first thing they develop after being planted is a root system. Compared to seedlings, clones are weaker because they do not have a taproot that travels deeper into the soil, offering support, and reaching water and nutrients located deep within.
However, the downside is that some clones might produce “hermie plants.” Hermie is another name for hermaphrodite, meaning that the clone will produce both male and female parts. If this happens, do not clone using that mother plant again.
First of all, let’s start with a clarification. You can’t technically clone seeds ; you can clone the plants grown from feminized seeds, and there are very few reasons not to do so. Of course, when you look at clones vs seeds yield , you will find that the yields of a cloned plant will be smaller but, the cloned plant does not lose its potency. It also inherits all the best qualities of its mother plant.
Before we compare clones and seeds, let’s make one thing perfectly clear. We can’t overstate the importance of using good genetics. As we say so often, any good grow starts with great genetics. In our AG online seeds catalogue, you’ll find some of the best seeds in the world carrying all those great genes inside. Nonetheless, growing cannabis can also be done using clones.
This means cloned cannabis plants will probably not develop optimal root systems. And that’s a shame, considering that root volume equals yield volume. In contrast to seeds, clones need a shorter vegetation period. During that time they’ll also grow faster than plants from seeds, because the clone is not an infant, but has the same age as its mother. Again, this may seem advantageous at first, but such unnatural growth comes with drawbacks, too.
Cannabis Clones And Seeds
By taking clones you know your crop will consistently have the exact same grow characteristics, flavour profile, and overall phenotype as its mother. Unfortunately, clones also carry any flaws their mother’s DNA may contain. Clones can carry hidden genetic defects that may only express themselves months later while flowering. They can also carry diseases and vulnerabilities to pests and fungi inherited from the mother plant.
Some may find the genetic consistency of clones a good thing, but we know that most growers find the idea of clones unnatural and boring. After all, with all the wonderful variety available today, why stick to the same identical genetics when there’s so much more to explore? In contrast to clones, cannabis seeds from the same parents can each still have different tastes and grow characteristics. Perhaps that makes growing cannabis from seeds less predictable, but it does add to the excitement. Just like human siblings are not identical, neither is the natural offspring from cannabis plants. Let’s face it: if all your brothers and sisters were your exact identical copies, things would soon get boring at home, right?
Of course, you can’t see a plant’s genes from the outside; DNA is a code written in proteins, carried deep inside every cell of an organism. The genetic code represents traits expressed on the outside, be they broad or small leaves, big versus small buds, or any other property inherited from its parent(s). The totality of these traits make up the individual’s outward appearance. It is the sum total of all genetic traits included in its genotype. This expression of an individual plant’s genetics is known as its ‘phenotype‘.