This controversial topic of Seeds vs. Clones is discussed in this guide and explores the pros and cons of both traditional cannabis seeds and cannabis clones. So, which does Best Bud Seeds grow experts prefer? Read below for insider answers to whether seeds are better than clones, or vice versa.
What Are Cannabis Seeds?
Cannabis seeds are just what they sound like: seeds from a cannabis plant. Like other flowering plants, female cannabis plants can produce seeds that feature a variation of their own genetics. These ovular, peppercorn-sized seeds can be planted and grown into fully mature marijuana plants.
Cannabis seeds are simply seeds that germinate into cannabis plants and eventually flower to get cannabis buds for various applications. The cannabis seeds come in various forms such as; Feminized. Regular. Autoflowering and more.
What Are Cannabis Clones?
Cloning cannabis is a method of marijuana reproduction that produces a genetically identical plant to the mother plant where the clone came from. The goal of cloning cannabis cuttings is to promote fast and robust root growth while preserving the plant’s genetics.
Cannabis clones are cuttings from a live cannabis plant, which growers call the clone’s mother plant. Cannabis clones share the exact same genetics as their mother plant, hence the name “clones.” When planted and carefully tended, a clone can be grown into a fully mature marijuana plant that is genetically the same as its mother plant.
Cannabis Seed Pros
Seeds Are Easy To Obtain
One of the best things about cannabis seeds is how easy they are to get. You can order seeds online straight from seed banks (like Best Bud Seeds) and have them sent discreetly to your home in the mail. You can also pick up seeds at dispensaries and local retail stores more common now. In the long run, seeds are much cheaper to obtain as well since they don’t require any special shipping or transportation.
Seeds Are Safer and Offer Fresh Genetics
When you grow a seed, you’re getting its genetics and no garbage. When a seed hasn’t been exposed to a poor growing environment, molding, pesticides, or diseases – it simply thrives. If you grow with clones, that may not always be the case. Compared to clones, seeds offer more of a blank slate and a fresh start, makes growing an easier task.
Feminized Seeds Are An Option
Before feminized seeds existed, growers had to spend a lot of time separating their female and male cannabis plants. Males are great for breeding, but they can be detrimental to your flower yield if they pollinate your female plants.
Today, however, you can get feminized seeds that have a 99% chance of producing all female cannabis plants. This takes worrying about male plants out of the equation, making using seeds to grow easier than ever before. Also, it creates a higher yield since every plant in your feminized crop will be producing. Autoflowering is also a way to grow cannabis from seed, but we don’t recommend autoflower cannabis seeds since they can be temperamental.
Cost Efficient
Seeds are cheaper than clones by a landslide. Not only are seeds more cost effective than clones for the grower, but they are cost effective for resources as well. Clones are created from a living cannabis plant therefore it takes a lot of water, fertilizer, and soil to keep clones in a vegetative state. Seeds take less resources making it cheaper by default.
Cannabis Seed Cons
Seeds May Not Germinate
Before you can grow marijuana seeds, you need them to germinate. Germination is the process of activating a seed that’s been dormant for a while so that it will sprout and start the growing process. To germinate cannabis seeds, you need to expose them to the right level of moisture and warmth. See our Germination Guide for instructions on how to germinate cannabis seeds the right way.
Germinating marijuana seeds isn’t a difficult task, but keep in mind that almost a ¼ of your cannabis seed batch will not germinate.
Seeds Take Longer
Seeds take longer to grow into a fully mature plant compared to clones because seeds need to go through every step of the growing process. There are four stages of this process: germination, seedling, vegetative, and flowering. As mentioned above, rooted clones start from the vegetative state, but seeds start from scratch. The germination and seedling stages take an average of three weeks, which adds some time to your grow.
Seeds Always Have Genetic Variation
Seeds have similar genetics to their parent plants, but they always have their own unique genetic code. So, even if you grow a crop of new plants using seeds that are all from the same mother plant, these sibling plants won’t be exactly the same.
Cannabis Clone Pros
Clones Always Have Expected Genetics
Many would say that the biggest advantage of clones is that they have an exact copy of their mother plant’s genetics. So, assuming you like the mother plant’s genetics, you’ll be happy with the genetics of the cloned plant. There’s no genetic rolling of the dice with a clone, so clones produce more consistent results in terms of cannabinoids and terpenes. This is great if you’re looking for uniform results from a crop. It’s also ideal if you want to grow something specific, like a cannabis strain with a certain THC to CBD ratio or a particular flavor profile.
Clones From Mother Plants Will Always Be Female
With cloned plants, you can rest easy knowing that they’ll always be female plants. They’re exact genetic copies of their mother, so there’s no chance they’ll be male.
Clones Are Faster
A lot of cannabis growers prefer clones over seeds because they speed up the growing process. If you’re growing from a seed, you have to germinate it and nurture it into a seedling before it hits its vegetative state. Clones, on the other hand, start in a vegetative state. On average, this head start reduces a plant’s growing time by three weeks.
Cannabis Clone Cons
Clones Can Be Hard To Find
Not everyone can get their hands-on high-quality cannabis clones, which are definitely harder to find than high quality cannabis seeds. Clones are living cuttings that are cut from live marijuana plants, which are highly regulated. In certain areas where home growing is legal, you may be able to buy clones from a dispensary. But if you don’t have a legal dispensary that sells clones near you, finding any clones—let alone high-quality clones—isn’t worth the effort.
Cloned Plants Are Delicate
A rooted clone clipping is less delicate than a freshly sprouted seedling, but adult clones are not as hardy as adult cannabis plants that grew from a seed. This is because clones never grow a taproot. When a cannabis seed sprouts and starts growing, its first growths create a taproot that grows straight downward. Over time, the plant will continue to grow fibrous roots, also called secondary roots or lateral roots, off of the plant’s large central taproot.
Cannabis clones don’t grow tap roots. Instead, they grow adventitious root systems. These fibrous roots lack a strong central taproot, making clones less hardy and more fragile compared to marijuana plants that grew from seeds.
Clones Are Ticking Time Bombs For Disease And Pests
Perhaps the biggest downside of cannabis clones is that they can come with negative traits from their mother plant. If a clone’s mother plant was harboring pests, diseases, or mildew, the clone will have them too. And if the mother had any genetic issues, the clone will have them as well, since it’s an exact genetic copy of the mother.
Genetic issues are usually just disappointing, but pests and pathogens have the potential to ruin every other plant in your garden. This makes vetting where you buy your clones from very important. Additionally, when you get clones from an outside source, you may want to consider quarantining them for a period of time before you allow them into the same space as your other plants, for safe growing.
Conclusion
Cannabis Seeds are hands down the better way to grow cultivate cannabis. Clones serve their purpose for a few reasons, but professionals at Best Bud Seeds prefer growing from seed much more due to the benefits above. If you’re looking for Regular, Feminized, High CBD, High THC, and New Cross Bred Strains to try then order your seeds from us today.