Every experienced grower loves to take cuttings (also known as ‘clones’) to generate more plants with the same characteristics. And, of course, there’s no better gift you can give to any fellow grower than good genetics.

But are all cuttings really equal? And can you take a cutting from a cutting from a cutting forever?

Jeff Winterborne, our resident propagation expert, reveals all!

Why take cuttings?

To the experienced gardener this might seem like a daft question, but it’s definitely worth a closer look. We take cuttings to generate more plants. It’s possible to make hundreds of new plants from one large “mother plant.” Many advantages are apparent when choosing to take cuttings to generate new plant stock in this way. The main benefits are that the clones taken from the plant are almost exactly that– clones, i.e. the cutting that you take from the mother plant will have almost identical characteristics, so quality, size, yield, taste, sex, and vigor (to name a few traits) are passed down to the clones. Therefore, all the important factors are already known as they follow the attributes that the mother carries. As the characteristics are already known, the cuttings will also have these same traits and grow to a similar shape, size, so on and so forth. So in effect, the space in your greenhouse or grow room can be more efficiently utilized. The other very big benefit is that no further cost apart from sundry equipment is needed, meaning that you do not need to make another outlay on purchasing the seeds, as new plants can be generated from the existing stock of plants. Many new plants can be grown from your original stock for an absolute minimal cost.

Which parts of the mother plant can I use to make a cutting?

Any part of the plant can be used as a cutting, as long as it encompasses a growing tip. However, some parts of the mother plant produce easier rooting clones than others. It is widely believed that the main centre head of the plants and the very top arm tips make for easier rooting cuttings and therefore better cuttings. This is rightly believed due to the fact that these parts of the plants have a higher concentration of auxins (which are growth hormones) compared to the lower canopy of the plants, and therefore make for better clones that are more likely to root. Now, although the science here is correct, the science of nature is a completely different ball game. Through personal experience, although the tops of the plant are very easily rooted, the lower canopy side branches have more vigor once rooted than their counterparts from the top.

The reasons for this may be many, but an obvious one is that the lower canopy (compared to the upper canopy) has had it hard. The lower canopy is struggling for existence, therefore is working hard to survive compared to the tops, which have got it very easy – “completely pampered” is somewhat of an understatement. So, when you take cuttings from the lower canopy, these cuttings have within them the “motivation” gained via struggle and, when given an opportunity to become fully fledged plants themselves, they literally fly out of the starting blocks and continue to exhibit this inherent motivation throughout their whole existence.

Clones taken from the tops of the plant, which at first make a better cutting, have however inherited a type of “laziness” and lack of motivation that the lower canopy cuttings do not possess. So with all the above in mind, if you could extrapolate this over the course of a few generations, you would obviously only be taking the cuttings from the best of the stock plants. Then in turn, the very best of those cuttings would become the new stock plants, and through taking cuttings from the cream of those stock plants, you would, before you know it, two to three generations later, have the best of the best of the best, all with turbocharged motivation and momentum for their survival. The end result would be supercharged stock plants – truly professional specimens that any grower would sell their mother-in-law for!

Can the cutting from a cutting cycle go on forever?

This is a controversial area. If you’ve studied plant biology you may have been taught that a clone is a 100% genetic copy. So surely it follows that a copy of a copy of a copy is going to be the same as the original – right?

Wrong. If you speak to many growers who take cuttings to reproduce annual plants (rather than pollination and seeding), they will tell you, from their experience, that plant genetics actually degrade over time. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that the genetics diversify, or even malfunction. As a rule of thumb you should take the best cutting from the plant you’ve grown from seed, grow that cutting up, take the best cutting from that cutting, and take the best cutting from that. Make this your mother plant. If you look after it, it should give you two years’ worth of happy cuttings. After three to four years, however, your genetics will probably become “tired.” Vigor, yield and harvest quality will decrease significantly. Cuttings taken from a tired mother are also more prone to pests and disease. Typically the same applies to clones taken from clones once you get past four generations. However, it must be stated that, depending on the genetics of your seeds in the first place, which will dictate the longevity of your mothers or clones, some genomes can withstand more than others. For example, some species will allow possibly six to eight generations of clones from clones before genetic diversification sets in, while others can break down after one or two generations. In fact, some genomes or breeds or even types of breed do not make for good mothers or clones … period.

Urban Garden Magazine would like to issue its heartfelt thanks to Jeff Winterborne for kindly permitting us to adapt and print this excerpt from his book:  “Hydroponics: Indoor Horticulture.”  When Everest first read this book he wanted to hug the author.  Finally somebody had organized all the facts for the indoor hydro grower into plain English!

ISBN: 0-9550112-0-5
For more information visit www.hydroponicist.com

Do you agree or disagree with Jeff?  Have you experienced ‘lazy cuttings’?  Tell us about it below!