Propagation Supplies

The best way to germinate cannabis seeds and clone cannabis plants starts with having the right supplies. Sprouts, seedlings, and clones are sensitive and will benefit from the right conditions and climate. We recommend germination media (rooting pellets), seedling pots, a humidity dome, and rooting hormones as basic equipment. If you want to improve your germination and cloning times and success rates, we also recommend a Seedling Heat Mat and Controller. None of these products are very expensive. They are one-time purchases that will make germinating cannabis seeds or cloning cannabis plants fast and easy for many grows.

Equipment & Product Guide Menu
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GERMINATION SUPPLIES

The seedling stage is one of the most critical, and oftentimes challenging, stages of growth for home growers. The first step to successfully managing the seedling stage is ensuring that you have the proper supplies. Here, we offer a condensed list of products needed to germinate cannabis seeds and care for young seedlings. Many of these products can also be used in cloning practices. Please see our seedling tutorials for more information on germination protocols and how to care for seedlings in coco coir.

Germination Tutorial
Seedling Care Tutorial

Humidity Dome with Light

A humidity dome helps to create the ideal climate to grow sprouts, seedlings and clones. It is best to keep the humidity relatively high during the seedling stage. Having a dome like this also allows you to start one grow in the dome while the previous grow is still finishing up in the tent!

Super Sprouter Deluxe Propagation Kit
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I use this propagation kit to grow my sprouts and seedlings. It includes a light and 7” dome, which is perfect for the earliest stages of growth. The dome maintains high relative humidity, and I can set it up almost anywhere in the house. I keep plants in the dome until they are well established in their second (1/2 gallon) containers. I arrange additional CFL lights around the outside of the dome as the plants get bigger. They out-grow the dome during the third week from seed.

Seedling & Clone Heating Mat

Waterproof Seedling Heat Mat
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This is not a requirement, but a seedling heat mat provides the best environment to germinate seeds and root clones. Using heat will lead to faster germination and more vigorous root growth. If you do not use a heat mat, you can find other sources of heat to help germinate your seeds. Some growers place their germinating seeds on a cable TV box or other appliance that runs warm.

Heat Mat Controller
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A heat mat controller comes with a thermometer sensor that you place on the mat. You plug the mat into the controller, and the controller will turn it on and off to keep the temperature where you set it (85F/30C to germinate cannabis seeds).

Germination Media

Germination media is very helpful to give plants an easier experience for the first few days. It provides a good buffered media for the plants to start their lives.

Jiffy Pellets
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Jiffy Pellets are my preferred germination and cloning media. I sprout seeds in paper towels and transfer them to pellets within 36 hours as the seeds start growing their tails. I have found that this provides a better experience for the seedling as I can ensure the root goes down and the seed doesn’t become logged in the hole. When the root emerges through the Jiffy pellet, I place them in their seedling pots with coco.The kits linked for US and Canada come with trays that are very useful as little humidty domes. The best option available in the UK is a bag of 100 jiffy pellets - you'll have some growing to do - but it is a great deal!

Seedling Pots

Seedlings do best when they are started in small containers. This is true for both Autoflowers and Photo-period plants. To get the best growth, you should always keep the plant in an appropriately sized container.

Fabric Nursery Bags
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The best option for seedlings is fabric nursery bags. They provide a great environment for root development, and once you learn the trick, they are very easy for transplanting. To transplant, I cut the bottom open and slide the media into its second fabric pot. Nursery Bags are one-time use, but they cost only pennies each.The alternative is to use plastic "solo" cups with lots of holes punched into the bottom for drainage. However, we highly recommend the fabric nursery pots for the best growth.

Seedling Watering

How do you carefully apply water to plants in tiny containers? This is a problem that most new growers don't realize they have to solve until they get ready to water for the first time! In my opinion, the best tool for this particular job is a catheter syringe.

60ml Syringes
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These giant 60ml syringes are perfect for watering sprouts and seedlings. They allow you to precisely apply small quantities of nutrient solution without disturbing the plants. I continue using these to water plants until they are in final containers. After that, I often use these syringes to draw samples of run-off from the saucers for testing.
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CLONING SUPPLIES

One of the cool properties of cannabis plants is our ability to clone them. Vegetative propagation allow us to maintain our favorite cultivars and can be a central aspect to a grow operation. If you are interested in cloning, check out our cloning tutorial! Here, we offer a condensed list of the products that we recommend for cloning cannabis plants in addition to the products listed in the Germination section above.

See our Cloning Tutorial

Rooting Hormones

Rooting hormones encourage cuttings to produce roots. It is possible to clone without supplemental rooting hormones, but to increase speed and reliability, we recommend using the "double dip" method with both rooting gel and rooting powder.

Clonex Rooting Gel
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This is for the first dip. You take a fresh cutting and coat the bottom portion of it with this gel.

Rooting Powder
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This is for the second dip. After coating the bottom portion of the cutting with rooting gel, cover it in this powder. The gel helps the powder to stick, and the two products work together to stimulate the production of roots.

Pruning Snips

Cloning is not the only time that you will use these snips! 

Fiskars Non-Stick Softgrip Microtip Pruning Snips
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These Fiskars snips are really the best on the market, and every grower owes themselves a pair. We linked the non-stick version because that feature really helps when trimming up sticky, resinous colas. However, if their primary role is for cloning, you could save a little and get the regular version.

pH Meter

This is another product that you may already have. However, pH is important for clones, so if you don't have a way to measure and adjust, you will need to get one!

Apera Instruments pH20
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Dr Photon and I both use and recommend this Apera Instruments pH meter. It is easy to use, reliable and accurate. I have owned it for over a year now, and it has proven very consistent and rarely needs calibration. It also comes with small jars of calibration fluid, rather than powder. It is a great balance of quality and price for a pH meter for home cannabis grows!

pH Control Kit

You need to have a way to adjust the pH of your water and your nutrient solution. We recommend that you use products engineered for this task because they allow significant pH adjustment with very low doses and have minor impact on the EC of the nutrient solution.

General Hydroponics pH Control Kit 
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For the US and Canada, we have linked the General Hydroponics pH Control Kit. It comes with both pH up and down. It also includes a color test kit for measuring pH. This is all you need to start managing the pH of your nutrient solution. We recommend using a pH meter (see above) instead of the color test, but having the color test is great for periodic verification. The kit is not currently available in the UK.

Plant Sprayer

Plant sprayers are used to provide foliar treatments or to raise the relative humidity for seedlings and clones.

Pressure Sprayer
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Pressure sprayers are the best way to apply foliar treatments to plants. They create a very fine mist which distributes the foliar treatment properly and limits the formation of large droplets on the plant surfaces.
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About Our Product Recommendations

At Coco for Cannabis, our mission is to help growers maximize the success of their cannabis crops by providing scientifically accurate information and sharing proven growing practices.

The products that we recommend are the actual products that we chose to purchase and use ourselves. In a few cases, we recommend products that we would buy if we needed them. We do not accept advertising and will not recommend any product that we would not buy for ourselves. We offer this guide as a resource to growers.

We may receive a referral when you purchase products through this page. This is the main revenue stream that keeps Coco for Cannabis up and running! When you click through our links and make purchases you are supporting our work! As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Whether we receive a referral does not influence our recommendations. For example, when products are cheaper to buy locally, we’ll tell you that rather than just recommend a more expensive online option.

Disclaimer:

The information on cocoforcannabis.com should not be considered as financial, legal, or medical advice. You are responsible for knowing and following the local laws that pertain to cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. Decisions to grow cannabis should be made in consultation with a lawyer or qualified legal advisor. Decisions to use cannabis should be made in consultation with your doctor or medical professional.