How small can I clone?

[Rick Sanchez]

Hi,
I just did a grow with clones and I'm on my third week of flowering with a pack of blackjack seeds coming in the mail, if I plant 3 blackjack seeds can I cut a clone from one of my current plants and grow it with the blackjack? how small of a clone can I cut because I want it to be the same age as the seedlings?

[Newf]

Your clone is essentially the same age as the plant you take it from just smaller. If you try to clone from a flowering plant, the clone will be in the flowering stage and will not take root as easily. Make sure to remove any early bud formation. It can revert with a new light cycle if you take it before the last few weeks of flowering, but there will be a lot of stress in pushing it back into vegetative stage. (I don't think autos can be forced back because they are not photoperiod sensitive). Even a clone from a vegetative plant will be much more mature than a seedling of similar size. It will usually outgrow the seedlings. The following is a direct quote from the GWE tutorial on cloning. "New cuttings should be 5-8 inches (10-20 cm) long. When possible, take clones from vigorous growth tips from the lower half of your plant, as they have more rooting hormones than branches toward the top and will grow roots faster. However, clones taken from any part of the plant will work as long as they have a nice growth tip at the end.."

[Rick Sanchez]

I might be able to cut it at 8 inches revert it back to veg then keep cutting it down to 8 inches until all the other plants are also 8 inches tall, will that help make them all go through the same stages and be in the same size? Is it better to grow all of the same strain?