Cloning Collar

What Does Cloning Collar Mean?

Cloning collars are small discs that are usually made from neoprene or a similar closed cell sponge material. They are used to support plant cuttings that are being grown hydroponically.

The cloning collar makes the use of growing medium unnecessary because the collar offers the same support that soil or some other substrate would afford the cutting.

Maximum Yield Explains Cloning Collar

A cloning collar keeps the cutting upright and stable while it develops a strong root system. Once the cutting has gained significant root growth, the cloning collar is easily removed so the cutting can be transferred to a main growing system.

Hydroponic cloning collars are designed to fit snugly into the net pots, which come with most propagators. Most brands of cloning collars have a slit in the spongy neoprene material where a tender cutting can be carefully inserted without the grower worrying about the cutting sustaining any damage to its fragile plant tissue.

Cloning collars are used in conjunction with cloner systems, or cloning domes. They are often sold as complete packages. Domes can hold any number of clones, from six all the way up to 48 or more. More recently, cloning collars are available in a variety of fun, bright colors so that growers can distinguish between strains, for example.

After a cutting reaches an adequate size, the plant is easily removed from the cloning collar by utilizing the slit in the cloning collar's material. Most cuttings will require the support of a cloning collar for approximately five to 10 days before being transferred to a main hydroponic growing system. Prior to transferring the cutting, the cloning collar is carefully removed from the cutting.