What is an elite clone?

In the world of cannabis breeding and cultivation, a elite clone (or elite clone) designates an exceptional phenotype of a variety that exists only as a clone - never reproduced from seed - and circulates in the growing community as a genetic reference.

Unlike commercial varieties available as seeds in banks, elite clones can't be bought: they can be found, exchanged and passed on. Each «cut» has its own history, often its own myths, and a network of guardians who have been preserving it for years or decades.

What makes a clone «elite»?

A clone is considered elite when it displays an exceptional combination of characteristics that sets it apart from all other genetic expressions of the same variety. These characteristics can be :

Aromatic profile A particularly intense dominant terpene or a unique aromatic combination that phenotypes derived from seeds of the same variety rarely or never reproduce.

Potency and cannabinoid profile a concentration of THC or in terpenes exceptional for the variety, often superior to what commercially available seeds produce.

Cultivation characteristics : yield, disease resistance, ease of cultivation, flower density, flowering time - some cuts are preserved solely for their ease of cultivation in intensive production.

Rarity and history Some elite clones are the survivors of lineages that no longer exist in seed - the only living representatives of a genetic family whose original mother plant has disappeared.

The concept of the elite clone is intimately linked to the practice of « pheno hunting« , the search for the exceptional phenotype (keeper pheno) among the many plants grown from seed. When a grower identifies a remarkable individual among a batch of seedlings, he may decide to preserve it indefinitely by cloning, rather than letting it disappear after a single harvest.

Elite clone vs. outstanding phenotype vs. IBL

These terms are similar but distinct.

A outstanding phenotype (keeper pheno) is an exceptional individual plant from a batch of seeds. If it is not preserved as a clone, it disappears - the starting point for an eventual elite clone.

A elite clone is this remarkable phenotype that has survived for years thanks to cloning, built up a reputation in the community, and circulates as a genetic reference.

A IBL (Inbred Line) is a line fixed by repeated self-fertilization to reproduce in seed the characteristics of a given phenotype. Some breeders try to «seed» elite clones by producing stable IBLs - but the result is never exactly identical to the original cut.

Background: California's «cut» culture

Most of the best-known elite clones come from the Californian scene of 1990-2000, before legalization, when medical dispensaries circulated their best genetics in the form of cuttings between trusted growers. It was in this context that the multiple cuts of’OG Kush (Larry, Fire, Ghost, Tahoe, SFV...), Chemdawg, Bubba Kush and other West Coast legends.

Since then, these cuts have been circulating in a worldwide underground network - sometimes preserved for 20 years by growers who have never lost them. Their authenticity is often impossible to verify formally, which fuels both their legend and their informal trade.

List of elite clones

There is no official list of elite clones - the community informally agrees on which cuts deserve this status. Most of the time, however, the same genetics can be found in the lists that circulate. Here is a non-exhaustive selection organized by family:

OG Kush family OG Kush Abusive Cut, OG Kush Fire (Rascals), OG Kush Ghost Cut, OG Kush Larry Cut, OG Kush Lemon Larry Cut, OG Kush San Fernando Valley Cut (SFV), OG Kush Tahoe Cut, OG Kush Purple (SAC#1 & SAC#3)

Chemdawg / Chem family Chemdawg's Sister Cut, Chemdog Sour Diesel Cut, Chem3 Cut, Chem4 Cut, ECSD Cut (EastCoastSourDiesel)

Kush family : Bubba Kush Pre98 Cut, Bubba Kush «Katsu» Cut, Las Vegas Purple Kush Cut, PCK Cut, Deep Chunk Cut

Haze / Sativa family Core Cut «Amnesia Haze» (Silver Haze pheno), C99 Cut, Apollo 11 Cut, Airborne G13 Cut, Old School Purple Haze Cut, Island Sweet Skunk Cut

Blueberry / Purple family Oregon Blueberry Cut, True Blueberry Outkast Cut, G13 Male Cut, Granddaddy Purple Cut, Purple Elephant Cut, Purple Urkle (Urple Cut), Peyote Purple Cut

Strawberry Family / Fruity : Strawberry Cough KKSC Cut, Strawberry Fields Cut, Erdbeer Cut, Indiana Bubblegum Cut

Miscellaneous Albert Walker Cut, Arcata e-32, Bushmans Cut, Catpiss (pheno SSH), Casey Jones «Cannabliss» Cut, Citral Cut, Exodus Cut (UK), G-Force, Herijuana Cut, Killing Fields Cut, Misty Cut, RKS «Road Kill Skunk» Cut, UBC Chemo Cut, Viking Cut