# Cut

> A cut is slang for a clone of one specific plant, used to mean that individual genotype, as in "the original cut".

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cut.html
- Also written: cuts, a cut, the cut, cutting (slang)
- Glossary category: Grower slang and culture · Evidence: Supported
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A cut is a rooted clone taken from a specific plant, and by extension that plant's [genotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md). Saying "I have the cut" means having a living copy of one selected individual, not seed of the line.

## In practice

Growers trade, keep and argue about cuts. A famous [clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md) is passed from garden to garden as cuts for decades. Because every cut of one plant is genetically identical (barring rare mutations), a cut is the only way to grow exactly the same plant again; seed from it, even [selfed](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/selfing.md), gives new individuals.

The claim "this is the original cut" is only as good as its chain of custody. Two cuts with the same name may be different plants, and the same plant may circulate under many names. On GenetixBay a cut's identity is a claim with an evidence level until grow-outs or a DNA match back it up.

Take cuts from consistent positions on the plant: cuttings from different branches can behave a little differently ([position effects](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/topophysis.md)), which is not the same as the genetics changing.

## Don't confuse with

- **Clone**: the horticultural term; "cut" is the slang, with a strong sense of "this specific individual".
- **Pheno**: one plant from a [seed lot](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seed-run.md). A [pheno](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/pheno.md) becomes a cut once it is kept and cloned.

## Myth check

"Cuts drift and get weaker over time." GenetixBay position: no [genetic drift](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genetic-drift.md) beyond pathogens such as [hop latent viroid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md). Decline in an old cut is almost always disease or care. See [clone-only preservation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/clone-only-preservation.md).

## Related terms

[Cloning](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cloning.md), [Clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md), [Elite cut](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/elite-cut.md), [Keeper](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/keeper.md), [Renamed cut](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/renamed-cut.md)

## Read more

- [Clone-only cuts and how to preserve them](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/clone-only-preservation.md)