# Quarantine

> Holding incoming plants, clones or seeds apart from the main grow, under observation and sometimes treatment, until they are shown to be free of pests and disease.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/quarantine.html
- Also written: quarantine room, isolation, clone quarantine, quarantine period
- Glossary category: Pests and diseases · Evidence: Established
- 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"

Quarantine is isolating new plant material from the rest of a grow until it has been inspected, observed and, where needed, treated or tested. Most serious cannabis pests and pathogens, including [broad mites](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/broad-mite.md), [hemp russet mites](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hemp-russet-mite.md), [root aphids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/root-aphid.md), [powdery mildew](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/powdery-mildew.md) and [HLVd](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md), arrive on clones rather than through the air.

## In practice

A workable quarantine is a separate tent or room with its own tools, visited last in the day or after a clothing change. New cuts stay there for long enough to see a full pest generation hatch and develop, commonly two to four weeks. During that time growers inspect tips under a 40x or stronger scope, check roots, hang [sticky traps](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sticky-trap.md) and send leaf or root samples for HLVd testing before cuts go near mothers. Some apply a preventive dip or release [beneficials](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/biological-control.md) during quarantine; check what is registered for cannabis locally. Anything that fails is destroyed, not "treated and moved in".

## Don't confuse with

- **Sanitation**: cleaning rooms and tools; quarantine controls what comes in.
- **Tissue culture**: a lab method to clean infected stock; quarantine only catches problems.

## Related terms

[Sanitation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sanitation.md), [Scouting](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/scouting.md), [Hemp russet mite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hemp-russet-mite.md), [Broad mite](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/broad-mite.md), [Hop latent viroid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md)

## Read more

- [Sanitation and disease prevention for cannabis grows](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diseases/sanitation-and-prevention.md)

## Sources

1. Punja ZK et al., 2025. Hop latent viroid transmission, spread and longevity in cannabis; meristem tip culture. Plants 14(5):830. https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/5/830
2. Colorado State University. Hemp russet mite, Aculops cannabicola. https://agsci.colostate.edu/agbio/ipm-pests/29895-2/