Selling pheno hunted clones

I sent a clone I hunted to a trusted friend last year as a gift. He recently contacted me saying that his old boss who owns a nursery wants to "propagate" it. He sold a few trays of clones last year and wants to keep it in his rotation. They kindly asked if I was tying to keep the strain under wraps or what. I told them I didn't breed it, and they could grow all they want, but if he wants to sell clones I should probably get paid at least the cost of the seed pack. They ended up sending me twice that much.

So I was quite pleased with this. I've been wanting to launch a seed company for years, but I won't do it unless I have something truly exceptional and unique. So far I'm still working at it. I won't just F1 two current breeders gear and sell it as my own. Anyway this gave me the idea to launch a high end clone site like King Kong clones.

This is what I do. I've been pheno hunting for years, and it was really nice to get paid for it for once. I'd like to continue on this path and hopefully work together with some breeders instead of trying to compete with them. There are several new seed companies every week now, clones are definitely a less crowded field.

The reason I'm posting this is, I want to know breeders feelings about people who buy their seeds selling clones of them. I would sell the clones for at least twice what the seed packs cost so people would still buy seeds from the breeder. Or is this wrong headed? Should I only sell my own crosses? I know a lot of people feel that once you buy the seeds you can do what you want with them. Indeed, legally there is nothing a breeder can do without a patent. I'm not looking to do a scorched earth policy here though and upset every breeder I buy seeds from, so I'm asking. I PM'd one breeder on IG but got no reply. He's new and probably thought I was an Instagram cop or something. So I'm posting it here, what do y'all think?

What kinda strains do you have?

I only have a few pheno-hunted mother plants from other breeders at the moment.

Michelada - The Vault Seed Bank
Koolato- The Vault Seed Bank
Candy Rain- Cookies

There's a few of my own crosses in my mother plant room, but I haven't decided if any of them are good enough to release yet.

Candy Rain x Koolato
Divine Kush Breath x (Wedding Cake F2 x Jungle Cake)F2)

Like most of us, I have a ton of expensive seeds I haven't ran yet, and I'm always buying more. So I will have some really nice strains to offer if I can pull this off.

Michelada

Koolato

Candy Rain x Koolato (my own cross)

Divine Jungle Breath (my cross)

Beautiful

leather lungs said:

Beautiful

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Thank you!

Well I'd be interested, do you have an Instagram account or anything?

Sexy AF

Is there any precedent in any industry where a person who buys seeds (flowers, vegetables, cactuses, or whatever) is expected to cut in the seed maker on any future business? (I'm not asking rhetorically. I honestly don't know) If I bought Burpee tomato seeds and sold starts at a nursery or fruits at the local farmer's market, I don't believe there's any expectation that you'd have to pay back the seed maker beyond your seed purchase. I'd wonder why cannabis would be any different. You invest your money, time, and expertise into finding good varietals and if your goal is to make money off of that work then I believe you're free to pursue that. Maybe there's a different expectation in the cannabis world, who knows.

(edit - so long as everything is also done legally)

@SourDeezz My current Instagram is Cali Worthington, but the new one will be called Pheno Phactory. I registered a word press store for Pheno Phactory the other day, but haven't built the site yet.

@boundybounderson Exactly. As far as I'm concerned, the breeder got paid when they sold the seeds. The way I include them in the business is to buy more of their seeds. It would seem to me this is a win-win. I get to make a living, I buy more of their seeds, and my website/clones may attract more people to that breeder's work.

purdy plants. Luv the purple color but yet to like the results taste and smoke as much. Probly yet to find one. It's the wild west for a while. Just too hard to claim a genetic is someone's true development. Somebody and there will be several that get rich when America legalizes and Philip Morris or Canopy come knocking. Sad for those that put time and money into f-whatever and dude down the street chuckers it and the same claim. I suppose branding will when out like every industry with money. LIke a coke and pepsi of weed.

have you never heard of Strainly?

Relaxed said:

purdy plants. Luv the purple color but yet to like the results taste and smoke as much. Probly yet to find one. It's the wild west for a while. Just too hard to claim a genetic is someone's true development. Somebody and there will be several that get rich when America legalizes and Philip Morris or Canopy come knocking. Sad for those that put time and money into f-whatever and dude down the street chuckers it and the same claim. I suppose branding will when out like every industry with money. LIke a coke and pepsi of weed.

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Pretty much ^ once federal passes

Relaxed said:

purdy plants. Luv the purple color but yet to like the results taste and smoke as much. Probly yet to find one. It's the wild west for a while. Just too hard to claim a genetic is someone's true development. Somebody and there will be several that get rich when America legalizes and Philip Morris or Canopy come knocking. Sad for those that put time and money into f-whatever and dude down the street chuckers it and the same claim. I suppose branding will when out like every industry with money. LIke a coke and pepsi of weed.

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It depends, some purple plants have a lot of flavor, and some not so much. My friend who has worked for Syngenta said the same as you about big companies getting patents.

I personally think that we shouldn't confuse a plants traits with our own or its breeder's, and give the plant itself the credit it deserves for whatever therapy it gives us.
That being said I think there is some honor in acknowledging whoever it is that first invented a strain, and if you've got your heart set on that strain to buy it from whoever that innovator is if at all possible. Best way to know it's legit imo.
The patent shit is ridiculous imo, about as ridiculous as the intended genocide of all seeds that dont meet the regulatory framework in Canada right now, of legal seeds.
Breeders always seem to be moving forward looking for the next big thing, so seems to me it is kind of up to the customers to keep older varieties preserved.

Relaxed said:

purdy plants. Luv the purple color but yet to like the results taste and smoke as much. Probly yet to find one. It's the wild west for a while. Just too hard to claim a genetic is someone's true development. Somebody and there will be several that get rich when America legalizes and Philip Morris or Canopy come knocking. Sad for those that put time and money into f-whatever and dude down the street chuckers it and the same claim. I suppose branding will when out like every industry with money. LIke a coke and pepsi of weed.

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Good post, in my opinion, when weed gets legalized, Philip Morris will take over. Dispensary and private breeders and Growers will not be able to compete. How many people are still around growing their own tobacco?

Yes obviously big companies will swoop in, I believe they already have many patents ready to go. That wasn't exactly what I intended to discuss here but that's okay. Anyway, no I had never heard of Strainly (thank you @spliffendz), and there's people on there who have a ton of strains. They must have a warehouse for all those mother plants. Guess I'll try to get a real license and a bigger facility then, or just sell seeds. Dammit.