Buying clones wholesale is a different transaction from adding a few to a cart. The floor at Clone Source is 100 clones per strain. Pricing is quoted, not listed. Payment can run on net-30 terms once an account is approved. None of that is buried in a sales pitch, either — it's written into the wholesale program, and this guide walks through the mechanics so you know what to have ready before you send a cultivar list.
What this guide is based on
Every number and policy claim below traces to a documented Clone Source record:
- Wholesale structure: programs start at 100 clones per strain, with tier checkpoints at 100, 500, and 1,000+ clones per strain — quote-based pricing.
- Screening scope: batch documentation covering HLVd alongside Fusarium and Pythium, by molecular PCR.
- Live catalog: 39 cultivar records from 21 breeders, priced $50–$1,000 at retail, every record HLVd-tested.
- Payment terms: net-30 for approved commercial accounts, with card, ACH, and wire options.
The 100-clone floor, and why it exists
Wholesale programs start at 100 clones per strain. That's not an arbitrary round number. Producing a hundred rooted plants of one cultivar means holding one mother block in steady production, running that strain through the same screening pass as everything else, and scheduling bench space against your delivery date rather than shipping whatever happens to be rooted that week.
It also changes what the nursery can promise. At retail, a single clone sells on its own merits. At 100 units of one strain, you're buying a production run: consistency across the batch, documentation that follows the batch, and a schedule both sides can plan around.
Here's the part that surprises buyers coming from retail pricing: there are no published wholesale unit prices. That's deliberate. A quote depends on your cultivar mix and order schedule, and a flat published rate would just bake those variables into a number that fits nobody.
The tier ladder: 100, 500, and 1,000+
| Tier | Volume per strain | Pricing | Who it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 100+ clones | By quote | A single-room cultivator locking in one or two core strains for a full cycle |
| Tier 2 | 500+ clones | By quote | Multi-room operations rotating a short cultivar list across sequential plantings |
| Tier 3 | 1,000+ clones | By quote | Facilities planning strain-level volume across multiple cycles, where scheduling and recurring supply matter as much as price |
Notice that "per strain" qualifier. Three hundred clones split across ten cultivars is not a Tier 2 order — it's three Tier 1 orders on one invoice. If your plan mixes volume strains with specialty ones, say so in your quote request. It changes how the production schedule gets built.
What comes with a wholesale order
A wholesale order carries the same genetics standards as the retail catalog, plus commercial documentation:
- Batch documentation with the same three-pathogen molecular PCR scope named above. That's the documented scope, and it matters more at scale — more on that below.
- Breeder provenance for every cultivar. The catalog carries records from 21 breeders, and each listing documents its breeder lineage.
- METRC compliance documentation for Colorado cultivators.
Payment terms
Net-30 terms are available for approved commercial accounts. Standard payment methods cover Visa, Mastercard, Amex, or Discover, plus ACH and wire transfer. Approval is the gate — the terms exist for accounts with a track record, not on first contact. If cash-flow timing is part of why you're buying wholesale rather than retail, ask about terms during the quote process rather than after the invoice arrives.
Logistics: shipping and the claim window
Orders ship Monday through Wednesday. The logic is simple: a package that enters the carrier network early in the week reaches you before a weekend, not after two idle days sitting in a warehouse. For a wholesale volume that schedule discipline compounds — a delivery that slips past a weekend shifts your transplant day and everything scheduled behind it.
The live-arrival claim policy applies the same way it does at retail: contact same-day of arrival with photos if anything looks wrong. When a hundred plants are riding in the same shipment, photographing on arrival isn't paranoia. It's the difference between a clean claim and a dispute.
What to confirm before your first bulk order
Work through this list before you request a quote. It takes ten minutes and it prevents the two most common wholesale mismatches: wrong volume assumptions and wrong compliance paperwork.
1. Cultivar list and per-strain volumes. Write them down in units per strain, not totals. Tiers are per-strain.
2. Order schedule. One delivery or staggered plantings? Staggered changes the production plan and sometimes the price.
3. Your state's documentation requirements. Colorado cultivators get METRC documentation. If you're outside Colorado, confirm what your state's tracking system needs before you order, not after.
4. Screening scope in writing. The three-pathogen PCR scope above is the documented one. Ask any nursery you compare against to put their scope in the same sentence.
5. The claim policy. Same-day contact with photos, on arrival. Know it before delivery day.
The question that comes up first
When a wholesale inquiry actually converts to a conversation, the first question is almost never about price. It's some version of: how do I know the whole batch is clean, not just the clones you picked to show me? It's a fair question, and it's why batch-level screening documentation sits in the program instead of spot checks. Every batch ships with documentation covering the full screening scope, rather than a claim that relies on trust.
Why screening scope matters more at volume
HLVd spreads primarily through mechanical transmission: contaminated sap moves on tools during pruning and cutting. There is no curative treatment once a plant is infected. Infected plants can also look fine while quietly costing you vigor and yield. At retail scale, one infected clone costs you one plant. At wholesale scale, the same pathogen riding into a room on a hundred-cutting order is a cycle-long problem.
That's the arithmetic behind the screening scope. You're not paying for a lab badge. You're reducing the chance that your most expensive input this cycle arrives already compromised.
Getting a quote
Send your cultivar list, target volumes per strain, and requested schedule to orders@clone-source.com or call (720) 375-5261. The wholesale desk runs Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time. A quote comes back built around your actual mix and schedule — which is the whole point of quote-based pricing in the first place.
Wholesale buying rewards growers who plan in cycles. If you know your strain list for the next two cycles, that's enough to start the conversation.
