Mothers vs clones

[Chorse]

I create 1 or 2 new mothers every grow and they are only used for the next grow and then are trashed because I have no room for them. My strain has been being cloned for almost 30 years. Same genes, drift is bs. Also, environmental stress on one generation is not going to change the genes. That is also BS. Ok, Ok maybe if the plant survived a nuclear attack or particular germ warfare.

 

[Chorse]

Some people flower their clones to quickly to ever get quality cuttings for the next generation and need mother plants.

I think you are right. I don't have that problem as my mother(s) do not get flipped with the rest of the herd but are returned to the cloning cabinet for 3 more weeks...continuing to be trained to produce the cuttings I am looking for. I do this also because I am timing things. I work out of 1 room and my clones have to stay in the cabinet until I chop the previous grow and then they take over the dance floor. They are pushing 20" at that point already. The once clones are transplanted to their final (5 gal) poly bag and after giving them a few days to show acceptance of their new pot, I top and LST them. I then give them another couple weeks before I flip at which point I have also already chosen 1 or 2 (of the best)to be the next generation's mother and that choice is returned to the cloning cabinet for the 3 weeks before they create cuttings...completing the circle.

 

[sgt d]

Say what you will, Clarence, I've got a couple of plants that don't produce like they used to, and whose hermie tendencies have become more pronounced over the years to the point that they are being replaced as we speak. The Diesel Maui Dawg x Hazy OG in particular...

Maybe you guys haven't led lives of constant crisis and upheaval like I have. Those mothers (at this point, probably 5th gen clones off the original plant grown from seed) have been 95% dead any number of times, and I believe the abuse has left its mark.

Regardless of what may have caused these changes, changes there have been. There's another thread around here on this subject (can't find it for you, my internet's too slow) wherein someone said, if I remember right, that sometimes things that are commonly interpreted as genetic drift are actually just a trait of a given plant that took X years to show itself, because it's genetically hardwired to do so.

It seems to me this becomes more likely with plants like the ones I've mentioned, which I got from a pollen chucking neighbor who makes seed each year for next year's crop. These were not strains that were carefully dialed in over years of growing out populations and making selections, and are therefore likelier to have unwanted traits that show themselves at apparently random intervals. Right?

 

[klx]

SoG growers need mums as the clones go straight to flower. Also, as the clones are going straight to flower, many SoG growers like to take big clones so having multiple mums allows for this.

In reality, taking a clone from a clone or a mum is the same thing, it all just depends how many clones you need, how often and how precious the plant is. Replacing a mum with one of its clones every few months helps keep the growth vigorous and also helps with the clone production.

 

[Chorse]

Say what you will, Clarence, I've got a couple of plants that don't produce like they used to, and whose hermie tendencies have become more pronounced over the years to the point that they are being replaced as we speak. The Diesel Maui Dawg x Hazy OG in particular...

Maybe you guys haven't led lives of constant crisis and upheaval like I have. Those mothers (at this point, probably 5th gen clones off the original plant grown from seed) have been 95% dead any number of times, and I believe the abuse has left its mark.

Regardless of what may have caused these changes, changes there have been. There's another thread around here on this subject (can't find it for you, my internet's too slow) wherein someone said, if I remember right, that sometimes things that are commonly interpreted as genetic drift are actually just a trait of a given plant that took X years to show itself, because it's genetically hardwired to do so.

It seems to me this becomes more likely with plants like the ones I've mentioned, which I got from a pollen chucking neighbor who makes seed each year for next year's crop. These were not strains that were carefully dialed in over years of growing out populations and making selections, and are therefore likelier to have unwanted traits that show themselves at apparently random intervals. Right?

Poindexter, you can pass along disease but the DNA is always the same. That DNA certainly can react to new (or even close to the same) conditions in a way formally unseen, but its reaction is not going to get progressively worse. Take care of you mum and she will take care of you. If it worries you, just create a new one every grow.

 

[tusseltussel]

What the advantage of keeping a mother?



So Whats your opinion

Hello Michiganmeds, my opinion on the matter is this. If you are running a sog or just a short veg you may not have tome to grow a plant until it is clonable so you need mother plants to take clones to be rooted and flowered immediately or close to it. you may need a higher number of clones than can be produced from cloning a clone in a shorter time period, clone takes 14-21 days to start growing then you need to veg a few more weeks to get clones off it but then you could clone a mother root it and get right to work.

Another scenario might be that you have multiple strains growing but don't have room to be growing them all at once so you can have a mother plant to preserve a strain that you are not useing but going to get back to eventually.

hope this may have she'd some light on why I may keep a mother

 

[TherealMickey]

It seems to me that clones from mothers are healthier than clones from the bottom of younger plants. Also if you want to make 100 clones all at once having a mother to chop up is the way to go.