why keep a mother plant?

[ihavefeet]

So, I'm just wondering what the advantage is of keeping a specific plant as a mother never goes into flower, as opposed to just grabbing a couple clones off each plant before flowering, and then using those for the next crop, grabbing more clones from them, etc.

Is there some benefit to having a mother that is allowed to become older and more mature? Or some other reason that I can't think of?

 

[LoudBlunts]

because growing from seed sucks!!! and with a mother you automatically know the sex of the plant.

 

[RandomJesus]

imagine that out of ten plants, one is obviously superior to the others.
well keeping that as a mother will allow you to have many superior plants.
every plant is the best.

 

[ihavefeet]

umm, i'm not talking about growing from seed. i'm talking about grabbing 1 or 2 clones off each plant right before putting it into 12/12, then while those plants flower, raise the clones and veg them. then, take clones off those plants, put them into flower, raise the new clones......and on and on.

Why the need for a "mother" plant who's only job is to provide clones?

 

[ihavefeet]

either way, it's all going to be identical genetics... i have had 4 harvests using this system, and they've all worked well.

as far as i can tell, a mother plant is just one more thing to worry about designing a grow area for, keeping stealth, etc. but.....everyone talks about keeping a mother plant, not just grabbing clones from their flowering plants. so, i guess there must be some advantage to a mother??

 

[TheElkTreeFunk]

imagine that out of ten plants, one is obviously superior to the others.
well keeping that as a mother will allow you to have many superior plants.
every plant is the best.

Yeah, kind of like having some sort of a pedigree champion from a dog, and then you breed the dog, thus making profit from it because of the pedigree papers. Same goes with a marijuana plant.

 

[the seedling]

wat is a good set up for 1 mother plant,, size, lighting[lowest watt possible], and how long do dey live in that cycle

 

[SimpleSimon]

Okay so you take cuttings from you plants and put them in 12/12. Three days letter your clones die.

bump......

 

[Yeah]

either way, it's all going to be identical genetics... i have had 4 harvests using this system, and they've all worked well.

as far as i can tell, a mother plant is just one more thing to worry about designing a grow area for, keeping stealth, etc. but.....everyone talks about keeping a mother plant, not just grabbing clones from their flowering plants. so, i guess there must be some advantage to a mother??

You can have a million seeds from the same plant, but you'd be lucky to find 1% that have the same exact genetics. Each one will have a different genetic makeup and different phenotypes.

Having a mother plant gives you the advantage of growing the same plant with the same genetic makeup and phenotypes over and over again. As someone mentioned earlier, you would normally choose the best female out of a group and use her as your mother.

 

[whatapothead]

Okay so you take cuttings from you plants and put them in 12/12. Three days letter your clones die.

rofl, that was perfect. only good excuse to have a mother... haha even though i have mothers.

 

[ihavefeet]

Okay so you take cuttings from you plants and put them in 12/12. Three days letter your clones die.

alright, i guess that's one reason. however, i've never had such bad luck with clones.

i guess the other reason would be if you had a setup where you needed clones more frequently than you put plants into flower, or if you went straight into 12/12 with no veg. but that is not an issue for my needs.

people commenting on the ability for a mother plant to control genetics are missing what i'm saying. i've never had a mother plant, yet have had three harvests (starting 4th crop) with all identical genetics.

you see. 1 plant = 2 clones. then each plant produces another clone = 2 more plants, etc. all identical genetics to the very first plant. i'm not sure how i can explain it other than that.....

but what i was wondering was if there were OTHER reasons for having a mother plant, ie. a benefit to the plant aging and becoming more mature. so far it seems like no.

 

[ihavefeet]

you see the reason i'm wondering all this is that i'm moving and planning my new setup, and i'm wondering if i should plan a space for a mother, as well as my flowering cabinet and cloning box.

 

[SimpleSimon]

alright, i guess that's one reason. however, i've never had such bad luck with clones.

i guess the other reason would be if you had a setup where you needed clones more frequently than you put plants into flower, or if you went straight into 12/12 with no veg. but that is not an issue for my needs.

people commenting on the ability for a mother plant to control genetics are missing what i'm saying. i've never had a mother plant, yet have had three harvests (starting 4th crop) with all identical genetics.

you see. 1 plant = 2 clones. then each plant produces another clone = 2 more plants, etc. all identical genetics to the very first plant. i'm not sure how i can explain it other than that.....

but what i was wondering was if there were OTHER reasons for having a mother plant, ie. a benefit to the plant aging and becoming more mature. so far it seems like no.

i have bad luck with clones :/

 

[SomeGuy]

you see the reason i'm wondering all this is that i'm moving and planning my new setup, and i'm wondering if i should plan a space for a mother, as well as my flowering cabinet and cloning box.

Personally I think your method works fine. Ive been doing this myself to some degree. Its just more space. If you have room it might be nice to have dedicated mothers, but a lot of people just replace their mothers with new clones every now and again anyway.

 

[Revolution101]

A mother can last for years, and once it's large enough, can produce MANY clones. If you have a large operation with multiple strains it's way easier to keep 2 or 3 mothers of your favorite strains and best plants and then just keep taking cuttings off of them. I think it's really the convenience factor. Also, once a plant has flowered a clone might have the same genetics, but it's also at the same point in the life cycle. An already flowering/flowered plant loses the initial bang it has on it's first flower. Keeping a mother that has never flowered means all of your clones will have the power of a seed grown plant on it's first flower.

 

[stumpsx2@hotmail.com]

A winner that was a great answer.

 

[ihavefeet]

Revolution: all very good points, but I also get each plant on it's first flower cycle; you see i take the clones the day before i switch the timer to 12/12.

but the point about multiple strains is a very good one, and indeed when i've got enough notches in my belt to justify spending the $$ on some top-notch strains, i will probably keep mothers then. but in the meantime, i will continue to practice and gain experience and the backwoods farmer seeds that my cousin gave me will do just fine. (I just germ'ed some more seeds, as I've grown 3 harvests on one phenotype now and would like to switch it up. got 100% germ rate on 12 seeds, and they're about 3 years old! woot!)

 

[flux1]

once have female its all about quick turn around

 

[kingpapawawa]

theres some theory that the gene line will deteriorate over time by your method. ie: a clone of a clone of a clone of a clone

the example i heard was.. make a photocopy. then instead of using the original.. use the copy to make another copy. over time the copies will not be as good as the original.

 

[ihavefeet]

Kingpapawawa: interesting, i'd never thought of that. on some level it makes sense, but i don't know...? with a photocopy, you're actually making a COPY, but with cloning, you're using a piece of the plant to grow into another. i'm no geneticist, but i doubt that the genetics would change over time? even if one batch of clones grows poorly and isn't healthy, the genetics would still remain the same, surely?

really the term "clone" is misleading. "cutting" is more appropriate.