Mothers vs clones

I guess what I'm asking is I see lots of people talking about making a mother plant and then taking clones off of it.
I have grown quite a few crops with strains kept alive many generations just going from clone to clone to clone...ECT

What the advantage of keeping a mother?

I think the longest I have kept one alive was 26 generations and I saw no real genetic drift or anything different really...


So Whats your opinion

The right strains will clone from clone forever. I look for those and discontinue strains that drift \retard.

CaptainCAVEMAN said:

The right strains will clone from clone forever. I look for those and discontinue strains that drift \retard.

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The only thing that I have noticed is say you had pm or plant stress on the plant you take the clones from the next generations seemed more suseptible to the same kinds of stress...ect

Michiganmeds1982 said:

I guess what I'm asking is I see lots of people talking about making a mother plant and then taking clones off of it.
I have grown quite a few crops with strains kept alive many generations just going from clone to clone to clone...ECT

What the advantage of keeping a mother?

I think the longest I have kept one alive was 26 generations and I saw no real genetic drift or anything different really...


So Whats your opinion

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I don't think genetic drift applies to clones. I could be wrong but not counting mutations cloning means you'll get the same genetic set each time.

Cyrus420 said:

I don't think genetic drift applies to clones. I could be wrong but not counting mutations cloning means you'll get the same genetic set each time.

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That exactly what I mean....so why waste time on a mother?

I replace mothers periodically, having a mother in soil or mix ensures strain survival and the bigger mom is the more clones you can take.
I have personally never seen clone drift.Maybe I'm just lucky.

Michiganmeds1982 said:

That exactly what I mean....so why waste time on a mother?

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I know once you lock down a phenotype you like and are happy with the genetics a mother plant can be used to make tons of clones. Growing out a single big plant can net you loads of clones.

Hydrotech364 said:

I replace mothers periodically, having a mother in soil or mix ensures strain survival and the bigger mom is the more clones you can take.
I have personally never seen clone drift.Maybe I'm just lucky.

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I could see a large scale grow needing 100s of clone using mothers, but the average closet grower or even basement grower really doesnt seem necessary.

Cyrus420 said:

I know once you lock down a phenotype you like and are happy with the genetics a mother plant can be used to make tons of clones. Growing out a single big plant can net you loads of clones.

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But so can all that lower stuff we cut off before it goes into flower. I mean if you have 2 medium sized plants I could easily get 12-20 clones...

Michiganmeds1982 said:

I could see a large scale grow needing 100s of clone using mothers, but the average closet grower or even basement grower really doesnt seem necessary.

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

Michiganmeds1982 said:

I could see a large scale grow needing 100s of clone using mothers, but the average closet grower or even basement grower really doesnt seem necessary.

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So do you buy cuttings or grow from seed everytime, got my curiosity tingling.?

Kingrow1 said:

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

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I see that being the best reason outside of a huge grow

Hydrotech364 said:

So do you buy cuttings or grow from seed everytime, got my curiosity tingling.?

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So when I first started around 2007 I bought clones 7 diff kinds and cloned them over and over...bought seeds in there a few times and did the same with the ones I wanted to keep....right now I just started over after a year long break with seed bought from the UK..and I plan to clone the shit out of them....lol

After a few times of bringing home someone else's grow room problems I decieded to go with just seeds and Mabey a trusted clone in segregation

I always quaranteen, i couldnt agree with ya more on that.I gift alot of cuttings to friends and new growers also so I have to keep moms.When i flower its usually never more than eighteen @ a time.I think it would be nice to not have to worry about saving genetics but I killed my last f1 Shoreline about 10 yrs ago and i still regret it.She was the real deal.Got a guy out of CO who sent me a crossbred(alien shoreline) finally.Shes in veg still but it sexed female and has that old familiar roadkill smell even in veg.Hopefully Texas will have another good Shoreline run.Have some backbreeding to do.Perfect phenotype...

Hydrotech364 said:

I always quaranteen, i couldnt agree with ya more on that.I gift alot of cuttings to friends and new growers also so I have to keep moms.When i flower its usually never more than eighteen @ a time.I think it would be nice to not have to worry about saving genetics but I killed my last f1 Shoreline about 10 yrs ago and i still regret it.She was the real deal.Got a guy out of CO who sent me a crossbred(alien shoreline) finally.Shes in veg still but it sexed female and has that old familiar roadkill smell even in veg.Hopefully Texas will have another good Shoreline run.Have some backbreeding to do.Perfect phenotype...

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Would like to know more about this "shoreline" looks like something to research

Just google texas shoreline.Very hypnotic strain that was a skunk experiment.It was all that.

Michiganmeds1982 said:

But so can all that lower stuff we cut off before it goes into flower. I mean if you have 2 medium sized plants I could easily get 12-20 clones...

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Unless you're buying your clones from a dispensary you have to start with a mother plant. How else are you getting your clones?

CaptainCAVEMAN said:

The right strains will clone from clone forever. I look for those and discontinue strains that drift \retard.

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My exodus cheese has no mother ,I take clones of the plant I put in flower .the day I put it on 12/12 off I take clones these veg along side the plant in flower and I have repeated this for about 5 yr ,after keeping a mother ,for around 3 year of same strain.SO that strain in total is 8 Year ,old in total.now I have no trait ,drift it just seems to get better and better,I have 3 mothers ,at other place in the city. livers x cheese ,blues,Jack herer,all clone only strains,but I also have other plants grafted onto these just to keep numbers down plant wise.thats not to say a weaker picked pheno would not drift ,I have had this clone 8 year my self ,so god knows how old it really is ,because the guy I got it of got it from Luton,years before I had it,I did have it when it first made its way on the uk streets but lost it ,I could have cried,but through him wanting the Jack herer I gave I got it back

tyke1973 said:

the guy I got it of got it from Luton,years before I had it,

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Something good came from Luton?
That's a first.