Maturity and cloning question

[Farmer jim]

Hi folks,

Just after some advice, I have a p/chunk and 2x 8 ball kush (both fem seeds)on the go in a tent.

Plan was to attempt to veg one of each strain big enough to take some cuttings but small enough to be managed in flower and finished ASAP. To my surprise the 8 ball seed had twins inside, and one of them is very tall and lanky and has pre flowers with hairs while the other is short, bushy and beautiful but only has the beginnings of pre flowers. The p/ chunk is growing at a similar rate to the short 8 ball but no pre flowers. All three have developed alternating nodes and have been tipped once.

Now, will the clones grow exactly like their mums?(if so, I won't clone the tall freak) And whats the worst that will happen if I take cuttings now and switch to 12/12 while they are in slightly different stages of maturity?

Cheers

Jim.

[Matanuska Thunder]

Now, will the clones grow exactly like their mums?(if so, I won't clone the tall freak) 

exactly like their mum, because they are their mum

 

 

And whats the worst that will happen if I take cuttings now and switch to 12/12 while they are in slightly different stages of maturity?

they'll start flowering sooner, plant and final amount of smoke, will be less that it could be (but still something to smoke) and they will mature at different times.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Matanuska Thunder

[Farmer jim]

Thanks MT, I had read somewhere that if you flip too early they stretch way too much, especially if they have some sati in their veins.

I'm surprised how different the 8 ball are to one another considering they came from one seed.

Cheers for the answer.

Jim.

[louise]

Yes, you get the most stretch out of a seed plant that is flowered before maturity, next up is a seed plant at maturity and the least stretch is gained from clones cut from a mature mother.

[Farmer jim]

Cheers Louise, I did not know that. I have no experience with these strains and as I only have 1x 400w, too much stretch is an issue.

I wanted to see how they go before I select the nicest structured clones to put under my screen next run.

Based on that I probably should hold off till they all pop p/flowers before I snip and switch, maybe tip the lanky freak to keep the height down.

Tough being impatient with this hobby...........

Jim.

[louise]

You are going to need another light source (set to a vegetative cycle) if you want to be growing clones up while the seed plants are flowering.

 

Clones will root faster if taken from vegetative plants... if you take cuttings during flower they will need to revert to a vegetative growth pattern as well as grow roots. These cuttings will take upto a couple of weeks longer to develop roots and are more prone to failure than cuttings taken during vegetative growth.

 

Ideally, I'd take a clone off the top of each plant during vegetative growth and keep them going while the seed plants are flowered. It wont be until after harvest that you will truly be able to say which plant makes the best mother for you.

[Farmer jim]

Yeah I got a 250w light that was my first hid I bought (one of many newb errors) when I started growing for myself. I soon realised they packed little punch come nug season so i got a bigger bulb and ballast and kept the little fella for seedlings and clones.

Thanks again for chiming in Louise, your a treasure.

Jim.

[louise]

No worries Jim

[sticky THC]

although cuttings can be taken from a plant that is already flowering, it would be not that easy and fast to revert them into the vegging stage. it is best to take clones while the plant is still on vegging period.. for fast and stronger rooting, dip the cuttings in a cloning gel like clonex