Advice Needed On Mother Plants

[aussie1]

I want to change the way I grow. I want 9 smaller plants under 1000watt HPS instead of 2 medium. Should I keep a mother solely for the purpose of getting the clones. I have read the you must periodically root prune the mother is this correct or will product such as Rhizotonic from canna do the same job?

OR

Should I just clone off the 9 smaller ones each time.I tend to cut the tops out of them anyway to create vigorous lower growth so I will have the cuttings anyway but is it advisable to take clones of a plant that has only been vegging for 1 week?

Would appreciate your thoughts and advice.Thanx

[F420]

different strokes for different folks really.

 

A mother plant is a good idea if you have the room and are happy with the one strain.

 

Myself I dont use a mother plant for clones, I always trim the lower branches and use these for my clones.

I usually time my clones to be ready for the main system when the others are ready for harvesting.

 

You dont have to veg you plant at all if you dont want to, because its a clone of the original plant and as such its actually the same age as the original plant.

 

most SOG systems rely on NO veg time just clone and flower. But Im too paranoid to have that many plants and prefer to have only 5 tops.

 

Which would also mean if your keeping a mother then you have 1 more plant than you could get away with.

 

But hey Mothers have there uses as well, you can take clones ANY time you want and if for some reason the clones die when the harvest is almost ready then your buggered as taking clones from a lady in full bloom is alot harder and a lower strike rate is often the result.

 

Im thinking of buying a small not working Bar fridge and setting up like Tom has and use it for cloning and keeping a mum.

 

You will notice that you can actually harvest more buds per year with smaller plants than you would with the bigger plants.

pretty much a harvest per 3 months for 3-4 ft tall plants, and this means 3 harvests a year.

where bigger ones you normally can only get like 2 crops a year.

Edited April 19, 2004 by Ferenge420

[white_cluster]

Root Pruning is a hassle IMO, plants dont mind it or nothing, its just a real cunt of a messy job, I rather just replace spent mothers every year or so by recloning and growing out a new one. Either that, or if only keeping a mum of one strain you could repot into a slightly bigger pot when your plant seems spent.

Is Rhizatonic the same as superthrive??? superthrive is good shit for perking up mums after a big pruning session, but it cant be used to replace root pruning, if a plant is damagingly root bound you need to do sumthing about it, either root prune or repot.

To root prune just grab plants out of pot, chop the bottom quarter of root ball off, and put new medium in bottom of pot and give good water, easy really.

Dont feed mothers, when you prune em prune em to about 10-15cm, take clones at about 20-25, always keep em real small, they will start growing small leaves and shit as the bonsai effect goes to work, but once you clone the plants they will start growing nowmal sized leaves again. Feed em when they going pale, or a few weeks before you need to take cuts, but other than that, keep em growing as slowly as possible, I purposefully dont correct pH when watering mums unless getting ready to take cuts, for which I usually just scoop sum water outta the bloom res.

Its amazing how well and long dope plants can live without being given any nutes.

Can take a clone off any plant with at least 8 nodes (leaf sets), just leave at least 5 nodes on the plants and you'll be right.

[white_cluster]

pretty much a harvest per 3 months for 3-4 ft tall plants, and this means 3 harvests a year.

 

You failed math too?

[Luke Skywalker]

::

 

Yes, listen to WC.

 

I think the rhizotonic is supposed to decompose roots to base organics, but I'm not sure. It's all hocus pocus to me.

[F420]

You failed math too? 

 

yeah big time

 

how many per year do you get WC?

3 or 4 Harvests a year?

 

I know 3 goes in to 12, 4 times but I allowed time for cloning and mistakes. eg- a insect infestation can cost you a month of growing, root diesease can be a few weeks etc.

 

but your right a full happy grow should give 4 harvests a year no?

Im new to this and have moved 3 times in 2 years so actually havent done it this well myself, but in theory it should be 3 harvests a year???

[gunjaponic]

Great post WC.

 

You answered a lot of questions I was wondering about as well.

 

Regards

Gunjaponic

[jackfrost]

Hi bro,

 

Mother plants are the way to go, if you do it correctly.

 

1)You decide what strain you want, get mininum of 30 seeds of that one pertictular strain.

 

2)Number each seed 1 to 30 and germinate.

 

3)when plants are 10 inches tall take 2 cuttings off each plant and number 1-30 respectievely

 

4)when cuttings are taken (you should have 60) pre flore the plants that were from seed to determine which cuttings are male and which female

 

5)remove males. you will have about (2 lots of)15 types of female plants left.

 

6)remove any slow or weak females types. you will have about 10 types of female plants left.

 

7)You should have "two lots of" 10 different female types of the same strain. The first set of 10 plants should be put into the flore room and grown out. The second set of 10 pants should be put into veg room and continued to grow.

 

8)As you flore the 10 plants in the flore room you will notice that even through they are the same strain one or two plants will really out perform the others. These are the mother plants that you will keep in the veg room.

 

9)get rid of nine plants in the vegie room and keep the best one (you know which one is best because you just flored them in the flore room) this is your new mother plant.

 

Peace.

[wassily]

I keep mothers in perlite in kitty litter trays. Fit 6 - 8 in each tray under flouros. About 5mm water in the tray till it drys out. Keep trimming out the centre shoots so light gets to the middle of the plant. I use half strength nutes but my males are growing too fast, so I'll give cluster's suggestion a go with the boys. I change over the perlite and root trim every 6 months.

oldest is 2.5 years, but it's gettin a bit manky lookin so I've just potted a clone to replace that mother.

Trim them regularly.

Cheers

V

[aussie1]

Thanks heaps for very detailed and easy to follow instructions. That will

save me from making lots of mistakes.GROW HARD GUYS.