How many mothers to keep?

Cletus1972 · Nov 22, 2025

I am getting a little tired of juggling too many strains in my line-up. I currently have 6 mothers, and flower 2-3 at a time. I am hesitant to give-up a good plant and hate when I grow a seed and it turns out sub-par. How do you manage the strains in your clone rotation and how often do you work in something new?

MileHiGhost · Nov 22, 2025

If "one" has unlimited space keep them all. If not, I would suggest clone them all. Find out which are the best. Clone degradation is usually pretty minimal cloning clones. Saving time an coin. My humble opinion.

JIMKSI64 · Nov 22, 2025

I got the same problem with guns.
Hope you do better than me.... .

brusselsf4 · Nov 23, 2025

Make pollen from the better one and IBL, or take to f4+

Coconutz · Nov 23, 2025

Take the clones in flower by the time they get back to re vegging I've had time to flowered the mums, dry and tested them.

They're the mums of my clones.

5/6wks old they're ready for a trim, keeping down the leaf area slows drying out and slows growth rate rapid growth isn't desirable atm.

I clone everything after flipping if there's anything decent I've the option of keeping the clone if not never mind I've not invested weeks of care on them.

My veg tent is only 3x2 it's ample.

williamsq · Feb 21, 2026

Take the clones in flower by the time they get back to re vegging I've had time to flowered the mums, dry and tested them.

They're the mums of my clones.

5/6wks old they're ready for a trim, keeping down the leaf area slows drying out and slows growth rate rapid growth isn't desirable atm.

I clone everything after flipping if there's anything decent I've the option of keeping the clone if not never mind I've not invested weeks of care on them.

My veg tent is only 3x2 it's ample.

wow its really nice men

Ninjadogma · Feb 21, 2026

Coconutz said:
Take the clones in flower by the time they get back to re vegging I've had time to flowered the mums, dry and tested them.
View attachment 2567204
They're the mums of my clones.
View attachment 2567201
5/6wks old they're ready for a trim, keeping down the leaf area slows drying out and slows growth rate rapid growth isn't desirable atm.

I clone everything after flipping if there's anything decent I've the option of keeping the clone if not never mind I've not invested weeks of care on them.
View attachment 2567205
My veg tent is only 3x2 it's ample.

I don't know about your results, but when I do it that way I'm looking at 3-6 weeks before I see roots vs 7-10 days because they prioritize flower development ahead of root development. Also some strains don't handle the hormonal change well. I've had them get stuck in flower/veg limbo. I've also gotten vegging cuts to monster by rooting them under 12/12 as well as starting them on 24/0 for 5 days and then backing off to 18/6. I stumbled onto the light trick for monstering purely by accident.

ChairmanFester · Feb 21, 2026

I'm a complete idiot with no plan so I've been taking 4 clones per seeded mom and that's about it. This gen in the veg tent is like #2 on that rotation.

Ninjadogma · Feb 21, 2026

The routine I've more or less settled on is I'll take four cuts of mom, and once I confirm they are rooted and viable, I'll flip mom. Then I'll dedicate the best of those four as the new mom and flip the other 3. I lost a decent Durban I was keeping by not having a solid succession plan. I've learned to change mom's out about every 6 months before the roots get old and plant starts getting more fickle, or soil compaction and stratification happening, woody stems, etc.

ChairmanFester · Feb 21, 2026

People said things about second gen clones and I beleived them, because beleiving is soulful and powerful. So I don't. I'm not saying like that is your truth or anything though.

Ninjadogma · Feb 21, 2026

ChairmanFester said:
People said things about second gen clones and I beleived them, because beleiving is soulful and powerful. So I don't. I'm not saying like that is your truth or anything though.

If you're alluding to genetic loss, it doesn't happen, but epigenetics does (how the genes may express) and pathogens can latch on and stay and get passed on to subsequent generations. So it's not genetic loss, it's contamination and expression. A caveat about expression... it can move either direction, it can become better or worse. As for pathogens, it's often expression they'll attack, and negatively. So, sterilize your gardening tools after use; Don't allow your mother plant to be a host to pests that can pass on pathogens, and exercise caution when reusing soils. That alone will go a long way in preserving your pheno.

PlumberSoCal2 · Feb 21, 2026

Cletus1972 said:
View attachment 2566682
I am getting a little tired of juggling too many strains in my line-up. I currently have 6 mothers, and flower 2-3 at a time. I am hesitant to give-up a good plant and hate when I grow a seed and it turns out sub-par. How do you manage the strains in your clone rotation and how often do you work in something new?

I keep mine in Kratky bottles

4 strains 2 of each, for now. 5+ months old.

ChairmanFester · Feb 21, 2026

Ninjadogma said:
If you're alluding to genetic loss, it doesn't happen, but epigenetics does (how the genes may express) and pathogens can latch on and stay and get passed on to subsequent generations. So it's not genetic loss, it's contamination and expression. A caveat about expression... it can move either direction, it can become better or worse. As for pathogens, it's often expression they'll attack, and negatively. So, sterilize your gardening tools after use; Don't allow your mother plant to be a host to pests that can pass on pathogens, and exercise caution when reusing soils. That alone will go a long way in preserving your pheno.

I'm alluding to I ALMOST know what I'm talking about, but possibly don't. Then again I'm already more efficient with one stage of cloning and I'm not bredding or anything so maybe I hit my tech limit?

Ninjadogma · Feb 21, 2026

ChairmanFester said:
People said things about second gen clones and I beleived them, because beleiving is soulful and powerful. So I don't. I'm not saying like that is your truth or anything though.

Where you'll get potentially lackluster expression is revegging a plant and taking it for another run. Where you'll likely see even more improved expression is through monstering clones because of the hormonal manipulation. Which is really, really weird if you think about it because both processes subject the plant to the same hormonal swings: Flower ---> reveg --> reflower. The only difference is the monster has "virgin" roots.

Ninjadogma · Feb 21, 2026

PlumberSoCal2 said:
I keep mine in Kratky bottles
View attachment 2605707 View attachment 2605706
4 strains 2 of each, for now. 5+ months old.

I'm settled on 2 gallons for my mamas. For space, love the kratky idea though.

ChairmanFester · Feb 21, 2026

Ninjadogma said:
The only difference is the monster has "virgin" roots.

Listen, I don't ask how things go in other people's flower tents, you know...

Coconutz · Feb 22, 2026

I take clones wk 3/4 or during that period of intense root and shoot growth, I've guessed there's something hormonal going on idk but ime they root without problems.

I go with 27/28c on the prop floor, plenty humid but with airflow and kept out of bright light for a week or so.
After I plant them I skoosh water/nutrients down the side of the side of the stem to make a hydraulic connection preventing any wilt at all.

I cut these on the 20th Oct and had to trim them on the 12th Nov

I've had some problems re vegging but tbf it's been of my own making with low temperatures.
There's no scientific reason they should do anything other than give you a carbon copy it's just a longer process which imo makes it advantageous for unknown genetics.

These are from my current crop it's only 11 wks in total from they must be ± 5/6wks old.

williamsq · Feb 22, 2026

take clones wk 3/4 or during that period of intense root and shoot growth, I've guessed there's something hormonal going on idk but ime they root without problems.

I go with 27/28c on the prop floor, plenty humid but with airflow and kept out of bright light for a week or so.
After I plant them I skoosh water/nutrients down the side of the side of the stem to make a hydraulic connection preventing any wilt at all.

I cut these on the 20th Oct and had to trim them on the 12th Nov

I've had some problems re vegging but tbf it's been of my own making with low temperatures.
There's no scientific reason they should do anything other than give you a carbon copy it's just a longer process which great slots and https://grand-rush.casinologin.mobi/ imo makes it advantageous for unknown genetics.

These are from my current crop it's only 11 wks in total from they must be ± 5/6wks old.

yeah looks nice !

Coconutz · Feb 22, 2026

There's a method of cloning that's very reliable for plants late in flower it's called air layering.

You're rooting them on the plant.
Some rock wool, sponges, coco any medium will work though some are more practical.

Basically put a sponge around the prepared site (node/rooting get) and wrap it with plastic or clingfilm.
You can buy these little gadgets they're more convenient to use.

Ime it's important to strangle the stem, you need to impair the flow of sap but not stop it.

60 days in flower isn't a problem roots grow until the very last day, re vegging the root ball is always an option but it's less convenient.

Taking cuts in flower wasn't intended as a better cloning method, it's intended as a easy care selection/genetic holding method that requires minimal space, light or maintenance, it gives us the chance to smoke the gentics before investing effort/space to them, it's not unusual to get attached to them after caring for them for weeks

I didn't aim to grow them "next" I planned more seeds next crop then if there was anything special I could grow the re veg next time, that removed any need for them hurrying them up.

Coconutz · Feb 22, 2026

Does anyone have access to 50 cal shells or similar, any kind of thin guage pipe would cut it but finer/sharper is better for a clean cut?

You know those little sucker's that form around the lower stem late in flower?

Ive thought about placing a shell/pipeover the sucker's and push the shell into the bark until the disc is cur out with the sucker attached.

Now take the shell and punch another hole in a vegging plant wherever suitable and place that little plug with the sucker in it?

Bag it, cover it do whatever it takes to keep high humidity around it...job done!

Idk if it'll work idk but I suspect it will its kinda grafting, I bought leather punches specifically to try them but even the biggest one was too small.

Now I need to get pipe of some kind and sharpen it so it can cut cleanly it's all inconvenience getting in the way of me trying it.
I've had my eye open for something suitable but nothing yet but I think a 50 cal would probably be ideal?

If any, what caliber bullets do you guys have?
Do you think a 50 cal would make a clean cut?

How many mothers to keep?

How many mothers to keep?

Cletus1972

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