question about keeping mothers, quick idea

[mdTHC420]

hey all, i was messing around down with the ladies and was thinking of an easy way to keep some mother stock small and organized and i came up with this:

LST a clone to the side of a red cup then start it going around. once it gets about 2/3rds of the way around you will have the first branches that started growing up be ready and good to clone. keep training it in a circle around the outside of or the pot its in and keep taking the branches as clones. it will start overlapping where u started the circle and once it overlaps with itself for 1 inch twist tie it to itself to keep it going in the circular shape and continue taking cuts as needed or allowed. the stem will get really long but stay really short while still producing good sized clones.

questions: is having a long ass stem like described a problem? any other ideas or improvements you all can think of?

 

[Hylife]

Yeah, if you were lst'ing a sativa this would work fine. Just trim all the branches and new growth that is gonna be suffocated by those overlapping stems

 

[mdTHC420]

i was really thinking for all plants, not just sativas. by always having the tip pointed parallel to the ground it doesnt really matter how bushy it gets cus the growth is staggered and decently spread out.

 

[crom]

How long would you keep each mother for on average? Are you going to root prune? Just curious because I would think that the roots would still grow out, making it necessary to pot up, in turn making a larger footprint either way. Would you flower the mothers after they get too big? That would be an interesting cola lol! I see where you are going with it though, and in theory should work. You could even make a mini tomato cage w/ bamboo stakes and string, and train the plant around the outside of the "cage". This way the weight would be supported giving you an older stronger plant. Just some thoughts... I hope you try your theory and document it. I think some people could benefit from the experiment and pictures. Have you seen the thread about keeping bonsai mothers? Great info there, maybe even applicable to your theory. Best of luck with your adventure either way!

Cheers,
Crom

 

[mdTHC420]

i would hope to keep each for minimum 6 months just so i dont have to keep changing them out. as for the root problem, youre right. to solve that the easy way so i dont have to physically prune the roots all will be in #1 smart pots. i would imagine flower or keep as an awesome retired plant as a house plant, kinda like an older grey hound, lol.

as for pics i will snap some when the shelves are going up and for the project.

i did see that bonsai thread and want to try it once i get the space and time to try it. i got 1000 things to do at all times so we'll see if i can squeeze in a pet bonsai here in a bit.

thanks much all, any other comments or sudgestions are always appreciated.

 

[crom]

Hell yeah bro I look forward to the thread and pics. Also Smartpots are a good idea to solve the possible root issue. Good thinking.

Cheers,
Crom

 

[putembk]

Interesting thread, I have a mother that I have had for about 6 mo and has done a wonderful job of keeping my strain going. However, I tried to flush her last week and she has gotten so root bound that the process took forever. Letting this girl go is going to break my heart. If I flowered her what can I expect? Keeping the lights even would now become a problem as I have a bush instead of vine. Any thoughts?

 

[mdTHC420]

thin it out, up pot it, and should be good

 

[HeadGrow]

The "round the cup" training would work fine for 6 months. I keep my mothers for a year or longer usually. I have one that is going on two years actually. My trick is to bonsai them. I make sure to not take any of the lowest branches off completely; always leaving a couple nodes to grow out. Then every time i take cuttings I cut the mom back hard. I have an 8 inch plant in a 1 gallon pot that is going on 7 months and the stalk is about an 1.25 inches in diameter!! I'll take some pics and show ya. I'm working on keeping them even longer with root pruning now. I just started though and am not sure i'll end up killing the moms or not.

 

[mdTHC420]

bonsai was another way i was thinking of playing around. i started a few a while back but didnt have a place for the cuttings so they out grew a true bonsai so ill prob give it another try. love to see some pics of ur mums. try smart pots to deal with root pruning?

 

[The Joker]

That won't work...

I've been growing bonsai for 5 years using this tutorial from Overgrow.

Everything you needed to know about bonsai mums but were afraid to ask from a guy whose been growing for more than 5 minutes.


http://www.cannabase.com/cl/pages/mums/mums.html

 

[HeadGrow]

That won't work...

I've been growing bonsai for 5 years using this tutorial from Overgrow.

Everything you needed to know about bonsai mums but were afraid to ask from a guy whose been growing for more than 5 minutes.


http://www.cannabase.com/cl/pages/mums/mums.html

Great Link!!! I like the step by step picture of the root pruning. I'm pretty sure I have a couple mothers that are much too cramped for their container and that's why they are showing unhealthy signs.

 

[HeadGrow]

bonsai was another way i was thinking of playing around. i started a few a while back but didnt have a place for the cuttings so they out grew a true bonsai so ill prob give it another try. love to see some pics of ur mums. try smart pots to deal with root pruning?

I've never tried smart pots but I think after enough time the same root-bound issues would happen with smart pots as would any container. I'm not exactly sure but I think smart pots just kill the root tip when it hits the side wall, making the root expand through the soil instead of circling the perimeter of the pot; like it does in normal plastic pots. With Bonsai the point of root pruning is to take away root mass so that the new roots have a place to go and feed.

Herb isn't my only plant I like to grow. I've been growing orchids for years now and just started to get into bonsai's about a little over a year ago. It's interesting to see how the practices of one hobby mix with others.

 

[mdTHC420]

ive read that thread multiple times, and love it. just wondering, why wouldnt smart pots work for root pruning?

 

[putembk]

All this is interesting and it's amazing to see all of the different things that can be done to this basically sensitive plant. Consider this however, wouldn't it just be easier to clone another mother. Obviously any one following this thread is somewhat successful at cloning. Or am I wrong in assuming the strain could be just as potent for generations?

 

[Str8Dank]

bonsai mom's is one way

another would be a topsey turvey for growing tomatoes upside down! i have a friend who posts elsewhere that grows a few plants on the side of his room in them and they work surprisingly well! would be awesome to put a little motor on the ceiling to keep it rotating. i've been wanting to try that for some time.

 

[Str8Dank]

here is a pic

 

[HeadGrow]

Here's some pics of my mom's after thier third generation of clones. They are mostly going on 9 months exept a few that are going on a year. The ones from seed are so much chunkier than the moms from second, third or whatever gen clones.


Here are all my moms. The three in the left corner are from clones the rest are from seed. I'm in the process of choosing the best phenotype of Deep Purple, SoMango, and Diamond Head.

Deep Purple pheno3

Deep Purple base pheno1

Deep Purple pheno1

Deep Purple pheno2.3 top view. I'm pretty sure I planted this seed upside down. The plant has grown pretty cool though, it looks like a squid or something.

Deep Purple pheno2.3

After I choose the best phenos I'll start the mom over from a new healthy cutting and begin the bonsai cycle over.

I've read a lot of posts and info on if cloning weakens the gentics. A bunch of people are on mom number 20 or more from cutting after cutting and say the potency hasn't gone down a bit and that the plant still grows the same. I've only gotten to about gen 4 or 5 and haven't noticed much difference in anything. I quess I just prefer to not have to keep maturing plants to the point of being a mom.

 

[mal]

Very Cool Plants

I think a smart pot would extend the life before repotting was necessary, but you would still have to upsize on the pot eventually or root prune. Smart pots air prune roots(around the sides) causing them to grow back into the container but eventually the container(smart pot) will be full of roots. The bonsai mothers are very cool, and that is basically what a mother is, a bonsai after so many cycles of clones have been taken



mal

 

[mdTHC420]

gotcha. headgrow, its going to be a bitch pruning those round pots. gonna go square next round?