# Picking a Mother Plant...Please Help



## BigBudE (Nov 1, 2010)

I have a few SLH in the tent that all started at the same time but the difference in the sizes and nod spaces are crazy. Should I pick the biggest one (wich the nod spacing is normal for SLH) or a few of the smaller ones that are less than half the big ones height and has very close node spacing??? Any thoughts will help. I know pictures seem prudent here and i will post some tommorow.
BigBudE


----------



## smokeymcpotz (Nov 1, 2010)

Got any pics?


----------



## woodsmaneh! (Nov 1, 2010)

That's a tough call as you sound like you have a few phenol types (variations in the plant) and the best way is to clone and grow out, than smoke than make the call. Not practical for everyone so I would go with the most vigorous plant, who looks the best and grows the best, that's your new mom.

By the way picking one now won't work unless they are all fem, otherwise it could turn out to be a male. Even with fem it could happen.


----------



## Fluxcap (Nov 1, 2010)

Take a few clones of each, grow all of the mature plants out, pick your favorite plant and grow the corresponding clones in to mothers.


----------



## jewgrow (Nov 1, 2010)

Go with what woodsman said, clone all of them. Finish your grow, smoke your smoke. Then decide which ones you keep as a mother, flower the rest. Keep the plant you liked the most, and grew the best throughout the whole grow too.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 2, 2010)

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. I still cant get over how much of a difference in sizes there are between the 5 of them. I post some pics here soon and do a poll or something along those lines.
BigBudE


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 2, 2010)

Okay, Heres the pics of them. PLEASE tell me what you think.The Plants are numberd but I dont know if you can see them well enough. All these were germmed and started at the same time so yep there all the same age. Is this an example of 2 different pheno's??? #1 is deffinitely the healthy more common way the SLH normally grows. My tent is 4x8x7 so height might be an issue but probaly not.
Thanks all.
BigBudE


----------



## jewgrow (Nov 3, 2010)

Hey man, nobody else can pick your mothers for you. A mother should grow how you want it to grow. Finish up this grow, and pick the one which best suits your needs: Potency, yield, height, bushiness, etc. If you have a huge grow room, or greenhouse and can fit any plant any size, then the one that stretches huge but puts out great chronic is the one you want go for it...but if you dont have the space that plant isn't practical, and you need the shorter plant that put out the second best chronic....understand what I'm trying to say? Nobody else can pick _your_ mother. Personally either way clone them all and flower them out.

edit:

Number two seems like its doing the best anyway.


----------



## homebrewer (Nov 3, 2010)

Others have mentioned it already and this is what you've got to do: take a few cuttings from each plant and number them. Flower out your plants and choose the plant that best fits your needs. That could be yield or structure or the end product but there is no way to look at your five plants right now and be able to judge anything other than a growth pattern.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 3, 2010)

Thanks all. I know im the only one that can pick the mother I want,tough as that may be
BigBudE


----------



## newworldicon (Nov 3, 2010)

Nobody has mentioned picking your mom based on characteristics within the pheno that you want to use, of course clone the lot to secure the genetic material and then finish to witness the final outcome but make your decisions based on desired traits like shortness etc.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 3, 2010)

Thanks for the input.
If anyone else wants to add somethimg please do.
BigBudE


----------



## phyzix (Nov 3, 2010)

Don't pick a mother until you test the smoke in my opinion. 

You might want to keep the big plant for outdoor.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 3, 2010)

Im used to dealing with clones all the same size, so with the size variants here im not sure when should I go into flower. Any ideas? I do plan on letting them veg a while longer. Dont know if you can tell but there in 7gal pots. All organic grow using Super Soil.First time using the SS so hopefully ittll do great.
Thanks 
BigBudE


----------



## jewgrow (Nov 4, 2010)

newworldicon said:


> Nobody has mentioned picking your mom based on characteristics within the pheno that you want to use, of course clone the lot to secure the genetic material and then finish to witness the final outcome but make your decisions based on desired traits like shortness etc.


You obviously didn't read my posts.


----------



## newworldicon (Nov 4, 2010)

jewgrow said:


> You obviously didn't read my posts.


If I had little gold stars I would give you one  I totally missed what you were saying as I was mesmerised by Moses meeting the burning bush man.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 4, 2010)

harvest time id probally be best off harvesting 1 at a time and label it so i dont get confused then move on to the next one, and so on.


----------



## jewgrow (Nov 6, 2010)

BigBudE said:


> harvest time id probally be best off harvesting 1 at a time and label it so i dont get confused then move on to the next one, and so on.


They should all be labeled all the time...if you want any organization


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 6, 2010)

jewgrow said:


> They should all be labeled all the time...if you want any organization


They are. wouldnt have it any other way.


----------



## jewgrow (Nov 6, 2010)

I'm a hypocrite


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 7, 2010)

Not practicing what you preach?
BigBudE


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 9, 2010)

Plant #3 is turning out to be bush! It has branches everywhere. I imagine it would be a good mother plant mainly becouse of that. 
This question is for anybody that wants to answer.
What would your ideal Super Lemon Haze mother plant look like? Short and bushy? tall and branchy? tall and lanky? and why?
Thanks
BigBudE


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 10, 2010)

Anyone there?


----------



## homebrewer (Nov 10, 2010)

BigBudE said:


> Plant #3 is turning out to be bush! It has branches everywhere. I imagine it would be a good mother plant mainly becouse of that.
> This question is for anybody that wants to answer.
> What would your ideal Super Lemon Haze mother plant look like? Short and bushy? tall and branchy? tall and lanky? and why?
> Thanks
> BigBudE


 My bad, got your thread confused with another.


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 10, 2010)

Well, Im not really wanting any males but you know how that goes...Just looking for a good mother to clone the shit out of. Im going to start cloning a few of each plant from 1-4 and then flower the originals starting tommorow.
Is Urkle a indica dominant strain?
Thanks for posting


----------



## HottFuzz (Nov 12, 2010)

im under the impression, that common theory is the thc CONTENT for each plant is pre-determined no matter the size of the plant. meaning a larger plant will produce more bud with less thc concentrations, and the opposite for the smaller plants. smaller plants of the same strain will have higher concentrations of thc while sacrificing overall yeild. this is where YOU DECIDE what you want, quality over quantity, or quantity over quality. if you plan on breeding with her in the future i would pick the smaller one, then find a vigorous male that is slow to flower. the slower flowering males are said to have less of the hemp qualities and better for breeding smoke. that could add to the overall quantity of thc production in the offspring as well as adding some extra girth by picking a vigorous male. i am not an expert so feel free to tell me im wrong but this is what i understand from some experience and a lot of reading, hope it helps...


----------



## homebrewer (Nov 12, 2010)

HottFuzz said:


> im under the impression, that common theory is the thc CONTENT for each plant is pre-determined no matter the size of the plant. meaning a larger plant will produce more bud with less thc concentrations, and the opposite for the smaller plants. smaller plants of the same strain will have higher concentrations of thc while sacrificing overall yeild. this is where YOU DECIDE what you want, quality over quantity, or quantity over quality. if you plan on breeding with her in the future i would pick the smaller one, then find a vigorous male that is slow to flower. the slower flowering males are said to have less of the hemp qualities and better for breeding smoke. that could add to the overall quantity of thc production in the offspring as well as adding some extra girth by picking a vigorous male. i am not an expert so feel free to tell me im wrong but this is what i understand from some experience and a lot of reading, hope it helps...


THC content is measured as a percentage of all cannabinoids. Size of the plant/buds has nothing to do with THC percentage. By your rationale, the small buds you grew as a newb or the smaller buds at the bottom of the plant would be your best product. Additionally, THC content _is_ genetic but throwing a bean in dirt and adding water for 3 months doesn't mean you'll be getting the full genetic potential of said bean. More experienced growers grow higher quality in higher quantities. Lastly, the only way to see what a female has to offer is to clone her, flower her, then select your mom based off the final product.


----------



## ganicsarebetter (Nov 12, 2010)

BigBudE said:


> I have a few SLH in the tent that all started at the same time but the difference in the sizes and nod spaces are crazy. Should I pick the biggest one (wich the nod spacing is normal for SLH) or a few of the smaller ones that are less than half the big ones height and has very close node spacing??? Any thoughts will help. I know pictures seem prudent here and i will post some tommorow.
> BigBudE


go with the one with the most nodes, this will allow the most babies.....
imo

peace


----------



## BigBudE (Nov 12, 2010)

Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate it. Picking a mother can be a hard thing to do sometimes (like now). I'll post some new pictures up either tonight or tommorow morning so you all can see their progress. Hopefully they'll all be female but just couse there "Feminized" doesnt mean there all going to be.
Maybe in the near future i'll breed the SLH to some Chemdog. That would definitly be some killer medicinal smoke.
Thans for the replys
BigBudE


----------



## Tamerlane (Nov 12, 2010)

Im not as experienced as some of the other growers here but I picked my super lemon haze moms based on the following criteria:

1) most vigorous grower
2) most nodes (more nodes = more clones also more nodes = more branches = more bud) 
3) how fast clones from each mom take root (if it takes an extra week to root from another plant then thats valuable time being wasted thats going to effect your over all yearly yields.... those extra weeks add up after a few grows to be a very significant)
4) how healthy said clones are upon rooting (do they take a week to start growing again with mishaped leaves or do they keep on growing big leaves without skipping a beat.. just like point #3 you dont want to waste time letting the clone rebound... if it takes an extra week every cycle and you do 4 cycles a year then thats a whole month lost come year end.)

What I did not consider was height though. the 2 super lemon haze plants that became my moms were also the 2 tallest plants as well... I vegged some of the clones for 3 weeks (they grew about an inch and half per day under some 1000watters and flipped them into bloom when they were 3 feet tall and now they are easily over 6 foot tall... probably closer to 7 feet. I luckily have a lot of space to grow in but next time im obviously gonna have to veg them for a shorter period of time so I dont have to play time consuming LST games every day with my plants... 

I did not test the bud because i figured they would all be good enough.... and even if a slow to clone slow to grow less nodey plant did grow better weed it would take so much longer and be so much more of a hastle that its just not worth it to me. 

T


----------

