Bonsai Mothers?

Normally I keep a mother in a small pot and keep cutting it back after it gets too big. I’ve kept a few mothers for several years, but space is always an issue, so I have to get rid of an old plant to move a new plant in. Idealistically two plants is perfect, but I’ve grown up to four. Over the years I’ve sacrificed a few strains that I now regret.

So anyways I cloned all of my plants while they were still in veg, as to preserve potential mothers. During this time I kept the clones in 4” rockwool cubes, where I kept them tiny by constant pruning and giving them intense light from a T5.

This made me realize that I could keep like 30 plants in the same space as the traditional mothers were taking up. And instead of growing them out, I can just clone off of the bonsai mother, let the new plant grow for a month or so, clone off it, then destroy it. The new mother will be temporary while the bonsai mother lives on for years. And if the bonsai mom starts getting too big, I’ll just restart the process.

I assume I’m not the first person to think of this, but it’s going to be a huge breakthrough for me. It will be like a spice rack of mothers to choose from, and maintenance will be far easier.

These plants are over two months old.

You posted about your bonsais in that other ridiculous thread but I’d seen this one too. How many strains do you have saved under there?
Really like that method for keeping a nice library in a small space.

C. Nesbitt said:

You posted about your bonsais in that other ridiculous thread but I’d seen this one too. How many strains do you have saved under there?
Really like that method for keeping a nice library in a small space.

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I just started doing it this cycle, so most of them are getting culled. There are three strains with decent variation of phenos. I’m thinking of keeping two of each. I had a pretty rough cycle this last grow because I’ve been experimenting with too many variables, so I might end up keeping anything that looks promising and rerun it later.

I have four new strains in veg right now, and then another cycle after that. I’ll still buy and run seeds, but it will be more of a side thing. No more all out pheno hunting for awhile after this.

I may try to get this thread moved to the grow journal section and keep updates. Or start a new one. I was just wondering if anyone else was doing it.

I think there are 17 plants right now. Somewhere in there.

I picked my phenos and culled about half of the plants. 1-5 Blue Apple. 11-12 Bazookaz. 16-19 Upside Down Frown. I’ll probably rerun the Blue Apples and thin down the mothers to one or two. I may do the same with the Upside Down Frowns.

Right now I have Money Guns, Gucci Links, Slushers (Cannarado) and Burn Out (Chron Don Genetics) in veg. I’m going to clone and bonsai each plant in a couple of days to restart the process. After this cycle I have one more seed run and then I think I can start running clones again.

Once I'm done with the pheno hunt I may run seeds in a 4x4 plot every other cycle or so. I want to get back some classic strains, some strains that I've never gotten to try, and some new strains. I'm really impressed with Chron Don Genetics. I followed the guy (Chron_Don_Grows) before he became a breeder. I'll be grabbing his packs and stuffing them away from here on out.

These things are getting thick.

You top watering or flood? How long do you think a plant would be healthy in the same cube?

Turpman said:

You top watering or flood? How long do you think a plant would be healthy in the same cube?

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I’m top feeding them. Rockwool is nonbiodegradable, so I suspect they'll live for as long as I can take care of them. I have no idea though. I guess we’ll see.

Just a little update.

they will live as long as you can still effectively saturate the cubes

ive had plants in 6in cubes that i've cut back often for a yr or so... the problem is the stocks out grow those algae covers

#freethegreen #gotco2 #/s

Samwell Seed Well said:

they will live as long as you can still effectively saturate the cubes

ive had plants in 6in cubes that i've cut back often for a yr or so... the problem is the stocks out grow those algae covers

#freethegreen #gotco2 #/s

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Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I haven't checked for awhile. If need be I can chop some branches and pull them upward to get them off. Or just break them. I'll probably replace the caps with panda film at some point.

lusidghost said:

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I haven't checked for awhile. If need be I can chop some branches and pull them upward to get them off. Or just break them. I'll probably replace the caps with panda film at some point.

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you know me, not a green thing i dont like (except liverwurt)

algae, i know what the peanut gallery feels, i also know what's going to happen in my own algae garden.

and to get back on rockwool moms, i never kept them in those cubes by choice ( moms in HP prmix or royal gold tupor) , well it was but simply because i had to hide them because mgmt wanted to axe them....3yrs later that same farm sold me the cut i saved back...

lusidghost said:

Once I'm done with the pheno hunt I may run seeds in a 4x4 plot every other cycle or so. I want to get back some classic strains, some strains that I've never gotten to try, and some new strains. I'm really impressed with Chron Don Genetics. I followed the guy (Chron_Don_Grows) before he became a breeder. I'll be grabbing his packs and stuffing them away from here on out.

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I just picked up Fire Berries and Arizona Asphalt for $90 each from a local dude I know well. Think he's got four or five more of CD's strains under $100. He uses a lab grade cryogenic seed freezer so i always have total confidence in buying from his vault. I'm trying to snag one of each, could hook you up with any extra.

Cannaclysmic Events said:

I just picked up Fire Berries and Arizona Asphalt for $90 each from a local dude I know well. Think he's got four or five more of CD's strains under $100. He uses a lab grade cryogenic seed freezer so i always have total confidence in buying from his vault. I'm trying to snag one of each, could hook you up with any extra.

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I just cloned the Burnouts for their first rerun.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think being cool like that is cool on here.

lusidghost said:

I just cloned the Burnouts for their first rerun.

Thanks for the offer, but I don't think being cool like that is cool on here.

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Doesn't surprise me, seems to be the nature of most things, the inconsistent application of what is acceptable in a thread/post. It's really only the effect caused by amount of various perceptions and definitions. Or it may simply be a matter of CYA. In any event, it makes helping a dude out a real pain sometimes. But, I'm sure no one would mind me telling you that I recently stumbled on six CD selections from an online bank marked from $150 down to $45.

Cannaclysmic Events said:

Doesn't surprise me, seems to be the nature of most things, the inconsistent application of what is acceptable in a thread/post. It's really only the effect caused by amount of various perceptions and definitions. Or it may simply be a matter of CYA. In any event, it makes helping a dude out a real pain sometimes. But, I'm sure no one would mind me telling you that I recently stumbled on six CD selections from an online bank marked from $150 down to $45.

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They don't care about scoring seeds. Just giving away cuts / trades / sells is against the TOS on here.

lusidghost said:

They don't care about scoring seeds. Just giving away cuts / trades / sells is against the TOS on here.

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That's the inconsistency I speak of. Seeds and cuttings are functionaly equivalent with respect to the bill they move under. It's either all right, or all wrong. Unless there is some other rational I'm not aware of. I'm not arguing with you as if you wrote the rules, please don't feel the need to retort, I'm just using this dialog to put some thought into the vapor