Mother plant height

I have two mother plants. One is about 3'-0" tall and the other is about 18" tall. I reduced the 18" incher from about 28" down to 9"/12" once already and it grew right back. I won't need clones again for about two months.

How are you indoor growers keeping mother plants in check?

Trim her down. She'll only get wider, so trim for height and width. Process the trimmings into oil or something. You will have to get a new mother eventually.

I've recently started keeping two bonsai moms, basically following the oldtimer1 guide: https://overgrow.com/t/bonsai-mums-by-oldtimer1/1433

The gist of it is: 4 inch square pot, feed veg nutes twice a month, take cuttings every 2-4 weeks to keep it small whether you use them for clones or not, trim the root ball and repot a couple times a year

I've also been looking at the mother plant specific nutes to try and not give a full N-loaded veg feed to help slow down the growth as I don't use many clones a year and I mainly focus on preserving the genetics.

Definitely have to rotate in new moms periodically - I'm finding even with topping them frequently you start to have issues with the lower growth not being as desirable for the next round of clones. Especially if you're like me and neglect to top frequent enough and when you do need to lop off several inches of growth.

NewGrower2011 said:

Especially if you're like me and neglect to top frequent enough and when you do need to lop off several inches of growth.

Click to expand...

IMHO it's the scale of the operation. The 3'-0" tall plant would be great for taking 1'-0" long cuttings. But with height restrictions later in the flowering period 1'-0" cuttings just aren't practical.

I trim my mother's back if I need to. if they are being really feierc I'll go after the roots. I prefer to plant anything that has a 50% chance to root. but I take 100ish clones a month and keep less than a 3rd

Monster_of_Au said:

I trim my mother's back if I need to. if they are being really feierc I'll go after the roots. I prefer to plant anything that has a 50% chance to root. but I take 100ish clones a month and keep less than a 3rd

Click to expand...

That's a different scale too.

Less light until you need clones, then you need to boost the light in advance of needing the bush again

Keep in small pots, train and top EARLY and OFTEN, I keep all my mommies under 12". It takes more effort to keep them healthy, repotting, root cutting etc.

So this may seem like a dumb question but if you don't need a mother for 2 months why have a mother?
not like why take one at all I think you should. but couldn't you take a few clones, keep the best one and let it become a new mother? that would take 2 months right? I've cut back roots before and that gave me about 3 weeks of stunned growth, but it still grew.

Idk but that seems like a good enough solution for me

Right you are. In a continuous harvest you can always hold 1 clone back and clone her back when needed. Save back 1 of those and your back in it. Roll on!

Good comments. Are clones of clones the same power as the mother plant?

The Runtz I have was my only female. I have no more seeds.

Imo, you're taking a cutting, so it's still the same plant. For example, I have a 4 month old mature plant, showing its sex, ready to flower. I take cuttings and root them, they are not born and have to go through development and then maturing, they are already developed and mature as they are the same plant, same age, same DNA, same pheno, same same..... same everything, so how can they be less or more potent?

If I then grew them out enough and took cuttings from those, it is still the exact same plant is it not?

I've read of guys keeping a mother going on 20 years and still taking cuts from it. They keep it topped and pruned, low light, low heat, usually as a house plant in their living room.

rmax said:

Good comments. Are clones of clones the same power as the mother plant?

The Runtz I have was my only female. I have no more seeds.

Click to expand...

Yes they are.

Severed Tongue said:

Imo, you're taking a cutting, so it's still the same plant. For example, I have a 4 month old mature plant, showing its sex, ready to flower. I take cuttings and root them, they are not born and have to go through development and then maturing, they are already developed and mature as they are the same plant, same age, same DNA, same pheno, same same..... same everything, so how can they be less or more potent?

Click to expand...

The reason I asked is because marijuana is an annual vs perennial. The annual begins with new DNA every grow season while the perennial uses the same DNA from start.

No use rehashing the known. Thanks.

"Age-associated accumulation of DNA damage and decline in gene expression. In tissues composed of non- or infrequently replicating cells, DNA damage can accumulate with age and lead either to loss of cells, or, in surviving cells, loss of gene expression. Accumulated DNA damage is usually measured directly."

- Wiki

NewGrower2011 said:

I've also been looking at the mother plant specific nutes to try and not give a full N-loaded veg feed to help slow down the growth as I don't use many clones a year and I mainly focus on preserving the genetics.

Definitely have to rotate in new moms periodically - I'm finding even with topping them frequently you start to have issues with the lower growth not being as desirable for the next round of clones. Especially if you're like me and neglect to top frequent enough and when you do need to lop off several inches of growth.

Click to expand...

What mother plant specific nutes do you use as i am just now looking for some kind of nutrients that can sustain the mother more than expand. I considered the stuff called Mother Plant A/B by Hydro Dynamics. I just bought the A not knowing B was required as well...still waiting for amazon to deliver B. So Im just looking for input on that subject

I'm all over the board on mother plant feeding approaches. A bit of this, a dash of that. Fish Hydrolysate and some Cal/Mag periodically. I throw a dash of the Nectar OneShot on every couple months. Added some cottonseed meal for slow release N, a little kelp now & then, etc.

What I'm aiming for is low/no maintenance and preferring use of solid nutes that don't need mixing.