Permanent Mothers or Cuttings from Clones?

Hi guys, girls and plants

I have recently started using clones as my last batch of seeds (Superskunk Feminised from sensiseeds, amsterdam) failed miserably.....apart from 2 which Ive matured nicely.

Anyhow I have taken several cuttings from 1 of these possible mothers and glad to say mother and babies both doing well and healthy

My problem here is do I keep the 2 mothers in a constant state of veg (18/6) or take cuttings from clones/mothers just before I put them into flowering (12/12)....as you may have noticed I have no problems with sex etc. as seeds Ive used are feminised. My problem is I have only one grow area so if keeping mothers I would have to take them out of grow area when 12hr dark cycle is on and keep them in just a normal room with normal daylight and domestic light until the main grow area's 12hr light cycle starts....or do you think if i decide to flower all plants I should just take loadsa cuttings and try n keep cuttings stagnating for the 2 month flowering period until crop harvested then put them into main grow area?????

I am trying to ensure I keep this strain (obviously) but also want the easiest and maintenance-free way of keeping the grow cycle continous.....I forgot to say Im using a hydroponic system and 250w cfl system (blue bulb veg - red bulb flower), not that this matters as I'm only looking for advice on the best way to keep the crop constant, strong and uniform.

I have heard taking cuttings from flowering plants means cuttings take a while to root etc...could this be my easiest solution considering I have to keep cuttings alive until main crop has flowered etc (2 months)??

Thanks for reading this people and ANY help/advice/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

skMADuev.....Peace Out.....

A lot of people don't have room for moms. I keep seven moms and send out snips to people who don't have the means to keep a mom. My first clone I take from a seedling(the cola) will become a mother and I bud the seedling. A cloned mom has the edge on a seedling mom as the clone has already experienced the cloning process.

It's all about timing. I've taken clones just before flower and I always end up with a bunch of clones with no where to go. with a single mother I can take when I need them and they will all be the same phenotype.

An interesting bit of info that m8 cheers

bonzi and mcbride...thanks guys, like i said any help appreciated....mcB I think im gonna use your idea about making first clone off seeded plant the mother.....bonzi i hear you 2 pal, do you guys reckon the mother would be ok with getting the 12hr light cycle with the flowering crop and then the other 12 in daylight outwith the grow cupboard???

If you plan on moving here every day on time that would be ok but just top your seedling and youz that as mother clone grow that and take cuttings that one like they said above me in previous post but make a cheap box cardboard or something more sturdy to keep her in or in seperat room in closet or use some black drop cloth plastic from walmart $9 a roll to black out small section of room for her

ty m8 its not a blacked out section in grow room I nedd but an area where mother gets enough light to keep in veg.

skmaduev said:

bonzi and mcbride...thanks guys, like i said any help appreciated....mcB I think im gonna use your idea about making first clone off seeded plant the mother.....bonzi i hear you 2 pal, do you guys reckon the mother would be ok with getting the 12hr light cycle with the flowering crop and then the other 12 in daylight outwith the grow cupboard???

Click to expand...

Can you separate your mother by putting up a barrier. I use indoor outdoor carpet, and white and black reflective plastic to separate my moms from my grow. I have had to constantly move moms in the past which can be a real pain. In reality a person only needs one mom. When starting a new system I clone and label my plants and bud the seedlings. Next crop I crop all the clones except the ones I'm considering for moms. Next crop I'll clone off the selected moms and as they get bigger and more proven I single it down to one mom. By that time your new cloned mom will be big enough to supply you with proper clones and then you'll be in the biz.

mothers or clone from cutting doesnt matter because either way you have to have a space to keep them under a seperate light cycle.

even if u take clones from cuttings i suggest having at least a small mom on hand. it really sucks to have something stupid happen and u kill all your clones and lose that strain.

moms are usually in bigger pots so they tend to weather the abuse a little a better...for me anyways.

it sucks if u have to leave for a few days and no one to tend clones. the mom u can just fill her up and be on your way.

Thanks mcB, yeh I think Im gonna have to come up with some way of having 2 areas....My grow area just now is a cupboard in the bedroom which seems custom built for my needs, the dimensions are 4ft x 4ft x 7ft high...... I will have to come up with something in the near future but for this crop im gonna keep the mother in for the clones veg stage (4 weeks) and obviously the 12hr cycle when the others go into 12 on 12 off, and just move it into the main bedroom for additional light when rest are on the dark cycle......I'm topping some of them for the first time to compare the 4 cola yield against the un-topped rest but we won't go their!.....lol

I've got a 6-pot Autopot System (self-watering with gravity fed main tank and flotation valves) and swiched from 600w HPS/MH lighting to 250w CFL (seperate vegging and flowering bulbs) mainly because of electricity costs so I'll be sure to post the outcomes, have you used Uncle Ben's method for topping before m8? That's what I'm giving a go with some of this crop....would be interested on your comments....

yeh kawg m8, I think this time I'll keep a mom and also try taking clones just before I shove rest into flower.....I'm gonna see if I can keep clones alive for 8 weeks in propagator....maybe by limiting growth via 18/6 light cycle and no nutes.....I might sound crazy to some but I love experimenting with things and if I can keep clones alive and healthy for 8 weeks with minimal growth and then into set-up and they grow well then I'm gonna solve a BIG problem for a LOTTA people

peace...out...