What's The Oldest Clone in Your Stable?

[useless.gardens]

blue dream, had it the late 90s.

got it from a dude in nor cal and have held it ever since.

just took some cuts off her tonight.

 

[3rd-3yed]

Don't want to bash you Useless but the supposed Blue Dream mother (SSH) was not around in 1990.

 

[mowood3479]

I have a sweet island skunk that I’ve had for 12 years and my homey had it for 5 before that...

 

[GOT_BUD?]

About 6 weeks.

I had to start over after having my hip replaced. Couldn't keep the grow going while in recovery.

It's not all bad though. I really didn't have anything special.

This time around I might have found something good. I hope. Only time will tell right now.

 

[GOT_BUD?]

ahh hello sister have not seen you in years...


i guess the one i have is the ARCATA TRAINWRECK that i got originally from couch_cough_err ahh i guess 2006-2007.

still one of my most held onto cut's.




peace ..

That's one of my grail strains.

Super jealous of you.

 

[therevverend]

I'm amazed that people have clones more then ten years old, that's hard to do. When I was growing indoors we'd lose them after 4 or 5 years at the most. But that's dealing with all sorts of screw ups, spider mites, regenerating mother plants, taking a clone six weeks into flowering. Silly partners that forget to put water in the clone tray.

The worst is not having a decent Veg room to keep mothers. Having to wait until the plants are almost finished, sticking a bud on a stick in some rockwool under a fluorescent in a closet, and hoping it makes it.

There has been anecdotal reports over the years of cutting lines changing over time - losing vigour, potency etc. but there has never been any concrete evidence of this happening and I certainly haven't observed it.

That's exactly what happens. You keep taking cuts and starting over, as time goes on the plant gets less and less vigorous, takes longer to root, the buds get leafier, eventually you give up on it.

I'm very curious to know if clones *can be stressed into genetic change.

Someone else who understands the science better will have to answer but as far as I know, they do not change. At least as far as what would happen to me, the clones degrading. What happens when you don't take clones under sterile conditions, the plant gets diseased and stressed. Fungal, viral, bacterial. Eventually you end up with a very sick plant that puts out less and less. Switching from flowering back to Veg multiple probably adds to this process, as far as weakening the plant and allowing it to get sick. Fungus gnats, spider mites, thrips, etc. all take a toll as well. Taking cuttings from unhealthy unhappy plants.

This is not a genetic change or a mutation or whatever else people call it. It's possible under lab conditions to keep a plant alive through cuts indefinitely. Keeping healthy vigorous mother plants in Veg is a good idea. Sterile scissors and medium, sterile fluid in trays, there's a lot you can do to keep your clones from degrading. I can't imagine keeping a clone since the '80s, all that time during prohibition. Now it's not as hard but hiding the plants, moving them from grow house to grow house, the lack of good information about growing, all took it's toll. I'd love to travel back to 1990 with a sharp pair of scissors and 100 rockwool cubes.

A clone could only change genetically if a plant could change genetically. Can a human's genes change? I doubt it but plants are a bit different. It seems unlikely but if anyone has a better answer I'd like to hear it.

 

[useless.gardens]

Don't want to bash you Useless but the supposed Blue Dream mother (SSH) was not around in 1990.

my apology, i corrected that.

late 90s early 2000.

got the cut from a (morro bay) friend in grad school... 1999 to 2002.

 

[Ibechillin]

Therevverend good thing we have techniques available like tissue culture for the really serious about preserving plants. Seeds are good enough for me though lol, growing them out is all the fun.

 

[George]

2003 jack herer from a friend. It was popped earlier than that but he didn’t get t until 03. Have other clones that are older but this is the only one that I can actually verifiably trace and vouch for. Too bad it’s just jack herer though lol.

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

I have a JH cut that I've had since around '02, I think it might be the one called 'jack flash'. She's an amazing breeder, always throws her best traits into whatever male you cross her with. If anyone else has this cut, I highly recommend you get seeds off her.

It is hard to keep cuts alive for years. Those of us who have are displaying good growing skills no doubt. My advice is don't try to do it alone. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket, spread those cuts far and wide! That way, when the inevitable happens, and it WILL, you can get the cut back from your friends.

On clones changing over time...they don't. End of discussion.

 

[Dropped Cat]

On clones changing over time...they don't. End of discussion.

That's right, there can be a shift based on conditions,
but the plant always has the original genetic potential.

Many growers that have cuts from cuts notice the shift
and worry that the genetics are bad, lol

Grow clean, in a stable environment I say.

 

[Tal]

That's right, there can be a shift based on conditions,
but the plant always has the original genetic potential.

Many growers that have cuts from cuts notice the shift
and worry that the genetics are bad, lol

Grow clean, in a stable environment I say.

This is interesting. I have a clone that was started from seed back in 1980 by a friend. They've held it pretty close to their family for a long time and I was able to get a clone of it in the early 2000s. I lost her after a few years, and just recently reacquired her. She wasn't so healthy when I got her back and I've been trying to rejuvenate her. She is plagued by powdery mildew that I just can't seem to get rid of. A lot of her original flavor is still there, but her potency isn't what it was. It's still good, but not in the same league. I've been trying to reverse her and make S1s to see if I can get her back in seed form and have wondered if her DNA would be passed to her offspring.

I had someone mention meristem culture propagation to restore her. I've owned all of the top "elite" clones from back in the 2000s. Trainwreck, Katsu Bubba, OG, SD, Cali-o etc. and this clone was by far the best of them all.

I know this is getting off topic, but does anyone have any suggestions on reviving old girl? Now that I have her back, I'm willing to try most anything to recover it. The friend who originally started her from seed recently passed away, and I've love to revive her and return her to their family in her honor.

 

[3rd-3yed]

I've heard (didn't tried it yet) that you can revive an old clone by letting the plant grow outdoor (plain dirt, no roots restriction) for atleast two months before taking snips again.

 

[I wood]

I've heard (didn't tried it yet) that you can revive an old clone by letting the plant grow outdoor (plain dirt, no roots restriction) for atleast two months before taking snips again.

Makes sense, similar to up potting into bigger pot of soil indoors and waiting for plant to grow back to healthyness, just more of every the plant wants.

 

[SeedySimon]

On clones changing over time...they don't. End of discussion.

As I said before when criticizing some clone shops for re-selecting their mother plants each year, clones stay the same. However, I was speaking of short to mid-term, over a really long time span of decades they do seem to loose some vigour. Might be explained by virus infections or sporadic spontaneous mutations.

My NLX cut for example (about 20 years old genetics), shows occasional leaf deformation and tends to pre-flower under 18h which makes it a little more slow to clone/grow roots in the beginning. And I am pretty sure that in the early days this cut didn't have those two minor defects. Anyways, still a great plant which I wouldn't want to miss in my mother room.

I've heard (didn't tried it yet) that you can revive an old clone by letting the plant grow outdoor (plain dirt, no roots restriction) for atleast two months before taking snips again.

Indeed I noticed when growing NLX clones outdoors that they were growing more vigorous and healthy, showing less to none of the mentioned leaf deformations. Based on my observations I assume that this is not permanent though and that you can't revive or rejuvenate a clone that way.

 

[3rd-3yed]

Makes sense, similar to up potting into bigger pot of soil indoors and waiting for plant to grow back to healthyness.

Yes but in this particular case I also think sunlight full spectrum play a major part in the healthyness of plants.

 

[Ibechillin]

My observation on plants becoming susceptible to sickness, pests, disease etc has to do with tissue age, older growth is more susceptible. By routinely taking cuttings from new active growth on healthy plants in veg before flowering the veg plants Im positive this can be avoided.

 

[I wood]

Yes but in this particular case I also think sunlight full spectrum play a major part in the healthyness of plants.

Sunlight is the best cleaner is something that I’ve heard before, it applies here. That would be one advantage over indoors, hadn’t thought of that before but does make sense also.
Wish I could test this myself but I’m stuck indoors for now, so an uv light will have to do for me. That was one of the selling points, it kills virus, bacteria and other bad things.

So my thinking has just changed on putting plants out for a day and then back inside. I used to think it was foolish and risky, possibly bringing in pests. But as long as careful could actually produce cleaner healthier plants.

After thirty years growing, still learning.

 

[3rd-3yed]

Based on my observations I assume that this is not permanent though and that you can't revive or rejuvenate a clone that way.

If you're trying to revive/rejuvenate a tired indoor clone outdoor you must be 100% certain that you're dialing perfectly your indoor setup once the clone get back in it. Poor indoor conditions will fucked up everything again, but that's just simple phenotype expression: genes + environment = What you see as a plant (healthy or unhealthy).

 

[Ibechillin]

My observation on plants becoming susceptible to sickness, pests disease etc has to do with tissue age, older growth is more susceptible. By routinely taking cuttings from new active growth on healthy plants in veg before flowering the veg plants Im positive this can be avoided.

^This is the same reasoning why people feel clones grow more vigorously than the mother plants overall when put outdoors same time.

Stay fresh.