Why bother keeping mother plants?

[mushroombrew]

anyone have issues with mums starting to flower out? Is she just showing she's ready or is it best to let her into the flower room to do her thing?

No. Sounds like ruderalis?

 

[St. Phatty]

Something to decorate and put lights on during the holidays ?

 

[nksv]

No. Sounds like ruderalis?

she's a bodhi more cowbell....

 

[Jhhnn]

There's a certain freedom to just growing from seed that I like. I'm not into it nearly as deep as some & my efforts are strictly non-commercial so I'm sure I look at it differently. It's nice to not have to mess with it at all sometimes. My whole method with blumats & organic soil is geared towards low maintenance, anyway. I harvested 6 weeks ago & I'll start up again next weekend. I'm always moving on, growing something different, anyway. I'll try Queen Mother this time & some of the wife's fave Rishi Kush just to keep her happy.... Maybe make some seeds with QM... maybe pass them on to outdoor growers I know...

 

[mack 10]

Rishi Kush?

 

[MJPassion]

anyone have issues with mums starting to flower out? Is she just showing she's ready or is it best to let her into the flower room to do her thing?

Could be root bound.

 

[Drewsif]

Saw it mentioned already. If you take cuttings off your flowering plants, youre probably not going to take a top. So you risk growing out an entire crop of larf clones.

 

[Jhhnn]

Rishi Kush?

From Mandala-

https://www.mandalaseeds.com/Catalogue/Rishi-Kush

Their description is accurate. It's a very smooth high.

 

[mushroombrew]

Saw it mentioned already. If you take cuttings off your flowering plants, youre probably not going to take a top. So you risk growing out an entire crop of larf clones.

A clone taken from the bottom can reveg and grow true to type

Some slower than others. But top or bottom genetic material is the same.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Just an FYI,
mothers, clones & veg production can all be done in the same area, under the same light/s.

I'm kind of tired of keeping mothers through the winter just so I can grow the same cuts year after year after year after...

There's an awesome tutorial, somewhere here on IC, on how to keep a shit load of moms in a relatively tiny space... Like a 2ftx4ftx6ft tent or smaller... I'll see if I can find it.

You want Old Timer's Guide. OT1's Bonsai Mum Guide. 12 Mums under a two lamp, 4 foot shoplight. I do the same thing in hydro, only about double the size. Amazingly economical on resources while being capable of pumping out amazing numbers of cuttings.

 

[jidoka]

The truth is found by not keeping them. You will learn soon enough

 

[moose eater]

Because mothers offer a reliable source of a known commodity, offering 12, 24, or even 50 or more clones at a time, depending on the need and size of the mother.

 

[mushroombrew]

@Douglas.Curtis nice link! I love bonsai and have visited Japan lots.

I think I will make a few just for fun!

 

[Vanilla Phoenix]

Yeah, bonzai moms are the way to go if you dont need a bunch of cuts all at one time. I fit 6 bonzai moms under a 2ft 4 bulb T5. I have kept 8 moms under the same light. That thread Douglas posted changed my grow life for sure!

You cant see all of them in the pic, but you get the idea. Even got my clone king off to the side.

 

[mushroombrew]

When I was 15yrs old I soft wire wrapped a plant. And shaped it. Makes me want to do it again.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Yeah, bonzai moms are the way to go if you dont need a bunch of cuts all at one time. I fit 6 bonzai moms under a 2ft 4 bulb T5. I have kept 8 moms under the same light. That thread Douglas posted changed my grow life for sure!

You cant see all of them in the pic, but you get the idea. Even got my clone king off to the side.

View Image

Bitchin Cab! NGB got me hooked on those as well. lol

As for not enough cuts... This issue is easily solved with extra mums, or as I pointed out before, go with a slightly larger bonsai mum. Hydro throws cuts even quicker.
Individual 5 gallon dwc buckets will throw 100+ cuts, every 2 weeks when fed well and with enough lighting. 5" netpots of pebbles, in an E&F, will throw less and are a more manageable size and will have a common reservoir. Takes a bit to get the root ball out of a net cup, for trimming the root ball. It's easier than rinsing DWC roots you just trimmed. lol

When I get a specific pheno which roots like crazy and solves all my issues, you bet your ass I'm going to keep a mum. Life's too short to spend time hoping your seeds turn out to be something you can use.

 

[mushroombrew]

I field plant mothers in trays with a couple inches of media. Hydro.

Well after 60 days I pull them down and reload.

I decided to keep a few this time.

I had to fold the rootball in half to get it to fit in this 5G.

How do you like my BWC big water culture!! lol.
Just didn't have room in a tray so there are vegging in the res!!

Elmers Glue

 

[ReikoX]

Great topic, I think both methods are valid. Personally, I keep bonsai mothers because I give away clones a lot. My brother just takes cuts before flower.

I keep my mothers in homemade fabric pots about the size of a 16oz solo cup. They get trimmed down to about 4" or 5" every three weeks. I also take micro clones like the Dr.BudGreenGenes link posted earlier. Here you can see a dozen or so bonsai mothers, another dozen or so rooted clones, and yet another dozen or so micro clones. All of this fits in an area about 2'x2'x2'.

Here is Another picture of the veg area with the moms and the clones on top. That is a 4-bulb 2' T5HO for the moms and some cheap LED strips for the clones.

 

[St. Phatty]

Something extra to celebrate on Mothers Day ?

 

[dansbuds]

You don't know what you are talking about, that is only something a novice greenthumb would worry about.

There is no point in keeping moms when you are pulling cuts from your veg plants.

I've done it that way for 10 years without a problem.

If you are worried about your ability to clone then just take some extra cuts and throw em in the fridge.

I'm a master grower, I'm well past worrying about whether I can successfully root cuttings.. it's not even a thought..

I don't see what u mean by playing with fire, care to explain?

a master grower for 10 years & no moms , its gotta get boring running the same strain over & over again !
i like variety & have about 25 different moms , never run the same strain twice in months unless it widely asked for , & even then they get tired of after awhile & want something new .

no moms & perpetual has to get boring as fuck if ya ask me !