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Keeping a cannabis mother plant is something every grower creates at least once, some have many. But what is a mother plant for those who haven't had one yet? In a nutshell, a cannabis mother plant is a plant used to either hold on to a specific genetic and/or to use to get clones for future grows. Due to the different uses of a mother plant ill go into the 2 different ways I keep mother plants in a minute.
What are mother plants used for?
Mother plants are used to either preserve a select plant and to take clones from the mother to be grown. The beauty of a clone from a mother plant is that it will be an identical copy of a plant. Many growers will keep multiple mother plants over time. Growing clones has many benefits. Firstly if you are growing 8 plants from clones they will be the same as the mother and each other. Meaning you can expect them to react the same to feed, training, light, flowering time, etc. I have always said a great way to hone your skills and really learn to get the most from your growing area is to grow the same clone back to back. You will learn exactly what that plant will take. It's also a great way to test things, I recently grew 8 cloned plants =, 4 under LED, 4 Under HPS. The only difference in this grow was the lights as the plants were exact clones of each other.
What size pot do I need for a mother plant?
This depends, any size will do but for the majority of growers dedicating large spaces to just mother plants is not realistic. For this reason, mother plants are normally kept in small pots or around 0.5-2 liters. By using a small pot mothers are able to be kept small and manageable. The longer the plant is in the small pot the more frequent it will need feeding/watering, so keep an eye on that, especially in warmer months.
Which medium should I use to keep a mother plant?
Soil is normally a go-to medium to keep mother plants but coco serves just as well. I've personally kept all my mothers in coco for many years. With a small pot like most growers will use to keep a mother plant there won't be enough soil to create a living system anyway.
What lights should I use for my mother plants?
This is where the 2 different reasons for mother plants really are important. If you are planning to keep a plant to preserve it and maybe use it at some point in the future then a low powered light, I've known some growers to use LED house bulbs as low as 10w. This pretty much stalls all growth or at least keeps growth very slow so the plant remains small and manageable. If you are keeping a mother for this reason you are not trying to grow it, you are trying to keep it alive for a later date.
If you are keeping a specific mother to take clones from regular then you will want a more powerful light, unlike the above scenario you want a plant that is growing well when you want to take clones. Healthy clones will have a better success rate of rooting, a healthy clone comes from a healthy mother. I would personally use 250-400 MH or a decent 100-150w LED for this purpose.
How long can I keep a mother?
You can keep a mother plant for many years, decades even. This does take some skill as a plant kept alive that long in a small pot is no easy task. Many growers will "recycle" their mothers instead. Take a clone from an aging mother and root that, making it the new mother.
Summary
Keeping mother plants is easy. Depending on your planned use of the mother, to keep it for a long time and rarely use it for clones or to be taking clones on a regular basis. It's still a plant and you want it healthy and ready for whatever you plan for it. I often see mother plants neglected in the corner of veg rooms or stuck in some space. A healthy mother produces healthy clones, healthy clones produce healthy plants.
These users thanked the author Keeno for the post (total 7):
Here's my 2 mums under a dimmed invisible sun 75 watter lowest setting the 1 is 2 months old the other 9 months topped several times what keeno says above is spot on,I keep mine in coco I don't rate fungus gnats see + btw no fans at all just the lamp .
great googly moogly!
These users thanked the author Captain Beefheart for the post (total 2):
hi keeno and all nice write up but i thought id add that one of the other not mentioned benefits of keeping a motherplant (a healthy one) is after she serves her time as a mother you get to flower her out and ime a healthy mother thats been held back by low light/nutrient etc tend to go fecking nuts when you let them see a big light and some higher nutrient and my 4 biggest harvests from my drobes have all been motherplants around 12-18 months old and the buddage from a tangerine dream 2014 clone is such solid bud it hurts your finger trying to skin up with it! love my motherplants and now have 3 on the go,getting crowded in the veg cab
mon the mothers!!!!
These users thanked the author duke for the post (total 3):
@Captain Beefheart out of interested buddy what size pot are these? 7cm?
aye ruffly that size i`d say quater litre pots mind ewe the bigger plant was under a 7 watt household led to for 4 months im bringing her on ready for a few healthy cuts now see.
These users thanked the author Captain Beefheart for the post (total 2):
hi keeno and all nice write up but i thought id add that one of the other not mentioned benefits of keeping a motherplant (a healthy one) is after she serves her time as a mother you get to flower her out and ime a healthy mother thats been held back by low light/nutrient etc tend to go fecking nuts when you let them see a big light and some higher nutrient and my 4 biggest harvests from my drobes have all been motherplants around 12-18 months old and the buddage from a tangerine dream 2014 clone is such solid bud it hurts your finger trying to skin up with it! love my motherplants and now have 3 on the go,getting crowded in the veg cab
mon the mothers!!!!
Very valid point there @duke. I was reading @ohlordyeah_420 diary and he is flowering a mother so it should have jogged my mind on that one. You are right, I love watching mothers go mental once potted up and getting some proper light.
These users thanked the author Keeno for the post (total 2):
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