When to take first clone?

So I have some plants that I'm not actually sure how old they are but I Over-watered them and damaged them to point where they grow very slowly now, but otherwise seem healthy. I'm praying one of them ends up being a female, as my goal for the time being is to establish a good mother plant.

My first question is how to recognize the ideal time to take a clone. How soon should I take the first, and is there an optimal time to wait before taking another?

Should I only be taking clones from auxiliary growth tips or can I take them from the main tip effectively topping the plant?

DrShiny said:

So I have some plants that I'm not actually sure how old they are but I Over-watered them and damaged them to point where they grow very slowly now, but otherwise seem healthy. I'm praying one of them ends up being a female, as my goal for the time being is to establish a good mother plant.

My first question is how to recognize the ideal time to take a clone. How soon should I take the first, and is there an optimal time to wait before taking another?

Should I only be taking clones from auxiliary growth tips or can I take them from the main tip effectively topping the plant?

Click to expand...

http://rollitup.org/t/uncle-bens-topping-technique-to-get-2-or-4-main-colas.151706/

Just don't discuss politics with him. And he certainly did not discover this technique or even improve on it.But he did do pics!

I believe most people take their clones just before flipping to flower. Lower branches are fine to make cuttings from...no reason to snip the main unless you want to.

Yep, I agree. Before flowering is good idea.

bravedave said:

I believe most people take their clones just before flipping to flower. Lower branches are fine to make cuttings from...no reason to snip the main unless you want to.

Click to expand...

As this is going to be a mother plant, I don't plan on ever flowering it. But my question is when is best to take the first clipping. As I understand it, clipping the main is better to promote the growth of new growth tips. As I want this plant solely to take clones from, the more growth tips, the better. So essentially I just keep topping it while taking clones and it gets bushier and bushier.

You can take them at the early stages of flowering with no problem if you want. I often take mine in the first or second week of flower with no issues at all.

Oh and you can take them from whatever pretty much. Just make sure the steam is at least 1.5-2mm thick, I like to scrape the sides of it and do a split, then use a combo of rooting powder and gel into a moist jiffy pellet. Use a humidity dome thing. Keep temp and humidy in optimal range and you should be sweet. I have never not had a clone root.

DrShiny said:

As this is going to be a mother plant, I don't plan on ever flowering it. But my question is when is best to take the first clipping. As I understand it, clipping the main is better to promote the growth of new growth tips. As I want this plant solely to take clones from, the more growth tips, the better. So essentially I just keep topping it while taking clones and it gets bushier and bushier.

Click to expand...

That is a horse of a different color. I create one-time mothers every grow , but have never created a perpetual one...so I am not aware really how best to create. My one-time mothers get topped at about 18" and the whole plant LSTed. When the plant again reaches about 24"-30 it gets used as a mother and then, in my case, trashed. You could just continue to top and train. Again though, my mothers only get cloned from, once. Your original question should have been....

"Best mother creation technique and when can I take my first clone??"

5 1/2 to 6 weeks in dirt is the youngest your donor mom should be. Younger than that and rooting percentages nosedive.

The bigger the cutting the better. One quarter of an inch thick is the skinnieast cutting I will make. Really large-diameter cuttings have a hole running through the middle of the cutting. That is a sign of a real good cutting as the hole helps the plant siphon liquid quickly. My success rate is over 90% when the cutting has a central hole.

The cuttings will be without a root support system so they need 100% humidity in a dome. Use a seed mat for heating the dome. Keep a spray bottle handy and mist your clones 2-3 times a day. Make sure the humidity stays high!

Good luck, BigSteve.

bigsteve said:

5 1/2 to 6 weeks in dirt is the youngest your donor mom should be. Younger than that and rooting percentages nosedive.

The bigger the cutting the better. One quarter of an inch thick is the skinnieast cutting I will make.
.

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Wow. Although, my success rate is as good with skinnier..I like the thought of that cuz I know your's get bigger faster too.

Do you have any thoughts on how that mother should be treated/trained for those first 6 weeks? And beyond?

I pick out candidates for motherhood by the donor mom's phenotype. Generally speaking the shape of the plant. I want to see a Christmas tree shape with a lot of side-branching. When they are 8-10 inches I decide wether they need to be topped/FIM'd or not. Most get a trim job to increase bud sites. Bud sites become clone candidates after mom hits 6 weeks in dirt. Sometimes I top?FIM the second and/or third tier of branches. I don't use (liquid) vegging nutes in the daily watering as I do in the flowering room. I try to position the mom directly under the light bulb so she doesn't have to twist and turn to face the light. (A good reason to not move the pots around especially young seedlings).

Use a good organic dirt (FF, MiracleGro Potting Mix, etc.), water as needed and keep her orientated to the light.

Good luck, BigSteve.

bravedave said:

Wow. Although, my success rate is as good with skinnier..I like the thought of that cuz I know your's get bigger faster too.

Do you have any thoughts on how that mother should be treated/trained for those first 6 weeks? And beyond?

Click to expand...

There is a few things that we can tweak to try to make better moms. First is placement under the (veg) light. The purpose of a mom is to provide cuttings used as clones. Try to place her directly under the light. Don't be afraid to use a "booster seat" to put her closer to the light if you have headroom. The more light mom gets the better and bigger her cuttings will be. By keeping her under the light you encourage side-branch growth. Side branches are potential clones.

If you know a young vegger is going to be your donor mom it is a good idea to decide early what you want mom to look like. Most would vote for bushy. If you top/FIM your potential mo early in veg you are giving her a head start in cutting growth. I'd probably top as that most always gives a more symmetric-shaped plant. Agood time is when they are in early veg, around 10-12 inches. Works for me and my short indicas.

Good luck, BigSteve.