I need advice about my mother.......

I have this one beautiful Purple Power plant that is just itching to provide me with an abundance of healthy clones... The only problem is that I have never cared for a mother plant, as I have always just grown, flowered and been rewarded.

If someone could tell me the best way to harbor a mother....
I know it sounds dumb, but I really would hate to lose her.

I grow in soil, but I just want to know what kind of light I would need to just keep her in a slow but steady veg state....

I have a 2'x5' partition of my grow space set aside for her and just put in ventilation..... I'm going out to get lights, but I need suggestions for lights....... Would three 4' long fluorescents be sufficient if I run them vertically? If so is there any particular wattage and light color that would be prefferable?


Thanks for any help you can give me.....

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Originally Posted by righteous

I need advice about my mother...

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Remember to call her on her birthday.
Don't tell her about that tattoo you got on spring break in Cancun.
Tell her how good her meatloaf is even if it tastes like Alpo with bread crumbs and a ketchup glaze.

All joking aside, you have come to the right place. I currently keep 50+ mothers in a perpetual state of veg and prep them for cuttings only when needed.

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Originally Posted by righteous

If someone could tell me the best way to harbor a mother....

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Soil prep is VERY VERY important.
I recommend AGAINST any peat-based soil, since mothers are expected to inhabit the same pot longer than a plant destined for bud production.
I am using a soil mix that is about 65% composted manure and composted humus (store brand from Agway, the Eastern US farm supply chain) and 35% coarse grade perlite.
It holds a constant pH and is very easy to flush.
You WILL be flushing your mother at some point, trust me.
A pot with excellent drainage is also a must. 3 gallon square plastic kitty litter buckets with 1/2" holes drilled in the bottom AND SIDES are GREAT for keeping a mother who is about 18-24" tall and pruned to several leads.

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Originally Posted by righteous

I grow in soil, but I just want to know what kind of light I would need to just keep her in a slow but steady veg state....

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Ample but not super intense light in the bluer end of the spectrum.

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Originally Posted by righteous

I have a 2'x5' partition of my grow space set aside for her and just put in ventilation..... I'm going out to get lights, but I need suggestions for lights....... Would three 4' long fluorescents be sufficient if I run them vertically? If so is there any particular wattage and light color that would be prefferable?

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In the 2x5 section, you should plan to house actually 2 mothers in 3 gallon pails plus your propagation dome. That is a comfortable fit.

3 x 4' 2-bulb 80w total shop lights is more than enough light for that space for that use.

2 of those fixtures is plenty to keep your moms in slow constant veg. Hang the thrid, but only turn it on when you are prepping the moms for cuttings- 2 weeks before cutting date when you are trying to encourage rapid growth at teh leaders.

Note that when there is a set of clones rooting, if you are doing it in the same closet, put the prop dome in the shade of the plants or cut the overhead light down to only one of the 3 fixtures. Clones wilt easily and often fail if lighting is too intense.

For comparison, I keep about 30 foot-tall moms in quart pots (yes they are a bit root bound, haha!) under only 2 shop lights like that, with 'cool white' bulbs, and the lights are actually rather high above the plants compared to what you would want for a plant in vegetative growth. When I want to take cuttings from a certain mother, I toss her under a MH for a week or 2 so she 'wakes up' and throws cloneable shoots. I wish I had a pic of this but I'm nowhere near the girls at the moment.

Just one addition to what stinky has explained so well...:thumbsup:

Get T-8 bulbs for your shop lights. They are the same price, but they will give your plants more light than T11 or T12's.

Yes, when you are prepping your moms to take cuts, you can swap in the more intense T8 bulbs.
You will learn to find the balance that allows you to schedule when your mothers are ready to take cuttings by manipulating their light intensity, food, and even temperature.

Oh. Moms love superthrive applied at one drop per gallon in a bloom fertilizer about a week before taking cuts. The b12 in the ST is useful for preventing stress, and the phosphorous in the bloom fert is important in growing new roots. You should not feed Nitrogen to a plant that you are about to cut from- there is N in superthrive but at the recommended dosage it is not too much.
After you take cuts, you can flush out the plants and feed them with a 1/2 strenght GROW fert to give them a little boost for the new growth.

Thanks Stinky...... You always seem to have an answer to my questions..... I'm guessing you've had a bit of experience in such matters....:jointsmile:

I got a bunch of white widow sprouts that I wanna eventually cross with purple power. I hope it works out that way... I'll post some pics when I get that corner revamped.

Just another thing I have noticed after taking cuttings from my Mother 3 times now.

I got a hold of Some (Green-Air)"BIO-GENSIS (Synergy)" Its basically Higher end superthrive. All Organic OMRI tested etc.

Anywhays the best thing about this stuff is Its a mad stimulant. Which from what I have noticed almost stretches the plants a bit.

So 2 weeks before I am about to take clones. I will give My Mom a good hit of that stuff and I get nice perfectly sized clones. As well I use it to boost my clones once they have rooted. As well as any other application.

Just a few things... Love to big this stuff up cuz its soo Dang good... Pretty much everything By (greenAir)BIO-GENSIS has been awsome. I use the HighTide for flowering get awsome results

heres the Link

http://greenair.com/bio-genesis.htm

Ohh and hi Stinky Long time no Talk.. I've been busy at work.. GOod to hear you gotz 50 Mothas... Awsome

kd

I've been a busy bee too KD. Things are hectic but good. We should catch up soon.

mums

and updated version with more info
International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - ALL ABOUT BONSAI MOMS/MUMS

heres a good link on maintaining mothers
can even download and keep on pc