Should I clone before I know the sex of the plant

Hi All,

Been reading on this forum for advice for my first grow indoor. (Great forum) Got some "unknown" seeds that i planted, and now i have two plants growing under fl.tubes (6x24w). Fitted them under a shelf with the ballasts on top to reduce heat for the plants.

I hope that one is a female that I can take cutlings from, and use as a mother.
(Will use a 600W HID in a separate room in a week to continue growing)

The question is, should I take clones and sex them, or should I sex the two plants I have to be sure the the clones are from a female?

Take clones and sex the clones. Changing up lighting schedules on the mother plant can cause stress and stunt growth, not worth the risk IMO. Not that it will, but much less risky to root a few clones and sex them instead.

Added bonus, if you get any female clones and leave them flower, you can have a lil sample a couple weeks earlier than the rest of the crop:thumbsup:

Well, when I am bringing up a new plant I will clone as soon as feasible and as soon as I have root show the mother goes in the flower room. The clones will be what ever the mother turns into.

That keeps me in my perpetual garden status.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by irydyum

Take clones and sex the clones. Changing up lighting schedules on the mother plant can cause stress and stunt growth, not worth the risk IMO. Not that it will, but much less risky to root a few clones and sex them instead.

Added bonus, if you get any female clones and leave them flower, you can have a lil sample a couple weeks earlier than the rest of the crop:thumbsup:

---

ok, ill wait and let "them" grow until I can get some clones. Im going to build a bubble bucket and use the same fl tubes for the clones until they root.

Perpetual garden it is. :)


:smokin:

Washougals approach would work fine too, I'm sure there are some beautiful plants in that garden. However since it's your first grow (and your only genetics atm), I think flowering a clone or 2 is a good choice. If you flower the mother, then you have to wait for your clones to get big enough to clone again. If you keep the mother in veg, chances are you'll get more cuts faster and get your perpetual garden going.

That being said, I'm not a big fan of keeping single mother plants. They take up room, resources, and when branches on the mother grow older and become "barky" they become harder to root. They often require much larger containers than the rest of the garden as well. Just my personal take on it though, mothers have been used successfully for years.

If you clone generationally so to speak, that's cloning off your vegging clones right before you flower them you can accomplish a few things at once. You take care of lollipopping the bottom branches of the girls headed into flower (where most wasteful bud production occurs, also known to be where quickest rooting cuts are found on the plant), and you keep a supply of hearty fresh cuts going.

Iry

If you Bonsai your moms correctly you can achieve a plant that is 8 - 10 inches tall in a 1 gallon pot that gives you a dozen clones every 3 - 4 weeks. Properly cared for they can live like that for years. That really isn't much space although it does add up if you have more than a few. I can provide a link to an awesome tutorial if needed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigsby

If you Bonsai your moms correctly you can achieve a plant that is 8 - 10 inches tall in a 1 gallon pot that gives you a dozen clones every 3 - 4 weeks. Properly cared for they can live like that for years. That really isn't much space although it does add up if you have more than a few. I can provide a link to an awesome tutorial if needed.

---

If it's the one here in the forum by bluebear I have read it, kind of Zen :)

I almost made a kamikaze mom yesterday! The shelf with the fixtures fell down on my plants but lucky me, they were not beyond salvage..
Just a little high, high stress training, %&¤%&%¤%%%¤.
(mm I read the post about safety...)

Not only bad news, got my 600W today, only a HPS bulb came with it, but hey its better than my fl. tubes. Man, thats a big fixture/bulb and I'm not going to smoke installing it. Heavy duty hooks and chains for that boy.

Better get them under the HID as soon as possible to speed things up a bit. (And get a MH bulb)

Well, thanks for all help so far, maybe in a couple of weeks I have some clones going :D

Give this a read:

ALL ABOUT BONSAI MOMS

It is the ultimate bonsai guide.

you can sex the mother plant easily just put her on 12/12 until she starts to show sex then put her back in vegetation as long as she is healthy no problem. " I say she out of habit don't need no dudes"

Well, fellow growers..... IT's A FEMALE Yahoooooooooooo!

Of all the seeds, one survived and it's a girl. I have plenty of clones going and i'm so happy that I had to share the good news.

My hart jumped when i took a magnifying glass and could see the pistils.

Man, all the work I have put down on this project/growroom, im relieved and happy now. This is going to be a good day for sure.

Great news about the female! What i'm not getting when reading this thread, is, why are you not sexing the plant by preflower before cloning, at week 3-4, which is when to start cloning. Also, never understand going to 12/12 to sex. 10 years ago when i'd post about sexing at week 3, most doubt and others say it's strain related. Here at more than 200 strains of all types, 90% sex with preflowers by day 21 from seed pop under 20/4 lighting (i don't go 24/0 past week 2), the other 10% before day 28 veg. Growing Medman now along with SSH (mrnice), lsk and 1 Shariffmazar(free seed), Medman sexes before 21 days, the SSH at around 25 days and i've already sexed the lsk when planted(they're fem seeds):D You can tell from the emerging preflower bump if it's male or female. Germination, sexing, bud formation my three favorite aspects of growing. I have trouble even sleeping if there are seeds germinating!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bigsby

Give this a read:

ALL ABOUT BONSAI MOMS

It is the ultimate bonsai guide.

---

thx for the link bigsby, i cant wait to start some bonsai mums!:rastasmoke::rasta:

As this is my first grow, I have not dialed in anytning, but I know alot more now and next batch will be better.