Now I'm confused......If clones inheret the mother's genes and age ....should they not perform the same as the mother who is kept alive along side the clones,who is both the same age as the clones and the same genotype?

A clone taken from a mother is the same age and has the same DNA.So that clone becomes identical to the mother. So why then will a clone taken from the mother be any different to a clone taken from the clone?
This is where the theory runs into contradiction of itself!

As for plants that are kept alive for many years....I could understand that they might loose potency with age......Is this not the same as an old man not having the strength he had as a young man...or an old woman who stops menstsrating?

Zandor, If you can't bring yourself to bloom your old friend....Why don't you take seeds from her ,that her genetics might live on :thumbsup: