Clones Forever

[cloneX]

Can you clone a plant forever, thought I read that somewhere but not certain, or do they eventually run out? Meaning that they loose potency. I did see a dutch documentary where they kept males alive for years to use for breeding but what about the girls can they be kept alive forever?

 

[Brother Bear]

Yes

 

[supermanlives]

its not advised. replacing moms yearly is my rule. my rule is also have a bunch to choose from for your new mom . i actually pick 2.

 

[cloneX]

Not advised, but can they be kept forever and not run out is what I'd like to know?

 

[Brother Bear]

One single plant ? Or clones of the same plant ?

 

[Leptosoma]

You could keep most plants as moms for a years as long they are stable, i have exodus cheese cut that been taken 25 years ago, blues been taken at '93 and they both are very well. I have few plants i run for years from same clones, females and males and they do not lose their vigor. I hope that helps.

one love!

 

[cloneX]

25yrs thats amazing, so do the cuttings from this clone go into flower quicker than a plant from seed and are these clones more prone to alot of branching from every node, How do you cope with that, lots of pruning off?

 

[DirtyCarpet]

Awesome!!! Pics of moms, moms-of-moms? Leptosoma, have you noticed any changes in the seasonal generations of the same clone? Did the plant seem to become "more particular" as it aged? If so, how? ~Thank you for spreading knowledge!~ Peace.

 

[ayatayo]

you can keep a mom or a dad for more than 25 years...but it's like 1 million time easier to replace it by a new one every 2 or 3 years...and if you choose the nicer cut from the nicer branch, there would be no loss in vigor nor in potency...this question is one of the more recurrent in all pot growing forums!

 

[kaka_]

You can keep a clone alive for years but chances are at some point it will see some health issues. Most people would make a fresh mother maybe every couple years at the most.

Think about the AE Calio... that thing has to be getting close to 35 years old at this point.

If you haven't ever seen or read about oldtimer1's bonsia moms I would suggest finding that article on the net somewhere. It will change the way you think about moms for sure.

 

[TGT]

My AK47 cut is over 9 years old (with me) and when I got her she was a clone, so who her real age could be much older. I have never kept a mother of her and always took a clone off a clone - no difference from the day I received her! Also, Cheese is one of the oldest elite clones know (I read that somewhere, but not pposotive) and she is still considered the bomb, so she couldn't have changed much.

There is a really good thread in the Breeding forum on this very subject. It's very informative and an excellent read.

TGT

 

[NeWcS]

I have heard of mother plants in Amsterdam well over 10yrs old. Old genetics someone wanted to keep I guess.

From what I know from experts is that the plant will not loose any potency based on the age of a mother plant. Growing a clone and keeping it will as a mother however will degrade the potency. I was also told at the same time that the potency will reset after the 7th mother from a clone,.

I didn't read some of the above replies (I'm a stoner. give me a break) so sorry If I repeated anything.

 

[amber666]

ya can clone a clone of a clone for hundreds of generations and still not see a difference. plants cells don't age like ours do

 

[NeWcS]

Yes but as generations go by the plants will inherit any negative effects into the gene pool. By keeping a mother plant; as long as that mother stays healthy so will the offspring, most likely.

 

[TGT]

Yes I agree with you NeWcS, but I think the change is negligable. I believe it to be kind of like taking a photo copy of a photo copy and so on, with each time being new errors, but so slow the text can still be understood after many duplicates. That's not to say a giant error can't manifest itself, but it would be quite rare I think. So, in my experience and what I have learned on the subject tells me a clone can last a life time - but obviously, that's not 100%. Also, the healthier the clones and less stress they recieve would probably keep the strain even longer.

TGT

 

[NeWcS]

So you make new clones and grow one of those to take more clones off of? Why not just keep a healthy mother?

 

[leafman]

i'm with tgt. any changes would be negligible on the timescale that we are talking about.

 

[amber666]

newcs, u are taking a cutting so the genes don't change. negative effects will not be inherited as there is no genetic change (or it is reduced to an extremely low level).

as for keeping a healthy mother, sure it's a good option, but if she fails, any cuttings taken from her are of the same genetic material as her and thus can be used as the next mother.