Clone vs Mother

[meffa]

I just finished my first grow last week that had 5 mother plants and 5 clones that went to flower. The clones seemed stronger than the mothers and the top buds were bigger and denser. Also, my mothers didn't tolerate the light as well as the clones where some of the top leaves on the mothers got pretty crispy, though the clones were taller and closer to the light. The buds on the clones were also more in line with the coloring of what I was expecting (Purple Kush). The mothers were topped twice and each time they showed a lot of stress, so they definitely had a harder time than the clones.

My question is if people are seeing their clones faring better in flower as compared to mothers? At this point I'm of the mind to simply take clones and flower just those. I'd hate to discard the mothers but I'm not sure I want to put time/effort/$$$ into flowering the mother plants.

 

[Stormblessed]

I haven’t heard of that so maybe it was just the added stress, or maybe just a lack of knowledge on my part

 

[CanadianJim]

I thought most people kept mothers for multiple years, taking sets of clones and flowering those while keeping the mothers in veg?
Why don't you try that?

 

[meffa]

I thought most people kept mothers for multiple years, taking sets of clones and flowering those while keeping the mothers in veg?
Why don't you try that?

Yes I've read that too. Prob the only reason I wouldn't keep a mother for any real length of time is I want to have a variety of strains. My recent/first harvest was all Purple Kush and right now I have 1 White Widow, 1 Blueberry Sour, and 1 Alaskan Purple in veg and I just took clones 4 days ago. I have a couple of friends that want some so I'll give a bunch away and I'm thinking of trying a SOG with a bunch of small plants. I'm in the basement and have 6' in height to play with, so shorter is good. For the Fall I'm planning some Strawberry/Banana/Grape

 

[Jackalope]

With older mothers it could be a few factors. Root bound, lower nutrient levels, salt build up are just a few. Topping mothers would take away the main cola which will have a lot to do with bud size.

It doesn't sound like these mothers are that much older then the clones. If clones and mothers are about the same age and grow different then it is probably something you did differently with one or the other. Sometimes it can be one small difference's that cause changes in plant growth.