Mother plant Care questions.

[Purple Goose]

I have just a couple questions about keeping a mother plant mainly due to the fact that I have normally bought clones or grown from seeds I just have a few questions on keeping a mother,

Mainly because of how much room I have to work with the only place I have that is large enough to keep my mothers in must also be used to start clones and give them a bit of time to veg but I have to stick to a 24/0 light cycle as due to limited space. I have to use a closet that if I were to make it light proof I would be unable to keep it very cool and with 2 150w cfl bulbs and 4 43w t-12 flourescents it can get pretty warm. So what I am wondering is if I am going to give the mothers 24/0 light should I use a lower wattage the space is 4' l x 2' deep by 4' high. Would I be better off using less light or should I consider just letting it grow and when it gets to large just replace it with a new cutting and start the process over?

I just want to find the most effcient and reliable method to ensure my genetics are preserved and that I have a large enough mother to provide 25 cuttings every 2 1/2-3 months.

 

[LighTer]

keep it under whatever light works better for you. and when it starts to get too big for your space, just make more clones or simply trim...

 

[Purple Goose]

keep it under whatever light works better for you. and when it starts to get too big for your space, just make more clones or simply trim...

Okay cool so using 24/0 will be no problem then I just had to make sure as I am going to be putting a 18" x 24" vent in each door with lots of fans to keep it around 80 degrees and with the 24 hours light cycle no worries that random stray light will hermie my moms/ I just dont think I can get them to be bonzai moms unless I spen lots of time trimming them .

 

[Droopy Dog]

My mother plants stay under my cloning lights, which are just 4' T-12's (shop light).

Mother plants don't need a lot of light and your T-12's should be sufficient without the cfl's. Too much light and you'll just be cutting them back all the time.

I also sorta LST and bonsai my moms. I would suggest 2 if you need 25 cuttings at a pop. I average about 12 good cuttings/mom. Good to me being 5-8" long.

DD

 

[Purple Goose]

This should give you an idea of how my nursery room will work the lower sectio is for the moms and the upper level will get the clones rooted once rooted they will be vegged under the cfl's for about 2 weeks basically ill be taking my cuttings about 3 weeks before my current crop is finished so I can move the new plants to the flower room where they will be vegged for one more week under mh's to get them rooted and past the transplant stress then put to flower.

Now as you can see in the pic the lower area of my nursery cab is for the moms and there lights run 24/0 the upper area where the clones will live when I need to take them will also run 24/0 but only when I need more clones. As you can notice there is a shelve preventing much of the light from the cfl's from getting down to the moms so I think the light from the cfl's when running shouldnt provide to much extra light causing much more need for extra pruning. The only reason I have to do it this way is because it is the only closet I can find big enough for what I need it for that doesnt get to hot with all the lights running but it has the disadvantage of not being able to lightproof it so thats why I was going to go with no dark period whatsoever.