What is a flowering clone?

Racefan

Well-Known Member
What is a Flowering Clone?

This question arises just about everytime I mention the wonderful advantages of the Flowering clone. So, to answer a few questions that get asked frequently. I see a need for this post. A long while back a man named feral introduced us to a new way of taking clones that has taken away the need to top plants or try the fimming technique. Not only do they root well. They also will blow you away with how fast they develop branches.

What is a flowering clone?
Simply put, it is a clone taken at or around 21 days flowering or later. Day 21 seems to be the best time but clones can be taken at any point thereafter and you will get the same effect. Keep in mind. This isnt written in stone. I dont have facts for you but I do have experience with these litte giants. I just want to share something that may increase a yeild for someone out there. Keeping the numbers of plants down is a good idea for alot of growers out there. Medical growers often will have limits. If your out there and you have a medical card. It cant be stressed enough that you follow the guidelines. You guys are the bright future for mj reform in many countries. I can only envy you at the moment but one of these days I hope to be able to grow without so much fear. Okay, that said...lol. I knew I shouldnt have eaten those cookies before starting to write today...lol. I have taken clones just prior to harvest and had no problem rooting them. There are many myths out there concerning a flowering clones ability to root. As in many myths the clones get a bad rap. The truth is, a flowering clone is a fully mature plant. It is ready and willing to root quickly to continue its flowering process. The cambium layer is mature at this point making the formation of roots easier. The cambium layer is a celluar layer just below the bark from where the roots come from. So, truth is. They will and do root well.

Why use a flowering clone?
This is a simple question to answer. Just take a look at the attatched pictures. The branching power of the flowering clone is unbelievable compaired to any other clone I've dealt with. In fact, one usually has to prune some of these branches before flowering starts to direct energy into the larger cola's. I guess the proper question here is why one wouldnt use a flowering clone? I have seen products out there that boast that they stimulate branching. Lol.... why spend money on that when massive branching is simply a few clips away? Let me give you an example. I am currently growing a scrog with a single plant on each side. The screens are 3'x3'. I have 112 holes to be filled in each screen. Out of the 224 holes only 24 do not have a budsite in them. I counted the budsites on one half of one screen and came up with 62 so far and Im only 23 days into flowering so far. I've done seed grows in this fashion and never come up with the amount of sites I get with flowering clones. Another great application for the flowering clone is growing outdoors. I gave thirty of these little jewels to an outdoor cultivator a few years back. All the plants stayed low and got super bushy. To avoid detection a small profile plant is ideal for outdoor cultivators. Try this method once and I imagine you will never take a vegging clone again.

What is the best method to grow these clones?
I prefer a Scrog (screen of green) but alot of people out there use them for the natural way of growing. These clones are just plain old effective no mater which way you grow. They can even be used in the SOG (sea of green) method. Flowering clones in this application will grow straight up and form a nice large cola about 14-18 inches long if started into flowering at less than 6inches. Hydro bubblers, ebb n flo, turbotank, coco or soil these babies rock.

How do I take a Flowering Clone?
Just as you would any other clone. No special handling is needed here. Treat the clones as you would any other. Cut, scrap, dip and then into the medium. Is this your first time taking cloning? Have no fear. Just jump in there and clip away at them. Take a few more clones than you expect to use. This way if a few fail, you will have enough to get started. There are numerous guides and how to threads at this site to help you with the details (use the search tool to find what you need). I often times see new gardeners that are apprehensive about taking clones but these fears are quickly taken away with a little hands on experience. You have to find a system that works for you and stick with it. Remember the old saying, if it aint broke dont fix it. Well, that applies in cloning. Once you find what works for you stay with it.

How long do they take to root?
These clones usually are a little slower to regenerate but not to bad. I average about 14days till I start to see roots coming out the bottom of the rockwool cubes. That time will vary a little it seems with different strains. Some of them take forever and some root quickly. The clones should stay perky and upright. A small flo right above the humidity dome is all they need for light. Remove the humidity dome at least once a day to allow some fresh air inside. Do not walk off and forget about it. They will die quickly if left in the open air to long without a root system to support them. If the plants begin to wilt while the hood is off. This tells you that they have not formed roots yet. They still rely on the humidity to support their needs. Also, keep an eye out for new growth forming. Once it starts to emerge you have roots forming and the plant is responding well to its environment. Once I see roots starting to poke out the bottom I remove the paper and sink them into whatever medium I'm using. I normally will not wait for many roots to show. Once they show a few roots they can be transfered.The mature clone will start to throw out unserated leaves at first and it kinda looks a little odd. Not to worry though. Right behind the unserated leaves will emerge the normal leaf sets. Once they start to come around you will see the branching ability of these clones. Sometimes its best to at least tie down some main branches to promote a wider plant. Multiple cola's will form from these tie downs. A week prior to flowering a pruning session happens and once more at the two week period of flowering. You have to remember to leave yourself a few nice clones to be taken in the third week.

What mixture of nutrients do I use for these clones?
This may be a debateable item but this is what I do. I use a one gallon milk jug and keep it just for clones. I let the chlorine burn off first. Then add a capful of bloom, capful of B1 complex, capful of h2o2 and one half teaspoon of Dark Energy. I then soak the rockwool cubes in the solution overnite and then select my clones when the lamps come on in the morning. Since I've started using this mixture I have had minimal yellowing in the clones and the sucesss rate has been better.

Warmth is Key!
Important to remember that a little warmth for the new cuttings helps them along. I place my small container on top of a towel that rests upon a normal household heating pad on the low setting. This extra warmth not only keeps the new cuttings warm and cozy. It also makes the dome sweat keeping it damp constantly. I always add a small amount of mixture mentioned above to the rocks below. Then its time to sit back and wait. Dont ya hate that part? lol.

Will these clones improve my yeild?
Lol.... compaired to topping and fimming yes this will improve your harvest and make it happen faster. I truely do not think Im going out on a limb here (lol). When I say they will improve your grows I can say from experience that if done correctly it will without a doubt. When you top a plant everything stops. With a flowering clone that never happens. Never a slowdown. Its full tilt boogie from the time they start to regenerate till harvest time.


The pictures below speak volumes for the clones. I've been using them for a long time now and well, I just cant see another way of getting this much out of a plant. Give it a try and see for yourself. Have fun and stay safe, greenmonster714

This is another greenmonster714 post. I will post pictures later.

rf
 
Well yes you can but I wouldn't. I would bend the tops over to make room. if they are at 21 days into flower they are done stretching anyway. By bending them over you redirect the auxins that control growth from the top most branches to the lower branches. This will not only give your plant a rush of growth but will give you more bud sites to harvest from.
You can clone a plant at any time in it's life cycle. Top branches are the hardest to clone though as they hold most of the growth hormones (auxins) When you top or bend a top over to where it's below some of the lower branches you redirect these auxins to lower branches which is why you suddenly get a rush of growth from the lower branches. The auxins have been redirected. By cloning lower branches you avoid alot of the growth hormones as they are in the top branches. This is why lower branches clone easier. They can concentrate on root developement instead of upwards growth.
I hope this makes sense here. I just medicated and it's some good stuff.:D

rf

PS Here are the pictures that were suppose to go to the main post.

flowered_clone.JPG

trans_002_1_.jpg
 
Oh...I'm sorry.lol I medicated remember?:D You have to get it to root and reveg before you go back to flower. That means a veg light cycle is what is needed. 18/6, 20/4 or even 24/0 can be used.

The way the branching of the flowering clone was discovered was strange in itself. The idea came from a way of growing perpetually without a mother plant. If you take clones from a plant at about 21 days of flower, root and reveg them, they should be ready for your flower room just as the flowering plants are ready for harvest. This gives you a way to continully grow without having to keep a second room for a mother plant. Just a small clone/veg box will do the trick.
Well in trying this way of growing out it was discovered by several members that the clones from these flowering mothers seemed to explode with brances and any training of these branches produced a wicked amount of side branches. As greenmonster would have said..."The proof is in the pictures above."lol

Once again I'm sorry for spacing on your question. lol
 
I have read about this in The Good Bud Guide by Albie. He goes by one week into onset. I never posted this info because I didn't really understand it until you rephrased it then it clicked in my skull. Its to late to do it with my chronics and skunks but just in time for my Ice. Oh hell yea!:cheesygrinsmiley: :cheesygrinsmiley: :cheesygrinsmiley:
Thank you. You just solved a riddle thats been bothering me for some time bro. Again, thank you.
 
Very interesting! I like the idea.... but... what is the effect of genetic degradation? I had thought that taking clones from a flowering plant would cause the genetics of the plant to degrade? Also...what about the genetics degrading from cloning from a clone over and over? I thought that as you clone from a clone it also degraded the genes, so if you do not have a mother plant you would be diminishing the genetics each time you do a new set of clones? Can you elaborate on this to the best of your knowledge?
Great info, thanx.

Jonny
 
well I've never seen the genetics drift enough to really be noticeable. potency was never lost but I never kept the process going longer than 5 years either. A friend in Australia has been growing with flowering clones and the same plant for over 12 years and he says it tastes the same and hit's just as hard as it did the first season. I know rosenthal and george report that the genetics change and potency diminshes but I truly have never seen it happen.
What confuses me is what's the difference if you keep a mother plant alive for 5 years and clone from her or if you just clone from a clone? It's the same genes and techinaclly they are the same age.
 
Very dope concept. Ever have any issues with the cutting during flowering causing any sort of stress or stunting the growth of the mother plant?
 
It can take up to ten years for genetic degration bro, a lot has to do with the strain and how stable it is. Some strains you can only clone a few times before it gets all wigged out and mutates, Some just won't clone and die. Only time, experience and knowledge of the strain will tell plus how well the environment is.


Stilletto said:
Very interesting! I like the idea.... but... what is the effect of genetic degradation? I had thought that taking clones from a flowering plant would cause the genetics of the plant to degrade? Also...what about the genetics degrading from cloning from a clone over and over? I thought that as you clone from a clone it also degraded the genes, so if you do not have a mother plant you would be diminishing the genetics each time you do a new set of clones? Can you elaborate on this to the best of your knowledge?
Great info, thanx.

Jonny
 
I wouldn't worry to much about that bro, mothers tend to sit in veg all the time and normally recovers as long as the lighting, nutes and everything is good and that only 50% or less of the plant is trimmed away. Mommies are tough.

skatterbrayne said:
Very dope concept. Ever have any issues with the cutting during flowering causing any sort of stress or stunting the growth of the mother plant?
 
Urdedpal said:
I wouldn't worry to much about that bro, mothers tend to sit in veg all the time and normally recovers as long as the lighting, nutes and everything is good and that only 50% or less of the plant is trimmed away. Mommies are tough.


Lovely. I'll take some right now then! Thanks Urdedpal

Great post racefan.

:peace:
 
Hey racefan! Nice hydroponic setup! I'm currently making one similar to yours, however I was going to put 4 plants per rubbermaid. Is this too many? And Are you nutrients being dripped from above or sprayed from beneath? I was thinking of making mine misted from below for a kind of aeroponic system. However looks like yours is working great! Nice plantg
 
Hi Everyone! Just wanted to show you a pic of a clone I took 5-6 weeks into flower. It rooted in a normal amount of time - approx 10-14 days.

fc1.jpg



Peace
MC
 
I have been stressing out about having to have mulitple chambers and rooms set up... Now I don't have to have a mother? Wow. THis is truley a blessing. Thanks as usual RF
 
M00gle said:
Hey racefan! Nice hydroponic setup! I'm currently making one similar to yours, however I was going to put 4 plants per rubbermaid. Is this too many? And Are you nutrients being dripped from above or sprayed from beneath? I was thinking of making mine misted from below for a kind of aeroponic system. However looks like yours is working great! Nice plantg


Those are pictures from the article writer.
 
Just wanted to add that the latest I have ever taken a clone and had it root was on harvest day... lol...

The entire top cola of a small branchless plant was harvested at day 65 of 12/12, and just as I was hanging it up to dry... I changed my mind and decided to try cloning it...

So I stuck it in a cup of water and forgot about it for a month.... when I remembered to check on it.. viola! roots!

Now, because I had already trimmed the large fan leaves off, it died when I put it in dirt. But if I had left the leaves intact, and hardened it off slowly.. instead of sticking it straight into dirt it would've lived no problem.

Hope this helps!

Peace
MC
 
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