We had a plant this year that was a fricken cow! Tried to pollinate one of the buds but it didn't work out. So, we clipped some nice cuttings (that had nice little buds at the time) and are trying to root them. The plan is to get a mother going prior to spring and root some cow clones for this years outdoor grow. My question is, if you clone cuttings in 24 hour light (if the little buds will even root), won't they try to bud once you plant them outside? What's the shortest light cycle you can keep the clones or mother on without the little bastards trying to flower? I sure would like to figure out a way to keep this strain going, it was a monster. Thanks
You will find cloning plants mid flower unreliable in most cases but it is possible and will take considerably longer to root and reveg then finally start growing again so be patient. The minimum light hrs required to prevent flowering is strain and phenotype dependant. It is however important to synchronise light cycles when taking plants from indoors to outdoors in spring. ie. 24 hrs of light indoors then 16hrs outside will induce flowering in most strains for a short time which will slow growth with the required revegging time needed after half flowering. Remember however that a seedling cannot begin flowering until it is sexualy mature, a clone on the otherhand may come from a mature plant and start flowering prematurely in early summer spring. The hardest bit is usually keeping a mother plant in veg for long enough to be usefull especially with early finishing outdoor varieties. See the threads on bonsai mother plants here: http://forum.grasscity.com/advanced-growing-techniques/291687-bonsai-mums-guide.html Good luck.
Very good advice, and to add one tidbit.........get a Farmer's Almanac for your area and you can tell pretty close the amount of daylight at the time you will be planting. When you get close to planting time, gradually decrease the light hours until the light hours indoors coincide with the light hours outdoors.
Thanks, that was some helpful stuff. The cuttings I am trying to clone were very close to finished. I don't know if they will root but I am trying.
You might consider re-vegging your plant also........then you will be able to take a bunch of fresh clones. Here's a thread that explains how to re-veg.
Its in the ground I guess I could pull it out of the ground and put it in a pot. Then find some lights to put it under. Nice link! Thanks