Does cloning off a clone affect the quality of finished product in any way? Ive heard you should only mother from seed because the quality will drop as you keep taking cuts off other cuts? but i have also heard the genetics are exactly the same no matter how many times you clone a clone?
Hi BZ I asked this same question only yesterday, and got much the same answer. See 'clone genetics query' on page 2 of this forum. Good luck
"Quality will drop..." Well, I've not experienced a quality drop, not with respect to the ability of the clones to grow and produce well. They are indeed indentical, genetically. What I do know from my strains is that after about 9-12 months, my mother's sites become more woody, and while the mother itself can still produce as many sites for cloning, I found that they become harder to root. Not impossible, but just harder. I have a few more non-rooters. I have another 3-4 days in the aeroponic machine to get the same root systems I had months before that. So in some small way, I'd say yes the quality will drop. However, people have often had the the same momma for years, perhaps with or without any more difficulty than what I found. One thing I've read about that is that over the long term, the odor of the new plants tends to decrease; not substantially, but decreased nonetheless. I've never gone longer than a year. I don't like her new sites, I don't have a whole lotta upward room for her in my momma closet (all her lower nodes have been used up, perhaps because I'm not working her correctly), and she just begins to look haggardly, not as sprite as a 3-6 month momma. After almost a year, I decide "that's it," and root a final bunch of clones. I pick the best one or two and they become new mothers. I wait until I know they're gonna live before throwing out the old one, just in case! This fall, for the first time, I'm trying to flower the old momma -- instead of throwing her away I put her outside two months ago. She's not doing nearly as well flowering as her clones are, having been cut 5 months ago.
My old caregiver cloned for so many generations eventually his genetics did go to shit but that was a couple years. And the original mother he had was a clone so who knows how many times it was cloned before him. I've heard that the plants genetics can adapt to the climate of your room. So eventually it might not be exactly like the original.
[quote name='"zippy657"'] neither of these things are possible... just sayin'[/quote] Neither of what? Then will you explain why they went to shit over time? His climate and nutes didn't change, so what happened?
He chose weak clones for moms is all. I have had the same Durban plant since I got back from the 1990 Dead tour in Europe and it has had no ill effects. When selecting a mom I only take the most aggressive healthy looking clone out of a batch of 50+. Plants don't adapt to your room as much as you adapt to your plant, I could grow Durb blindfolded at this point, hand me Whittaker Blues or some such and I would be have to actually pay attention.
[quote name='"Gnomepunter"']He chose weak clones for moms is all. I have had the same Durban plant since I got back from the 1990 Dead tour in Europe and it has had no ill effects. When selecting a mom I only take the most aggressive healthy looking clone out of a batch of 50+. Plants don't adapt to your room as much as you adapt to your plant, I could grow Durb blindfolded at this point, hand me Whittaker Blues or some such and I would be have to actually pay attention.[/quote] Oh okay, the weak mothers make sense. Really?!? So that plant has lasted longer then most pets Haha. Thanks for clearing that up for me.