Mother Plant
Definition: A mother plant is a female cannabis plant kept permanently in the vegetative stage so growers can take cuttings from it. Because every cutting is genetically identical, a good mother lets you reproduce a favorite plant for months or years. Mothers stay under long light hours, usually 18 or more per day, so they never flower.
How Mother Plant works
Most mothers start as a seed that won a phenotype hunt. The grower takes cuttings from several seedlings before flowering, flowers the originals, picks the best one after harvest and cure, and keeps that plant’s rooted cutting in veg as the mother.
Keeping a mother healthy
- Light: 18/6 or 24/0 at moderate intensity, around 300 to 500 PPFD. Mothers do not need flowering-level power.
- Feeding: steady, moderate nitrogen and adequate cal-mag. Overfed mothers produce cuttings that root slowly.
- Pruning: trim regularly to encourage many branch tips, which become your next cuttings.
- Space: a 2 x 2 foot corner of a veg tent or a small separate cabinet is often enough.
When to replace her
Mothers can live for years, but older ones often become woody, root-bound and slower to give vigorous cuttings. Many growers refresh by rooting a new cutting from the mother every 6 to 12 months and retiring the old plant. Watch for pests: spider mites or broad mites on a mother spread to every clone taken from her.
Only photoperiod plants make practical mothers. An autoflower will flower on schedule no matter what light it gets.