Can a clone mother be kept in a hydro setup?

I've been growing for awhile and long ago switched to growing in drip setups and don't want to go back to growing in dirt. I have some white widow and white lightning clones I'd like to turn into clone mothers and keep around for awhile. I've heard of people keeping a clone mother around for years but they always had them in dirt. Is there any reason I can't do this in a drip setup? I usually go with the lucas formula with gh nutes but should I adjust it so the clone mother is getting more nitrogen than phosphorus/potassium? My plants usually have a small condensed root system even when their big(I guess because they have easy access to water/nutes?) but would I want to still prune the roots every so often? If so how often and how much would I want to clip off? I've heard people talk about bonsai clone mothers that can live for decades is this true? If I could make a little bonsai clone mother that I could keep in a small drip system that'd be perfect.

Wow the sense of comradery for a cause here sure is palpable I guess my question/discussion topic didn't fit rollitup's criteria and therefore merit a single response. Nevermind guys I'll make sure not to bother any of you again. Peace

Not sure what the question is really. I mean what is the problem with keeping a clone as a mother? Nothing need change between that and a normal mother. Hydro is simply another means to feed and support, if it works in soil it can in hydro. You would just need to read the plant. Generally the nutrient solution is of a weaker potency.

As for the roots; well you can always just use trial and error. If they are getting long enough to bother you then give them a little snip. Conversely you can use a container that will expose the roots to the air and just let the air prune the roots naturally. These containers are also rumored to stop the threat of the roots swirling themselves useless.

Also if we are going to throw around some fifty cent words i would at least check for prior gramatical errors. eg: " even when their big" I tend to lose my train of thought when i see the two juxtaposed.

Absolutely you can keep a clone mother in hydro. As a matter of fact, I think you should join the Special Olympics if its not in hydro. Personally I prefer to perpetually grow and don't keep mothers, just a waste of space I think. Anyways, when you hydro a mother you will end up with more shoots than you know what to do with, this is actually why I stopped keeping mothers. With one plant if you take a few clones and LST, you could end up with 50 clones off of one plant. My personal record was 78 clones before deciding she needed to flower. (This is not like a took 50-78 clones over her life cycle, but 50-78 in one cloning session)

As far as trimming the roots. No. Not for a while at least. In Hydro you can literally end up with a root block. As long as you give it air, and water she'll just keep growing and growing and growing.

I have always used lava rock and/or clay gravel for my moms. When I go away I use an upper res/air bubbler, a timer and electic valve. The water that runs through is collected and pumped back up to the upper res. I usually put two gallons to each plant every two or three days with the valves or by hand. When I'm getting ready to clone I water them by the way they look. I am lazy so when I'm on my fifth day water change in the op I drain some of that water over to the moms etc.

Sorry for ragging on ya'll for not replying fast enough I was being impatient. I also hadn't smoked in a while and my nerves were frayed but my second post was rude and I apologize there was no excuse for my outburst. I have a lot of expirence with drip systems but I've never kept plants alive for years in them like some people do with bonsai clones. I've only heard of people keeping them in dirt and having a strict schedule of pruning both the root mass and shoots.

I guess my question would've been better worded as "can I make a bonsai clone mother in a drip setup?". After reading the replies it would appear my answer would be yes.

Thanks for the help and sorry to anybody I offended.

I've been keeping mothers in hempy buckets without much fuss, feed/water them about twice a week. You can use your GH nutes. all you need is plastic bucket and some perlite and vermiculite.

Sure you CAN but a better question may be WHY? Not like you want a mother to grow fast plus you have yo' change the solution, monitor ph, mix nutes, the whole 9 yards. Don't get me wrong, I live hydro but my mom sits in a nice late container that I pour old Rez water on once a week and move her about as I see fit. Cost of soil mother "system" ....bout $4

I keep my Moms in mix,I keep a babysitter for the Ladies when I'm not in town.All she has to do is water the Moms and make sure the timers are reset if the power goes out.

legallyflying said:

Sure you CAN but a better question may be WHY?

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Many good reasons
1)first off bugs like soil more than hydro so just having a soil mother increases your risk to pests.
2) If you're a hydro grower you can use the same nutes and are probably already comfortable with growing plants that way.
3) It allows you to grow more cuts quicker.

legallyflying said:

Not like you want a mother to grow fast

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Some do

legallyflying said:

you have to' change the solution, monitor ph, mix nutes, the whole 9 yards. Don't get me wrong, I live hydro but my mom sits in a nice late container that I pour old Rez water on once a week and move her about as I see fit. Cost of soil mother "system" ....bout $4

Click to expand...

I don't change my solution, I don't check my pH, I do mix nutes, that's true.


Here is my hempy mother in a pot I bought at the dollar store filled with 25/75 vermiculite/perlite. I have this under a 25 watt cfl and I can get about 15 cuts a month. This particular one has been around for about 6 months. I really don't take care of her so much but generally speaking I feed her once a week and give her water once a week. Super easy, super cheap. You can even use your left over nutes.

I just put up a tut on hempy style in the hydro section if anybody doesn't already know what it is. Bottom line is if you have good tap water you just mix the nutes and dump them in till you get run-off, no pH adjusting or anything like that. You treat it just like soil, but it's hydro.

I've kept 6 mother plants in an ebb and flow bucket system for 3 years now and they do great. They do produce much more clones than keeping them in soil will, but that works great for me since I run an entire clone operation. I'm taking 210 clones every 3-4 weeks with a 400 watt MH (more wattage will give you more clones faster). Each time I take cuttings, I trim the mothers back to where they do actually look bonsai. I learned that you can trim too much off though and it will kill off the plant. Make sure to leave a fair amount of new growth so the plant has somewhere to store nutrient uptake while it recovers. And make sure to cut back on the nutrient PPM after taking clones (no higher than 1000PPM for a week). I only trim back the roots about once a year as they pop through the bottom holes of the inner bucket; this just keeps the roots from plugging up the tubing.