HELP MOTHER PLANT AND CLONES

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Luda12

Member
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This is misty at 3-4 months. I would say this is the last time she was healthy. She is about a year old now. Closer to 11 months. I raised her from clone and due to me getting really busy at work and being away from home for long periods of time she has gotten really close to death. I have taken so many rounds of clones this past year but also due to negligence the clones wouldn’t survive. IMG_0133.jpeg
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this was her at 9 months. This was around the last time I took clones and about the last time I had any serious hope for her life. Shortly after this picture I would have had a few severe droughts where I would be away at work and forget to water it all week. Since then she has almost completely died but one branch came back giving me 1 last hope that I’m not taking very seriously. IMG_0121.jpeg
One branch from the plant survived. It wasn’t the main stalk but one of the lower branches coming directly from the main stock. I transplanted it into this bin 4 days ago when I moved to my new house. She will be going back into the tent I have in previous pictures today.
What should I do. What are some more experienced people thinking. I live in an area where it’s just about impossible to find good clones unless you travel far
 
L

Luda12

Member
These are the clones. They came from this plant before I transplanted it. What do you guys think about them. They are 4 days old and show a little bit of new growth. They are in a little start R from mills and dipped in clone X
 
weedstoner420

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
My advice (sorry in advance for the long post):

If those clones root, I'd just start a new mom in a new pot with fresh soil.

Can't exactly tell from your posts above, but if you still have the original huge mom, I'd cut off 80-90% of the above-ground growth (don't be shy about taking off entire large branches), basically leaving only the parts that still look healthy. Take it out of the pot and cut the root ball down to about 1/3 of it's current size, and repot it into fresh soil.

For future moms, keep them small. No reason to have a gigantic mother plant like that unless you're running a commercial operation. It's harder to maintain long-term and takes up too much space and electricity. Also, root pruning is crucial to the long-term health of moms in soil. Look up the oldtimer1 guide to bonsai moms for more details on that.

Also, keep it in a plastic pot with drain holes only on the bottom, so it's less likely to dry out unexpectedly.

If you know you're going to be out of town or unable to tend to it, take some cuttings right before you leave. That way, you will have some backups in case the mother goes downhill. Fresh cuttings, in soil, in a humidity dome, can usually be left alone for at least a week or so while they root.

When you take those cuttings, also trim down the mother plant to almost nothing above-ground, remove 1/2 to 2/3 of the root ball and repot into fresh soil, and water it in nice and good before you go. That will give it the best chance of surviving a period of neglect. As long as there is some green left to photosynthesize and keep the sap flowing, it should bounce back just fine.

I think there is hope for her yet, good luck!
 
L

Luda12

Member
weedstoner420 said:
My advice (sorry in advance for the long post):

If those clones root, I'd just start a new mom in a new pot with fresh soil.

Can't exactly tell from your posts above, but if you still have the original huge mom, I'd cut off 80-90% of the above-ground growth (don't be shy about taking off entire large branches), basically leaving only the parts that still look healthy. Take it out of the pot and cut the root ball down to about 1/3 of it's current size, and repot it into fresh soil.

For future moms, keep them small. No reason to have a gigantic mother plant like that unless you're running a commercial operation. It's harder to maintain long-term and takes up too much space and electricity. Also, root pruning is crucial to the long-term health of moms in soil. Look up the oldtimer1 guide to bonsai moms for more details on that.

Also, keep it in a plastic pot with drain holes only on the bottom, so it's less likely to dry out unexpectedly.

If you know you're going to be out of town or unable to tend to it, take some cuttings right before you leave. That way, you will have some backups in case the mother goes downhill. Fresh cuttings, in soil, in a humidity dome, can usually be left alone for at least a week or so while they root.

When you take those cuttings, also trim down the mother plant to almost nothing above-ground, remove 1/2 to 2/3 of the root ball and repot into fresh soil, and water it in nice and good before you go. That will give it the best chance of surviving a period of neglect. As long as there is some green left to photosynthesize and keep the sap flowing, it should bounce back just fine.

I think there is hope for her yet, good luck!
Click to expand...
This really helps. Thank you.
 
weedstoner420

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
Luda12 said:
This really helps. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, one more note about pruning the mother plant: pay attention to the growth structure of the plant to ensure it will grow back readily. You don't want to cut off everything except fan leaves, you need to make sure there are still some nodes with fresh growth tips intact, and also some fan leaves to feed them, otherwise it'll take an extremely long time for the plant to recover...
 
L

Luda12

Member
weedstoner420 said:
Oh yeah, one more note about pruning the mother plant: pay attention to the growth structure of the plant to ensure it will grow back readily. You don't want to cut off everything except fan leaves, you need to make sure there are still some nodes with fresh growth tips intact, otherwise it'll take an extremely long time for the plant to recover...
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
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