Unexpected results from last run and wondering why - Freshly Rooted Clones vs Well-Aged Clones

So I have a space setup with 4 SIP(s) and in the past I had ran 2 plants per container and on the run prior to the latest I had my biggest haul ever, personal best.

This time around I flipped the SIP(s) back into use pretty quickly after sprucing them up a bit with some fresh amendments and letting it cook a couple weeks. So aside from normal grower woes and known influences that would help or hinder things I had 1 major variable in this run that I attribute to the reason and wanted to see what others think and how they expect it would have influenced the outcome.

I had 2 sets of clones; I'm really bad about taking them loooong before they are needed. I often have clones sitting around rooted in little 1 gal plastics that can easily be 12-16 weeks old as I keep them with the moms as backup plans just in case a mom is lost or the current run goes south and I want to start over asap. The 1st set of clones came out of an aerocloner and they too had sat for too long and even been topped while still in the cloner. The other set was these 'well aged' clones that had been in 1 gals for long enough to have circling root when I took them out. Many weeks old and kept under some HLG boards at lower wattage to not go full-on veg mode and drive them any harder than you needed for keeping them healthy.

I fully expected the 'well aged' clones to kick the asses of the fresh clones as they had a well established root ball. The others from the cloner had nice roots but I would have expected mature root ball to do better. This was so not the case; The fresh clones lagged behind at first but then took off and left the others behind. The ones that came from the 'well aged' clones were frankly pathetic. While they sat they were topped multiple times - and there were tons of teeny tiny stems/tops because of that. I figured this would turn into a lot of nice tops after the stretch. But what happened was the 'well aged' clones stayed small with puny stems, flopped over early (keep fucking up and not building my screens to make them SIP/SCROG combos) and way under produced - to the tune of 2 of the SIP containers with those didn't produce the same amount as just 1 SIP of the same strain/clone/mom that was from the cloner.

Other variables would account for under-performing from the last as I avoided adding any goodies and the last time I was top-feeding every once in a while with some goodies from NFTG and others. But everything being the same otherwise the 2 containers vs 1 container of same clone/strain showed massive difference.

So now I'm eyeballing my current well-aged clones and wondering if they should just go into the scrap pile and just take some fresh cuttings from the moms.

Anyone know their biology enough to explain this outcome?

Hmmm. Not enough info to try and guess. Should really look everything over after poor results. Stem or crown rot? Ive seen fungus gnats do this and grower unaware they are problem. Not potting up to larger size pot, or if so not large enough for a older plant. If topped too much then yeah you can get puny growth and yeilds too. When ive bought clones or seed starts from nurseries or growers im kinda picky. I dont like too much rootbound plants. I look at the stem near the soil. If its not green, but woody looking its been in the pot way too long and may never really take off in my experience. The woody look is a sign of age and when woody already kinda limits the final diameter size of the stem-affecting veg, stretch and yeild.

Yeah I know there's not a ton of details but the key point was the same strain from same mom, just age difference of clones and differing outcomes. Even regardless of the other potential variables if they're the same across the 2 containers you'd expect same outcomes. And I was sure the well established root balls would take off and outpace the fresh clones.

These are known strains and repeating a prior run that was successful so the things mentioned above while true they, aren't the variables I'm trying to examine here. They would have impacted both containers that same for those aspects.

I suspect their general health/vigor being fresher clones is really what was going on; Was hoping there was some biological condition that would explain. I.e. the ones that sat forever in 1 gals had basically went dormant or something.

The woody stem might be a symptom from being rootbound too long. The the reasoning told to me by another old botanist grower was that sugars were converting turning the stem pale and woody. He says its kinda getting choked off from getting old and woody and nutrients wouldnt move as well thru the plant. He taught me this when we went to go rescue and get it in gear another homies scene. Hundreds and hundreds of seed starts and clones rootbound and sort of cared for thru the winter. The woody stem was his major criteria for culling or keeping.

That would make good sense from a biological explanation. Mmmm I might even have the stalks still around to compare. I know I've seen different inner 'hole' sizes on stems and I thought a larger size was better (more uptake) but I think I also read somewhere it's actually a sign of a deficiency or issue of some sort... But that being a variable makes sense given the other variables being the same.

I can't say for sure - and very subjective - but I think the batch of the stunted stuff is actually a bit stronger than the same strain that was from the new clones. I sampled a bit when fresh and sober this morning and it clobbered me with just a few hits on the bowl. Usually it takes more than that from either of the 2 moms I'm running. The buds were all small but dense (and I over-dried them a tad and they're now curing in jars) but they do seem to be 'good' otherwise.