In the world of cannabis cultivation, mother plants can be the key to a successful crop and a flourishing harvest season. But, mother plants aren’t something that every cannabis farmer uses, making them somewhat unknown in the community. However, these important plants can truly make your grow operation so much easier than you could imagine.
Today, we’re talking all about cannabis mother plants, why you’d have them, and how to care for them over time. For your commercial grow operation, a cannabis mother plant may be the missing piece you need. Here’s why.
Cannabis Mother Plants and What They Do
First and foremost, let’s talk about what cannabis mother plants are and what they do. If you don’t want to grow all of your plants from seed and go through the extensive germination process, cloning allows you not to. Cloning refers to the act of growing cannabis by cutting off pieces of another cannabis plant, planting it, and sprouting a bud from there. In order to do that, though, you need a mother plant.
A mother cannabis plant, then, refers to the plant that you cut off pieces from to generate regrowth. This mother plant will produce the same strain, terpenes, and effects as the original plant. Without a cannabis mother plant, you simply cannot go through the cloning growth procedure. They’re integral to the process.
The Importance of Cannabis Mother Plants
As we mentioned, without a mother plant, cloning your cannabis is nearly impossible. More than that, though, cannabis mother plants serve serious importance within the growing world. By using a mother plant during your growing operation, you’re able to ensure that you’re cultivating the same strain with the same genetics every single time. For those few grows that are so much better than the rest, these are the plants that should be isolated and turned into a mother plant.
Doing this simply preserves the genetic qualities of one of your best grows. Not to mention, you don’t have to worry about accidentally spending time and effort on growing a male plant. Growing blindly straight from seed may result in the growth of male plants, and, thus, useless plants. Not only do male cannabis plants not produce the effects growers want, but they can spoil an entire crop if you’re not careful. Sticking with a cannabis mother plant guarantees that you’re always producing a potent feminized plant, ready to produce powerful buds.
Along with saving time, these types of plants can also save you money. As we mentioned, male plants are typically tossed immediately to avoid spoiling a bunch. Tossing a plant is throwing away money directly, not to mention thousands of hours of your time and effort. Even if you do grow a female plant, sometimes, the strain isn’t what you were hoping for or the cannabinoid ratio is off. This, too, can be a waste of your money. Turning to cannabis mother plants simply allows for the peace of mind that you’re growing something worth your time, effort, and money.
Picking and Caring For a Mother Plant
Picking out a cannabis mother plant is a tricky, delicate process. Again, you only want to dedicate the best of the best to be your mother plant, from composition to potency to aromatics. The best way to do this is to grow a variety of strains at once, take care of them, and then decide which one, if any, you like best during the vegetative state. You must determine the mother plant during the vegetative state because this is the state that the mother plant stays indefinitely. Do not wait until your plant is in the flowering stage.
Make sure you carefully analyze your plants. Smoke them, grind them, smell them. Whichever one is your absolute favorite, you can transform into your mother plant. The hardest part, however, comes with caring for your mother plant. This is a process that is ongoing and delicate, so you must be careful.
As we mentioned above, the cannabis mother plant must stay in the vegetative state in order to produce parts capable of regrowth. Of course, your plant will not last forever, but you can get many uses out of it if you take care of it properly. A lot of this stems from proper trimming and topping during growth, ensuring that your mother plant is overgrown and has enough space to breathe.
You also must make sure that your plant is getting proper water and nutrients. You can’t just leave your plant in the sun and hope that it gets enough nutrients naturally. Instead, your cannabis mother plant may benefit substantially from nutrients like manganese, calcium, and boron. These nutrients can keep your mother plant healthy and happy much longer than your typical plant in the vegetative state. After all, these plants must be strong and able to reproduce countless times. If they’re not strong or deficient in any aspect, they simply will not produce the potential for clones the way you need. Cannabis mother plants take serious time and dedication to take care of. But, in our opinion, their result is worth it.
Growing a Cannabis Mother Plant
For commercial cannabis growers, cannabis mother plants can do wonders for an operation. Luna Cultivation knows firsthand that cannabis cultivation is not an easy process. As we’ve stated, it takes a lot more dedication than the typical plant. That being said, a cannabis mother plant can make the entire operation that much easier.
Whether you’ve found your perfect strain that you’d love to replicate, or you’re just hoping to cut down on some growing time, having a healthy cannabis mother plant is key. The better you take care of your mother plant, the better your potential crop is taken care of. Take your time in finding the best mother plant for your crop, and don’t settle for anything less than the best. Once you’ve found your ideal cannabis mother plant, it’s time to start (re)growing.
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