How to Grow a Mother Plant [Free Marijuana for Life]

What is a Mother Plant?

A mother plant is a marijuana plant that you take clones from as required so you never run out of pot. The clones will be genetically the same as their mother. The mother plant is kept in a continual vegetative stage so don’t run the risk of the pot plant flowering and possibly dying off. 

Why Grow a Mother Plant?

If you don’t know why you should be growing a mother plant then let me tell you the pros of doing so.

• Once you find a plant that you really enjoy growing and eventually smoking you can replicate the experience over and over again because you have your own mother plant.
• The more often you grow the same marijuana plant the better you will get at growing bigger and better buds. You will learn what temperature the plant prefers as well as how much water and the right amount of fertilizer required for maximum results.
• You know what you’re getting after every harvest when you are growing clones from a mother plant. Sure you could just grow seeds and be done with it. The problem with growing seeds every time is you’re not really guaranteed you’re going to get a female plant or even a healthy plant.
• As mentioned above you could just grow seeds however seeds are very expensive especially for a premium strain and variety of marijuana. So if you are cloning you are saving money and time from having to go out or online to find some good seeds.
• You will always have female plants growing 100% of the time.

How Do You Grow and Take Care of a Mother Plant

• You will need a grow area for the mother plant only. Since the mother plant will always be in the vegetative stage (this is the stage before the plant starts to flower) the lighting will be on approximately 18 hours a day. Day after day. Keeping clones in this room and lighting will prevent the plants from switching into the flowering phase (which is typically having the lights on for only 12 hours a day). If you are finding the plant is growing to quickly for your needs you could cut the lights on part of the day down to about 14 to 16 hours and the plants growth should slow up a bit. I wouldn’t go any less than 14 hours a day and even 14 makes me nervous but should keep the plant in the vegetative stage.
• Mother plants should be grown right from feminized seeds (to ensure you get a female plant) as plants grown from seed have stronger roots than clones and tend to be healthy and more resistant to disease and deficiencies.
• Growing your mother plant is no different than growing any other marijuana plant. The main difference is you are keeping it in the vegetative stage as mentioned above.
• Once you have selected your seeds it is time to germinate and grow the plant.
• When your plant gets to be about 6 weeks old you can go ahead and take a clipping to start your first clone. As long as you feel the plant is large enough to start clipping from.
• I recommend waiting until the plant has a minimum of 4 levels of branches before taking the clone. At this point it should be old enough to be able to withstand you cutting a piece from it.
• Air pruning the roots for continued growth. We don’t usually care too much about the roots of our plants as long as the plant is growing healthily. There is something to consider though when you are taking care of a mother plant. You should be trimming the roots so they do not become root bound in the pot which will eventually hinder the plants growth and can even lead to the plant dying if the roots start strangling itself.
  • To trim the roots you are pulling the plant up and out of its container shaking of the dirt (if you are using a lot of coco coir and perlite this won’t be an issue) and with a sharp pair of scissors cutting the roots. I have read that some growers will trim as much as two thirds of the root system off. I feel this is too much especially if you have a very large plant. The plant still needs to get enough water fed to it from the root system. I would recommend cutting approximately ¼ of the roots off. If you want to take more off try it after the plant is older than 8 months or so to ensure it is healthy and strong enough to survive.
  • The timing of trimming the roots is just as important. Always cut the roots after you clip clones off the plant. I would wait about 5 days after cutting clones to ensure the plant is strong enough.
  • After trimming the roots it’s time to replant. Make sure to reuse the same soil so that the plant is going back into the same amount of fertilizer in the substrate than before you pulled it out. Pack the roots in firmly enough but not too hard. You might want to brace the plant for a week or so to make sure it doesn’t topple over. After a week take the bracing off to let the plant get stringer on its own.  
  • After replanting your marijuana make sure to give the plant water only for the next one or two watering’s. I find my plants respond much better when I give them a fertilizer break after trimming the roots.
  • How often should you prune your marijuana plants roots?
    • This will differ from plant to plant and grower to grower. It will also depend on the size of the pot your plant is housed in.
    • The best way to find out if your plants roots need to be trimmed back is to pull the plant out of the pot and check to see if the roots are visible and touching the sides of the pot. If it’s just the odd root that has grown to the outer areas of the soil I wouldn’t worry about it. When approximately one third of the outer areas of the soil are root then you are safe to trim away.  
    • I would recommend checking the roots every 3 to 4 months the first year. If you don’t have to trim in those time frames then try checking every 4 to 5 months. The timing for you might be less or it might be more. Just make sure to track when you have checked the roots as well as when you have trimmed them for future reference.
• When fertilizing make sure to alternate with water only every once in a while as your plant can be exposed to too much fertilizer which will cause a negative effect and could end up killing the plant. I personally will flush my plants with just water every 3^rd to 4^th watering.
• Eventually your plant will become too old to keep producing top quality clones so you will have to decide when to start a new mother plant at that point. I would expect that you could get approximately 2 to 3 years out of the plant which is a fairly long time if you are continually starting new clones over that time frame. Some marijuana growers claim to have mother plants well over 5 years so maybe you will select a variety that will stand the test of time as well.
• Part of caring for a mother plant is learning how to keep the plant at a size that works for your grow area and you. This topic is covered in the next section.

How to Keep a Mother Plant Small by Topping it

When you want to keep your pot plant a certain size so it doesn’t outgrow its space you will need to trim (or top) the plant on a fairly regular basis as required to keep it under control. This section will explain how to trim your mother plant.

• Topping is the art of trimming your plant to keep it under control. Think of how a Bonsai is manicured to get the plant looking a specific way and size. This is what you want to do with your marijuana plant to keep its growth under control.
• The cool thing about marijuana is it grows like a weed and you can trim it to meet your needs.
• If you have a lot of room and want quite a few clones at a time then you can let the plant grow as large as it will grow.
• If you have limited space and only want one or two clones at a time then you can trim the pot plant to fit in the grow room. Also the smaller the plant the less water it will require.

I recommend topping your plant in a few different ways to keep it a certain size.

• For any branches you won’t be cutting for clones I would suggest you trim the leaves in half. Basically all you do is take your scissors and cut the leaves in half or less. This will stunt those leaves growth.
• Also on branches you will not be using as clones cut the end off, where you see new growth after the branch is large enough that the plant will be stable.
• Another area to trim is the very top of the plant. Do not do this though until the plant has reached its desired height. Grab the very top of your plant when it is ready and snip off the growth coming from the main stalk so the growth in height stops.
• Cutting clones is also a way of trimming the plant. Make sure to spread the clone taking around the plant so the plant does not become too heavy on one side and start to lean over.
• Remember when trimming your mother plant that you don’t want to get too carried away. You still want nutrients running through the plant helping it stay healthy and strong. You do not want to weaken the plant so much that it gives up and dies on you.

With all of the information above you should have a really good grasp on what is required to grow a healthy mother plant that will provide you with many clone’s. The clones will grow into large flowering plants and provide you with all of the bud you desire.

Bonus Questions Answered Below

When writing this article I checked online for any related questions so I could make sure I am answering as much on this topic as you need and I did find the following questions that I will provide short answers for.

How Long Does it Take to Grow a Mother Plant

From seed to cutting off your first clone it will definitely depend on the strain and lighting you have as well as your experience. However I feel you can expect to have your mother plant grown enough in about 8 to 9 weeks. Which leads us to our next question.

How old should a Mother Plant be Before Cloning

As mentioned above you should be good to go for cloning in approximately 9 weeks. It could be sooner or it could take longer. This again depends on what I mentioned above.

Can a Clone be a Mother Plant

I covered this at a high level above however it is worth answering that yes a clone could definitely be a mother plant. The only reason that I have found that would stop you from doing this is because the clone’s roots will never be as strong as roots from a plant that was started by seed.

This does not mean you will get a subpar mother plant because chances are you will probably have a fantastic marijuana plant regardless. There are some growers though that swear by the seed method for these plants. These growers I feel are like scientists in this hobby who document every step of the way with their growing experience so as to optimize every plant they grow. Nothing wrong with this.

The Best Fertilizer for Mother Plants 

The best fertilizer for mother plants will always be a fertilizer that is strictly for the vegetative stage of the plants life. The reason for this is because you want the plant to always be in the vegetative stage otherwise it will flower and then will come to the end of its life.

I will drop a link here for a full blown fertilizer kit from Amazon that will cover all of your needs. It’s a very good investment if you are planning on growing marijuana on a regular basis.

Can You Flower a Mother Plant

Meaning can you let your plant start to grow buds. Sure you can flower a mother plant. The problem with that though is once you flower the mother plant it is no longer a mother plant. You must keep it in the growth or vegetative stage while you are still clipping clones from it.

My next article I will be writing is how to clone marijuana plants and will link to it here when I am done. I will also link from the cloning article to this one.

Another important topic for you to read on is “How Much Pot Do You Get From 4 Plants?“

Related Growing Marijuana World Articles

How to Germinate Weed Seeds fast