# Help preserving strain



## Brohio (Sep 13, 2014)

Hello, this is my first post, and have learned a lot reading, and want to thank you all .  We have stumbled upon a great strain....we were able to get a few clones and started some from seeds. They all are different ages, and we started way to late. 
   So, we need advice on how to preserve these babies, it's getting cold here at night, in 50's and sometimes lower. They have always been outside. We were hoping to have a nice few plants that we could make clones for next year with. We have never done that either.  I don't know whether to put into veg stage? or flower? ....please advise ! Thanks again ! :vap-Bong_smoker:


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## Rosebud (Sep 13, 2014)

Make some more clones and keep them inside under a light.   Where you live depends on your being able to grow in winter...


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## Brohio (Sep 13, 2014)

Ok, what kind of lights for the clones ?  We have full winters, but it's really cold. What's to cold for the outside plants in general ?  Thanks


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## Rosebud (Sep 13, 2014)

Plants freeze at 32 degrees. I have heard Marijuana stops growing at 50 degrees.

If you could get yourself a little  T5 you could veg it thru the winter and put it out next spring..or keep taking clones till spring.

Welcome to MP by the way.


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## Brohio (Sep 13, 2014)

Is it possible to keep the plants in flowering mode, and use the same plant for clones ? Just curious, thanks for the replys pretty much total beginners here....


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## Rosebud (Sep 13, 2014)

The longer a plant has been in flower the harder it is to take clones. Most people try to get that done in the first couple of weeks of flower. How long has your plant been in flower? Could ya take a pic for us? 
Are you wanting a proper indoor grow or are you just trying to save an outdoor plant that you are afraid will freeze? Which i am afraid of the same thing.


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## Brohio (Sep 13, 2014)

Thank you so much, yea...we want to 1) save them from freezing and 2) ( hopefully) be able to make several clones for next season. I will see if I can post some pics. It's a small batch, only a few are in flower right now, the others look nice and green, and look like they have lots of potential.


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## Rosebud (Sep 13, 2014)

Your climate either will let you finish them or they won't.  I am hoping mine will last till the third week in October at which time I will harvest.


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 13, 2014)

Only the clones will preserve the actual pheno, the other seeds will be different.

If you want to cross the plant to make F2s you can preserve the strain.


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## Brohio (Sep 14, 2014)

So I'm thinking let the plants with buds go as long as weather permits, and try to keep the younger ones alive through the winter. So I'll need a light like mentioned. Also, on the ones that are indeed budding, is it possible to pick the buds off, and still keep the plant alive ? Can someone tell me more about what I might need to be able to clone and when ? Thanks so much. What a wealth of info here...


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## trillions of atoms (Sep 14, 2014)

Yes, if you chop the majority of all the colas off but leave all the bottom growth and as many fan leaves. it's possible by putting her under a good light in a veg period, to bring her back. 


Put the little ones inside under a t5. They are cheap and work great. Refer to the FAQ for all the info you need and remember to research. Something is only as much as you put into it.

Good luck


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 14, 2014)

Brohio said:


> Is it possible to keep the plants in flowering mode, and use the same plant for clones ? Just curious, thanks for the replys pretty much total beginners here....



 No, it is not possible to keep a plant in flowering and use her as a mother.  What ToA is describing is revegging and is quite different than keeping a flowering plant to be used as a mother.  Sometimes they come back and sometimes they don't.  I have about 75% luck revegging.  It would be advisable to take clones, too.  Plants can be kept in veg as long as you want however.  They will need a space set up indoors or they will not do well.  There is really no good way to keep a plant in stasis through the winter.  

 Trying to keep something alive during the winter to plant outdoors next spring is going to be a lot of work.  What exactly is this strain and why can't you just get or make some more seeds?


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## Brohio (Sep 14, 2014)

Good points , getting more seeds is something we are trying for, but not sure if we can. I guess the reason is cause we have nursed them for half the summer....if we would have started them earlier, things would have been perfect.  And they appear to be a picture of health too.  Sizes ranges from one to three feet tall.  Oh , the strain is Mango Cheese. For medicinal purposes, it's the best I ever had. So we are hoping to keep it alive (hopefully) and thanks again....you all have been a great help.


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## Brohio (Sep 14, 2014)

BTW. HG. Just re-reading your post. Can you please give us basic info on when and how to clone ?  ( for dummies )  I guess we would hope to start next years crop around May or so. TY


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## Rosebud (Sep 14, 2014)

You usually clone when the older plant is in "veg" anytime in veg is fine. Then we "flip" to flower you have about two weeks in general to take clones. 

I usually veg under T5s for 8 weeks from seed as it takes that long to tell the sex. Most of us on here like to veg 24 hours a day. The plant doesn't need a dark period to grow. BUT when we put them under our flowering lights, HPS, LED, etc then we keep them at 12 hours light and 12 hours dark and use a timer.

So anytime it is under the 24 hour light you can take clones.   That was way more then you asked huh..sorry... it is the pot.


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## Brohio (Sep 14, 2014)

Ok,  so what would you think , time wise it would take them to go from outside to veg before cloning, since they aren't started from seeds ?  Thanks


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## Rosebud (Sep 14, 2014)

what do they look like now? Are they flowering?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 14, 2014)

Brohio said:


> Ok, so what would you think , time wise it would take them to go from outside to veg before cloning, since they aren't started from seeds ? Thanks



 I don't quite understand this question....Are you asking how long it would take to reveg them and then let them get big enough to take clones?


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## Brohio (Sep 14, 2014)

If we take them inside under veg lights, can you start cloning immediately ? Or let them veg more. They have some sighns of buds, but still young.


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## Kindbud (Sep 14, 2014)

Best way throw her under a 24-7 veg light I have done this before it will take a few weeks to reveg before ur able to get clones but this will only work a few weeks into flowering never did it once it past 4 or 5 weeks its only to be done in if totally necessary only reason I did it is because I wanted to continue a sour d plant for the next year because I lost the mother


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 15, 2014)

Depending on how far into flowering the plants are, you could take clones at any time.  However if you put back into veg light and reveg, I think that I would wait for the revegging to start before I took cuts as they will simply be easier to root.  Are you planning on setting up an inside grow space for the winter or are you just looking to keep something alive throughout the winter.

I have to say that I wouldn't go through superhuman effort to keep this strain going.  While you may think right now that it is the Holy Grail, there are undoubtedly hundreds of other strains that you can buy seeds for that are just as good.  There truly is not one single strain that stands above and apart from the others.  With todays breeders competing like they do, we have soooooo many absolutely great strains to choose from.  

I have successfully revegged plants after harvest to save genetics that I hadn't taken cuts from.  However it never is with the intention of trying to keep something going through the winter.  I reveg--takes 3-4 weeks for the plant to switch gears and go back into vegging.  It will throw unserrated single blade leaves at first with them slowly getting back to the 5-9 blade leaves the plant originally had.  I have never taken a plant that was in several weeks and put it back into veg, but there is no reason that it wouldn't work.


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