how to stunt clones so a seedling can catch up

[oldfogey8]

is there a way of slowing or stunting clones so that a seedling can catch up. i want to flower them all at the same time because i am not set up for a veg and flower grow simultaneously right now. i was wondering if defoliating the clones a lot might slow them for a couple of weeks. the clones are pretty close to being ready to flower. i know i can clone the clones and that is an option. i just don't like the idea of killing the mother clones. below are some picks to give you an idea of where i am at. thanks in advance...

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[oldfogey8]

i bit the bullet and took some clones of my clones. i may flower the currently clones after all while the new clones and seedling veg out...

 

[Hackerman]

Changing the light regime from 24/0 to 18/6 will slow growth considerably. I have done this a bunch of times when I am ahead of schedule and want to slow down the flowering tent.

 

[oldfogey8]

thanks hackerman. i have the seedling in the same tent though so that would probably slow the seedling too, right? i am also dealing with a temp issue too. i live in massachsetts and it has been negative to single digits since christmas or so and i use the lights as a heat source. i will see how the temps behave doing that though...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You could top them. This will not only make them shorter, it will slow the growth for a bit while they heal.

 

[oldfogey8]

thx thg. i did top them this morning and am trying to clone the best tops. if the seedling catches up somewhat, that will be good.

 

[grass hopper]

i kept a half dozen clones to 8 inches tall for a month in solos. i only watered, kept temps cool. they grew very slowly. when i was finally ready for them to go, the clones took a week to adjust to new feed and temp change while the new seedlings blew by them.

 

[oldfogey8]

lol grasshopper. that will probably be what will happen to me. i topped them today so maybe i will cut out nutes on the clones and feed the seedling in a couple of weeks and keep my fingers crossed. i want to keep these plants smaller than usual so the plants are not as crowded when they flower. i am probably screwed anyway because the green crack is a stretchy plant and the satori is not as much and the gorrilla glue/hickstick cross i have no idea what it will do...

 

[pcduck]

I do this by topping and feeding them less. I keep my lights on 24/7 to reduce stretch, as this is what you are trying to avoid.

 

[oldfogey8]

cool. thanks pcduck. i was feeding the clones full strength and as should be expected had i thought about it, they were some happy, vigorous plants. i am going to start feeding the seedling next time i water with about 1/4 strength nutes.

 

[The Poet]

Fogey,

I make my 'next to be flowered' crop all the same size by putting the shortest in the middle and taller ones on the edge.
The shorter ones get more light and the ones on the outside get less.
If you start this well before flowering say a month or two they will be of uniform height when it is time to flower.

If I wanted to really slow down growth of a few tall plants, put them even more on the perimeter,
or apart under a weak light.
Hell, put the tall ones under a 60w light bulb 3-4 hours a day if you want them to slow down.

{and put the short ones outside in the sun}
{* That is unless you live in Massachusetts and it is snowing outside}

oldfogy8... I had a girlfriend from Mass. she moved down here back in the early 70's with her family but they couldn't stand the summer heat and I actually went up there to visit once.
Saw the place where the limeys shot a bunch of people starting the war.
Saw a replica of the Mayflower too and I can't believe people would sail across the ocean on that thing.
Patty was training to be a nurse back then.


Good luck...

The Poet...

.

 

[oldfogey8]

Thanks Poet. Can't put anything outside here in Massachusetts. We have been sub-zero Fahrenheit here for a couple weeks.

 

[Surfer Joe]

I noticed that when my plants were too cold, they became sort of frozen in development, using little water and not growing.

 

[oldfogey8]

Thanks Joe. Seems like withholding nutes and some extreme pruning is delaying their growth. The seedling is out of the seedling stage now so I hope it will catch up shortly.

 

[zem]

the preferable way is to prune slowly and steadily. I don't like to take 30% off a plant at once. Better to prune a few shoots at once imo. The seedling needs some time to catch up fully because they need to develop a lot of roots as well. I guess if your goal is to have them flower almost equally in size, consider pruning the roots a bit on the mother plant.

 

[oldfogey8]

Thanks zem. I will try to do a bit of bonsai root maintenance when I put them all in their final pot.

 

[blondlebanese]

let your clones get root bound.it takes about 3-4 weeks in one gallon pots. they will stop growing. depending how long you keep them stunted affects how long they take to start growing again. after 6 weeks they start to look sick. i have kept clones from progressing ten weeks at a time. at that length of time recovery takes about 10 days.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I top, bend, and root-bind my plants in solo cups. Works well for me.

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[oldfogey8]

thanks hush. i will try that next time. i kinda lost the battle this go-round.