At one point in time i believed genetic drift did occur after a few generations of cloning clones of clones of the original mother plant from seed. My original plan or strategy for my garden and cloning was grow the plant taller and take bottom branches after controlled lst to force the bottom branches grow long enough to clone then i would lollipop and only difference was i cloned the bottoms (they were max 4 inches long) and my result no matter how vigorously the original mother was time and time again were the same. My yields were diminished and after about 3 generations of cloning my clones grew about 25% slower and with about 25 % less nodes each generation that i took clones from bottom branches. One day i was sitting there with my favorite pheno of any strain i ever found on my own from seed and i watched an 11 leaf frostitute I call my Dirty Wompa O.G and im looking at my probably 7th generation from clones that were all from bottom branches and by now all my tops on all my clones are all miniaturized and the space between my nodes doubled leading to way less top growth than that of a vigorously growing clone. So this led me to feel confused at first, thinking about all the landrace phenos that people have cloned over and over and so on and so forth by cloning the clone thereof and some of these legendary clone only phenos are still growing strong long spears of frosted up medicine to this day. So what happened different or what could be the reason for genetic drift to sometimes occur? Could it really be they were possibly using weak branches for their next generation of that clone only pheno or that next cycle of that mother plant you have from seed. In my experience with Dirty Wompa O.G she went from having 11 leaf on all her newest leaves but now my clones only have 3 to 5 max as a result (ironically like the undeveloped malnutritioned bottom branch that turned into the clone that it is. What happens next is I move into a place with my grow partner and we begin and carry on my garden of strains i had at the old place now growing at the new place. We promptly changed alot about our gardening strategy. We began taking a couple of the healthiest top branches on all the plants while we still structure them to be bushy in veg, it was after about 3 generations of us taking burly top branches (these clones being 10-14 inches long consisting of 3 nodes under the collar line and 4-7 nodes above the collar or soil line) as our next generation plants we began to see the nodes on Wompa O.G tripled in amount to x amount of stem, all of the tops were growing healthier, faster, and thicker than their bottom branch counterparts were. We began using this new methodology for our cloning strategy. Since then all of our phenos that we got as clones and started from seed at one point ourselves seem to grow bigger and better each time now instead of degrading like before. There is always other variables in the garden than what meets the eye but in my experience i see that its best to use your branches that have the most vigor for clones, just like when picking seeds strong genetics are first step to great end results. Why would you not want to use the fastest healthiest branches to use as your cuttings that you will root and use for your next generation of plants. This is my theory on the possible causes that could make the possibility of genetic drift between clones an actual possibility to begin with.
Cannabis plants do not genetically drift through clone generations. Their DNA doesn’t change but their physical structure will change due to the environment and care. This is known as epigenetic drift due to environmental factors. There are so many variables that will affect structure. It’s very easy to change a plant’s structure over time by having the light too far away, letting the plant get root bound, temp/humidity swings, under/over feeding, etc. A root bound plant for example will start pushing out thin elongated new growth instead of lush thick branches. Taking cuts off a weak root bound plant is very common. I replace my mother plants every 5-6 months from creation. I replace my moms with cuts from an extremely healthy mother plant no more than 2-3 months old. I would not take a cut from one of my mother plants after 5 months. It’s how I’ve kept plants as old a Guru perfect for decades. The grower is to blame for weak structured plants. The most difficult part of keeping perfect plant structure is through the cloning process. New mother plants should come from only perfect clones. Stressed out clones should be tossed in the garbage. Never try to recover a clone that is intended to be a mother of future generations.
thank u jmystro.. so it really could have been several factors and now since its been a few generations with us taking the best of the best from the best of the best that we have and now our genetics are back to the vigor they once had..
A poorly kept plant can be brought back to it’s former glory as long as it hasn’t been infected with some viral disease. I’m thankful to have grower friends over the years to help keep back ups. I’ve had to ask for cuts back a few times after going through life’s shenanigans. It does take some time to get them back to my unreasonable standards as my buddy calls it. lol
well bro im feeling that shit too.. now since i joined instagram and and been a part of this great community i now have shared my prized phenos with people and i have had others share theirs with me.. only 4 of 11 strains i have growing right now have come from clones that i got from some of the greatest friends ive ever had . funny i also met them because of this plant and this community.. we as growers are usually empaths in ways we feel pain and joy that other living organisms feel on this earth.. im kind of a cannabis horticulturist in sorts i appreciate genetics i take extra time to understand every different girl i have in my garden.. when a friend gives me a strain its 9 out 10 times something ive been searching for and seeking out. and when i get what im looking for from a friend via clone the new plants usually get so much love that they thrive in my garden . and i dont get rid of strains that were gifted to me because that reason. and i will always go that extra step to keep taking the strongest branches from the healthiest plants that become my moms..
Yay!