# Mother plant

> A mother plant is a female kept permanently in vegetative growth to supply cuttings, so a selected genotype can be propagated as clones indefinitely.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/mother-plant.html
- Also written: mother, mothers, stock plant, donor plant, mother stock
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A mother plant (stock plant) is a plant held in vegetative growth, usually under 18 h or more of light, so it never flowers and can be cut repeatedly for clones. Every cutting from it carries the same [genotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genotype.md), which is how a selected individual is kept and shared.

## In practice

Mothers are kept healthy rather than huge: moderate light (about 300-600 [µmol/m²/s](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ppfd.md)), steady feeding with enough calcium and nitrogen, and regular pruning to keep many cuttable shoots. Many growers replace a mother every 6-12 months by rooting one of her own cuttings, simply because an old plant in a pot becomes woody, [root-bound](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/root-bound.md) and hard to manage. Pathogens, especially [hop latent viroid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hop-latent-viroid.md), are the real threat to a mother line; test and keep a clean source.

## Myth check

House position: there is no [genetic drift](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/genetic-drift.md) in clones apart from pathogens. The founder keeps cuts over 40 years old with no decline. "Tired mother" symptoms are pathogens, poor care or cutting position, not the genotype wearing out. Take cuts from consistent positions on the plant. See [clone-only preservation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/clone-only-preservation.md).

## Don't confuse with

- **Mom (slang)**: the same idea in casual speech; this file covers the horticultural practice.

## Related terms

[Cloning](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cloning.md), [Cutting](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cutting.md), [Keeper](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/keeper.md), [Clone-only](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/clone-only.md), [Veg time](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/veg-time.md)

## Read more

- [Clone-only cuts and how to preserve them](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/clone-only-preservation.md)
- [Selection and pheno hunting: sample sizes and scoring rubrics](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/selection-pheno-hunting.md)

## Sources

1. Clarke RC, Merlin MD. 2013. Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520954571