Mother Plant
In medical cannabis cultivation, a mother plant is a plant that has been chosen to produce clones for propagation. These plants are typically selected because they exhibit desirable traits such as high yield, potency, therapeutic effects, and disease/pest resistance.
Why are mother plants used in medical cannabis cultivation?
Mother plants play a crucial role in maintaining genetic stability and consistency in a cannabis cultivar. By using clones from a single mother plant, cultivators can ensure that all plants in a crop have the same genetic makeup, resulting in uniform growth and consistent quality.
This is especially important in the medical cannabis industry, where patients rely on their prescribed medical cannabis flower being consistent over multiple harvests for their therapeutic needs.
Wouldn't seeds from the same cultivar produce the same results?
While seeds from the same cultivar have a high likelihood of producing similar traits, there is still a degree of genetic variability. This can result in different phenotypes (physical characteristics) and varying levels of potency and therapeutic compounds.
By using clones from one single mother plant, medical cannabis cultivators can eliminate this variability and produce a crop with consistent traits that meet the needs of patients.
To find out if you are eligible for medical cannabis treatment in the UK, check out our fast and free medical cannabis eligibility checker.
If you would like to learn more about medical cannabis in the UK, Releaf is here to help. In addition to this medical cannabis glossary, we have an extensive blog and education hub to explore, both filled with resources that UK medical cannabis patients, prescribers, and educators have been asking for.