Monster cropping is a technique that involves taking a clone from a plant that has already gone into the flowering stage of growth. Any plant that has begun flowering can be reverted back into the vegetative stage by giving it 18-24 hours of light per day. The same is true of a clone taken from a flowering plant. The process of reverting a flowering plant or clone back to the vegetative stage can take weeks or even months to accomplish.
The advantages of Monster Cropping:
- If you time it right, you can get away with not having to keep mother plants around.
- Clones that are taken during flower will grow to be compact plants that are full of branches.
- If you forgot to clone a backup of your selected genotype/phenotype, you can still save the genetics, even late into flowering.
The disadvantages of Monster Cropping:
- It takes much longer for a flowering clone to start vegetation again (2+ weeks).
- Some clones just won’t make it. If you plan on monster cropping, it’s always a good idea to cut more than you’ll need for your next round.