Lets hear some advice! Making selections
- Thread starter AppleDeez
- Start date
I'll assume selecting female plants for breeding:
Have a clear and practical idea of what you want from your breeding project.
What was the point of the project? Answer that, and you'll have a good idea of what your selection criteria should be. If you're trying to pass along a particular smell, let stem rubs guide your selection. If you wanted shorter plants, cull anything that stretches more than 2× in flower. Your selection should always be guided by the purpose of the cross.
Is it just a pollen chuck between two plants you liked or thought would make a great combination? Awesome. Keep the one that best expresses the traits you wanted from both parents and has your favorite smoke. But don't forget to keep your expectations practical. If you're starting a new line that will require multiple generations and a lot of work, don't expect a final plant with improved structure, flowering time, smell, and chemotype to appear after a single cross.
Kanzeon
You can't spell healthcare without THC
Grow weird shit.
Hybrid vigor is real, and most plants these days are combinations and recombinations of GSC and Skunk 1. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's a finite amount of genetic expression that can be drawn from those pools, which are already crowded with breeders already. I can't walk down the street without 7 people trying to sell me some MAC x Runtz beans or Thin Mints clones.
There's a lot of gold in older heirloom lines like G13, Haze, Blueberry, Grapefruit, NL, Widow, and of course native cultivars from anywhere but especially Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal, and India.
Hybrid vigor is real, and most plants these days are combinations and recombinations of GSC and Skunk 1. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's a finite amount of genetic expression that can be drawn from those pools, which are already crowded with breeders already. I can't walk down the street without 7 people trying to sell me some MAC x Runtz beans or Thin Mints clones.
There's a lot of gold in older heirloom lines like G13, Haze, Blueberry, Grapefruit, NL, Widow, and of course native cultivars from anywhere but especially Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal, and India.
Best player available. It's good to have a plan and basic idea so you get going with the right starter matetial. Don't start with lemon if you want apple. If you told me I would be going after a purple stem pheno at the start of this year I mighta looked at ya a little cross - best player available.
pepperpicante
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
@Schwaggy P is on the money! Having garden goals and in turn breeding goals is what should determine your selections.
My personal selections come down to aura, performance, personality and overall end product. I have questions for the plant to answer.
There are a few ways to look for aura even if you don't gave the eyes for it, you might have the nose for it. What is the smell bubble like, does it leave a scent trail and silliage? How does it play with your memories and do you find your self repeating sniff tests on them?
Structure is another way to define aura as well. What is the natural structure look like, how does it respond to hst and lst. Is the vigor at the tops or does it put out side branches easily? Does it have vigor?
How do the leaves pop out of the stem? How are the buds structured? If you can picture a jagged or soft bubble around the plant and its structure and look at the potential partner and see how they would match and differ you can picture how to different Genetics might interact.
The personality and vibes of the plant can be observed by how it behaves in reaction to stimulis and stresses. In the small containers it becomes apparent which ones call for water first. When the light go on or off you can see which ones are praying or already down. If you havent fed nutrients in awhile the leaves will start to turn colors at you. Some of them will change shades with the tempature as well or from.the start.
The end product is important, How does it smoke?
Frosty78
Habitabat autem somnium
Work out your goals as schwaggy stated and dont overlook the past as kanzeon stated to improve/enhance/work from.
Building blocks from pioneers the likes of nev, shanti, the dutch, boel, plus countless others were tread for the abundance of selections you now enjoy.
Are you looking for outdoor selections or indoors were they dont face the realities of harsh weather?
If for outdoor you would look at reslience to pm, pests, botrytis, septoria etc would need to be high up on your list. I know full well from experience in the harsh landscape here that plenty fail the test and need to either be culled early or risk losing everything youve worled hard for.
What is the vigour like when growing?
What selection pool are you breeding from?
Many of those pioneers bred from hundreds and thousands of the same strain in a season before taking cuts and bringing inside for their best to be bred with to next fillial line.
Like dopedaniel stated, work from a base and expand from it. Are you intending to breed from worked lines stabilized from ibl f5 onwards for a true f1 or a couple of plants you enjoy?
Theres nothing wrong with either and both are enjoyable.
Plenty to ponder from those questions and responses posed by everyone thus far.
Rest is up to you.
Building blocks from pioneers the likes of nev, shanti, the dutch, boel, plus countless others were tread for the abundance of selections you now enjoy.
Are you looking for outdoor selections or indoors were they dont face the realities of harsh weather?
If for outdoor you would look at reslience to pm, pests, botrytis, septoria etc would need to be high up on your list. I know full well from experience in the harsh landscape here that plenty fail the test and need to either be culled early or risk losing everything youve worled hard for.
What is the vigour like when growing?
What selection pool are you breeding from?
Many of those pioneers bred from hundreds and thousands of the same strain in a season before taking cuts and bringing inside for their best to be bred with to next fillial line.
Like dopedaniel stated, work from a base and expand from it. Are you intending to breed from worked lines stabilized from ibl f5 onwards for a true f1 or a couple of plants you enjoy?
Theres nothing wrong with either and both are enjoyable.
Plenty to ponder from those questions and responses posed by everyone thus far.
Rest is up to you.
Southside112
Swisha House
I don't have an answer to this as I don't breed. I am grateful and get to reap the rewards of others hard work. Thank you breeders.
pepperpicante
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
How do you select which seeds to pop or what to clone? I know you got some fire in your grow space!
Southside112
Swisha House
Great question brother. If the community is buzzing about a strain that gets my attention. If I see a fire picture that gets my attention. If a breeder inspires me that gets my attention. If I get a fire plant I remember what strain it was and will be willing to try it again or it's offspring. I have very limited space so what to grow is a big deal. Once a breeder has proven himself to me I will be much more willing to dedicate space to that breeders work. @BobBitchen for example his slymer has really impressed me. That strain will always have a place. @Amos Otis has blown me away with his work. His work will always have a place in my space. These are some of the things I consider. But yeah mostly it's what strains inspire my passion for Marijuana cultivation. INSPIRATION.
RookieBuds
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
Selections for what to grow? --the modern genepool is such, you can just make selections by name 
"Apple Pie Slice, hmmm that sounds good" --at least that's partially what I do; if I like a name or purported aroma/flavor profile, I'll look at the immediate lineage to see if I'm familiar with it. I also rely on reviews and/or breeder description, which is why it kinda irks me to see a pack of seeds for like 100+, and the only description is "10 regular seeds" or, maybe nothing but a flower time CMON MAN, don't you like the seeds you're selling?? Tell us a lil something about them!
Selections for what to keep/clone? --that is entirely personal taste, but, ideally, take a clone or couple clones off something just before flowering. WAIT UNTIL YOU SMOKE IT to fully decide if it deserves subsequent flower runs
Selections for what to breed/chuck? --I am very much still a Rookie in this regard. I will say this; just mess with stuff that looks/sounds good to you! Don't worry about the market, or what's hot or trendy ---- hell, YOU could stumble upon the next hot trend YOU could be the next MAC1 or Cookies or whatever. Have fun with it! *Please take some notes on your sourced material, potential expected expressions etc., please have more than "10 seeds 8wk flower" as your seed description 
"Apple Pie Slice, hmmm that sounds good" --at least that's partially what I do; if I like a name or purported aroma/flavor profile, I'll look at the immediate lineage to see if I'm familiar with it. I also rely on reviews and/or breeder description, which is why it kinda irks me to see a pack of seeds for like 100+, and the only description is "10 regular seeds" or, maybe nothing but a flower time CMON MAN, don't you like the seeds you're selling?? Tell us a lil something about them!Selections for what to keep/clone? --that is entirely personal taste, but, ideally, take a clone or couple clones off something just before flowering. WAIT UNTIL YOU SMOKE IT to fully decide if it deserves subsequent flower runs
Selections for what to breed/chuck? --I am very much still a Rookie in this regard
. I will say this; just mess with stuff that looks/sounds good to you! Don't worry about the market, or what's hot or trendy ---- hell, YOU could stumble upon the next hot trend YOU could be the next MAC1 or Cookies or whatever. Have fun with it! *Please take some notes on your sourced material, potential expected expressions etc., please have more than "10 seeds 8wk flower" as your seed description 
Promethean
In Bloom
Not sure what my 2cents are worth, but I'll chime in. I've never done large breeding projects into the f3 f4 gen but I have done lots of chucks over the years. #1 as @Schwaggy P says have a goal. #2 take notes on all plants durring selection - be as descriptive as you can. Sometimes I get just what I expected and other times not so much. I once did a chuck with Flo and Sour bubble. I wanted purple weed. Flo buds purpled from the outside top down, Sour bubble pheno was purple from the bottom up and inside with green tops. Goal was to select phenos that were purple all way through, and they all came up dark purple. Amazing bag appeal, good high, but the terps weren't there. A few years back I did a DTC99 x Starseed wanting to intensify anise terps into the sweet DTC99. Ended up with loud perfume and lacquer terps, no anise, a soaring high and terrible yield. Best results I ever had was A11 x sour bubble. At the time my fav was A11, my brothers, sour bubble, so it was just to cross our favs to see what came up. Every plant came up fire, super sticky, super stinky, very similar structure. Coulnt keep my dugout in my pocket at all. Kushy funk with skunky undertones. I would like to get more germed out but alas, to no success. Im gonna have a go with Strawbry cough and choc thai this year, going for choc stawberry terps. We'll see how that works out ..
pepperpicante
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
I have to reccomend the throwing in of that usefuls gift from @Trial n Error for a chance at becoming a chocolate stud or lady. I am becoming a fan of the terps on this one and I think that pair sounds devine.
Poundsandpeppers19
Rooted
The piece of advice i have its simple if your new and aren't sure on when you should water get a scale and weigh your pots
pepperpicante
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
Tell ys about your styles and methods for the topic of choosing what to grow, what to keep around, and /or what to select for breeding. I seen on discord you got some cool peppers going on as well!
HBZ
❄️🔥💎 FORAGER of FIRE 💎🔥❄️
One thing I think is quite often overlooked is how important the male is in the cross..It's just not pollen to feed a beautiful female..The male plant im certain is more important than the female you are chucking at..The female will show you all the traits that made you want to chuck in the first place..Males are quite often just grabbed as a tool I think..Great males are super hard to come by ..another reason so many folks reverse female plants perhaps I'm not sure..I only mess with plants from reg seeds..A really good male brings so much to the cross and can make or break what ya have going on.. Personally when I choose males I do so from a rather sizely pool if possible...I label the males as they start showing sex..The quickest being #1 and so on..I always choose from the LAST to show sex and the plants that most resemble a stocky well framed female plant..Spindly stretchy quick flower males couldn't meet scissors quick enough...I like my male plants to emit extreme odor on a rub..Have extreme noticeable vigor over all plants in the group even the females ..Keep in mind I've seen thousands of phenos and I've found probably 5 male plants ide consider PERFECT ..And only 2 ide consider grail perfect...One of the two was found years ago from a cross of OG18 x Sour flame OG..Dude was stocky short and frosted like a female..could smell him without touching...The second I'm working with now and I haven't seen his offspring so i really shouldn't have him rated on elite quite yet but I'm quite sure about him..Mac Cherry breath x Garlic breath male I found from a single pack of testers from Frim..This dude is NASTY..THICK and checking all the boxes double
pepperpicante
CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
HBZ
❄️🔥💎 FORAGER of FIRE 💎🔥❄️
That MCB x GB male smells thick like cherry pipe tobacco with a cedar rear..When I say thick I mean it's not bright and nose stinging or fresh...It's like a stick to your clothes more musty earthy and deep thick odor ..Even if ya didn't know the Cherry strain was present in the cross you'd be able to pick up there was cherry something or other in there.. That SF18 male I used to have has been long gone for may years ..However I have a few plants going right now that I used that male on. I crossed a Black jack female with that male..Kind of surprised they even grew..Tried germinate a whole bunch and got 4 or 5..That male was straight OG diesel and gas..Quite skunky/pine with a slight sour citrus note
