If you’ve seen one geranium, you’ve seen them all. Pumping your cultivar with extra nutrition to gain mass isn’t doing it for you anymore; having the biggest tomatoes in your township isn’t scratching that itch. Perhaps your enthusiasm for gardening is waning. So, bring on the mutations and abominations!
Nature’s Curveballs
Every once in a while, Nature throws you a curveball. If you have a few seasons under your belt, you have likely come across something strange or unorthodox coming out of your now seemingly nuclear soil.
I have a genetic bastard in my grow tent as we speak. She has three nodes fused together and is shooting bud sites and leaves with reckless abandon and no rhyme or reason whatsoever.
It may not yield, but it sure is fascinating to watch grow. This plant broke the monotony and will serve as a topic of conversation at the plant shop or the local Home Depot while shopping for summer botanical essentials.
Don’t Fear Mutations
The mutation I am currently experiencing affects the structure of the plant. However, another common mutation will affect the coloration of the flowers and foliage. You might notice the petals of a flower that are solid purple on one end of the garden lack color in every single petal on the other end.
You can equate this to a human being having eyes colored differently or perhaps being born missing a digit. It doesn’t affect the plant’s life cycle.
Breeding and Mutations
When breeding, some exaggerated attributes/mutations are used to our advantage. When selecting mother plants for breeding cannabis, if you happen to come across a plant that produces so many trichomes it’s dripping with resin, you will want to preserve that exaggeration/mutation and take full advantage of that occurrence.
Cannabis is potent nowadays because people are constantly selecting these gems for reproduction. If the plants are producing flowers or buds the size of a French Bulldog, you’re going to want to harness that energy.
You can equate this to a baby being born 21 pounds and growing up to be a Champion Sumo wrestler. They were born for it; it’s all about DNA and how it’s being manipulated or affected. With all the pollution we pump into our oceans and atmosphere, I am surprised plant DNA has not been bastardized beyond recognition.
Celebrating Differences
Whether it’s naturally occurring mistakes in the DNA or caused by an irregular environment, mutations in plants, like in people, are something to be celebrated. Where would we be without the fabled double fruit in a single peel or the baby versions of our favorite vegetables?
Mother Nature does not make mistakes. If she does, they resemble “happy accidents” like Bob Ross used to talk about. A tree that doesn’t bear fruit can still offer you shade the same way someone born with no legs can probably bench press more than me.
I leave you with this, my Jurassic Park fans: “Nature finds a way.” So get out there, find a mutation, and enjoy Nature’s happy little accidents.