TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR GROW-MANAGING PLANT STRETCH (2024)

FAQs

How do you reduce plant stretches? ›

Reducing the application of fertilizer or water can also prevent stretch. Some growers try to hold back plants using lower temperatures in combination with nutrient and/or water stress. Low fertility or mild water stress can prevent stretch if carefully controlled.

The flowering stretch. This usually occurs in the first two weeks of bloom and is when the plant shoots upwards. In some strains, it may almost double its height before it focuses on producing the bud. Since larger plants will often produce more buds, most growers want to encourage this stretch period.

If your plant is stretching toward your nearest window or light source, it is likely experiencing phototropism, which is a plant's tendency to stretch toward light in order to receive as much sun as possible.

Finally, controlling temperature and airflow will help to stop cannabis plant stretching. Keep temperatures below 29°C and make sure that air is moving. This helps to strengthen stems, and stops heat and humidity from building up below the canopy, which can also cause plants to stretch.

Yes—you can cut leggy plants back to encourage new stems to sprout, restoring your plants to lushness. Trim any exceptionally long, lanky stems, removing a third of their length and snipping just above a node (the point where leaves grow from the stem).

The best way to fix leggy seedlings is give them more light, ASAP! This could mean adding a supplemental grow light if you're not using one already, upgrading to a stronger light, or lowering your current light closer to the seedlings so it is more effective.

To some degree, more light translates to fatter buds and higher yields (you'll need to pay attention to the distance between your grow light and plants or your plant may suffer from light burn). Increasing light intensity is the most effective way to fatten up buds.

Once the initial hormonal changes from the onset of bloom have finished your cannabis plant should stop stretching. Usually, some 2-3 weeks after bloom began.

LST should continue during early flowering as vegetative growth continues. Maintain a flat, level branch structure. Vegetative growth will eventually stop when the plant is putting most of its energy into flowering.

Why do plants dance when growing? ›

Plants move during the day and as they grow, creating their own movement patterns. That dance creates a sound that changes based on a variety of environmental factors, including sun, soil quality, and nutrients. “Plants that are in a healthy condition have a specific movement pattern,” Zhao said.

8) in the Plant Journal found that touching plants triggers such a dramatic response in their hormones and gene expression that it could substantially inhibit their growth.

💭 Airy, loose buds are caused by either high temperature during their growth period, lack of light or lack of nutrients. INDOORS: High temperature in the garden space or just near the light causes the buds to grow airy and lanky. Move the buds farther from the light so the temperature of the leaf is no higher than 86.

The drying process occurs after harvest, when newly cut plants are full of moisture or “wet,” and cultivators hang them upside down or cut the flowers off the plant to reduce the natural moisture from the plants.

Repot the stem.

Planting the stem deeper, where the leaves were removed, will allow to grow new roots. If your stem is too long for your pot, simply trim it 1-2 inches from the base of the plant.

One of the best ways to prevent leggy seedlings and grow the most healthy, successful plants is by using grow lights inside. I hate to say it, but more often than not, a bright sunny window alone won't provide enough light for starting seeds indoors.

Etiolation happens because the plant is desperately searching for a light source, so to stop etiolation, give the plant more light. While some plants need more than others, nearly all plants need sunlight. Sometimes, no action is needed and the plant will reach the light source undamaged.

Many plants benefit from a good pinching in spring. They become stronger, bushier plants as a result, because when you pinch back one stem, two stems will emerge from the node left behind. You might even be able to root the stems you pinched off, which means more plants for you.

Why are my plant starts leggy? ›

“Legginess, or stretched seedlings, occurs basically because they're not getting enough light exposure,” Graper said. “Cloudy weather has caused the seedlings to stretch or elongate more than they normally would.” Overcrowding in seedling pots will also cause legginess as the seedlings compete for light.

Weeks 4-6: Buds Fatten Up

At this stage of cannabis flowering, your buds are getting bigger. They'll still have all the white pistils sticking out, but you'll be able to see the buds getting bigger every day.

Weeks 1-3 – Transition

Also known as the flowering stretch—you'll notice a sudden increase in growth over these three weeks. Your plant needs to be big and strong enough to support the buds that'll be growing over the next few weeks—it can double or even triple in size.

Stop Watering 1-3 Days Before Harvest – After flushing, in the final days of harvest, you can further stress your plants by stopping watering. You want to allow the plant to start to wilt just a small amount, because then the plant “thinks” it is dying and as a last-ditch effort, it will increase resin development.

Increasing the amount of CO₂ in your grow room can help you grow bigger, denser buds. By doing so, you'll help plants photosynthesise faster and encourage them to take up more nutrients and water.

The fluffy structure of these lower bud sites doesn't reach optimum density due to low light levels. That's why many growers simply remove popcorn buds and the lower branches they form on. Reduced light levels mean reduced photosynthesis, less biomass and consequently fluffy buds.

Light intensity. Light is the most important factor when trying to get denser cannabis flowers because lights help cannabis plants produce sugars through the photosynthesis process which helps them grow, just have in mind that not any light will do, weed needs an optimal light intensity to produce big fat buds.

If you grow strains with an average flowering time, the majority of bud development will occur by the 6th week of bloom. In the last two weeks, the buds will mostly be ripening and not really growing much more in size.

Week 4. At week 4 of the flowering stage, your cannabis plants will likely have stopped growing altogether and are now spending all their energy on growing buds. There will still be white hairs sticking out from the buds, but the buds themselves will become bigger and fatter with each day.

Changes from Week 6 to Week 7

The biggest changes that you will witness in the seventh week of flowering is the amount of trichome production on the buds. Your buds in Week 7 will be noticeably frostier, as the plants begin to finish out. These plants are beginning to look smokable!

How long after switching to 12 12 will I see buds? ›

When you're ready for plants to start the flowering stage, change your lights to a 12/12 cycle (12 hours with the light on and 12 hours with it off ). You will see signs of flowering in 1-3 weeks. On average plants will be ready to harvest after 8-11 weeks of flowering.

The bigger the leaf area, the bigger your buds will be. Nitrogen is the nutrient needed most for this green growth. When plants reach their mature size and begin flowering, they need more phosphorus, the nutrient most essential for budding.

Yes. Big buds are better because they are fully grown and richer in trichomes than popcorn weed nugs. They have better quality, more intoxicating, and irresistible bag appeal.

Sound is perceived as vibrations. There is no consistent scientific evidence that talking or singing to plants helps them grow better or produce more fruit.

While flowers and other members of the plant kingdom seem not to complain when we pinch their buds or step on them, they are fully aware of what's happening and rapidly respond to the way they're treated, scientists have discovered.

There are many studies that verify that plant growth is influenced by sound. Many found that at the average human conversational tone (70 decibels) there was increased production in plants. Not only will your plants benefit from your conversations but you may get a psychological boost as well.

We have yet to scientifically verify that that plants have feelings. However, we do know that they can pick up on energies and sense. It's a phenomenon that's both perplexing and amazing!

Do Plants React to Human Voices? Here's the good news: plants do respond to the sound of your voice. In a study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society, research demonstrated that plants did respond to human voices. In this study, there were 10 tomato plants, 8 of which had headphones placed around their pots.

Plants can sense a lot about their environment and it can cause them stress. Unlike most humans and animals though, when plants face predation, damage, or environmental changes they can't run away and hide. Sessile – or stalkless – plants evolved to be incredibly sensitive to their environment in order to survive.

Small buds, about the size of a marble or smaller, are appropriately called “Smalls” and are considered lower quality than larger nugs. Large and smalls can both come from the same harvest and the same plants but will get filtered out in the packaging process.

Are smaller nugs less potent? ›

Are Small Buds more Potent? Small buds are generally the same potency as large nugs of the same strain. Small nugs come from the same plants as large nugs, they're simply pieces of flower that tended to get less light and thus didn't grow as large.

High-stress techniques like topping can also be used to encourage ramification and improve bud density. Pruning can similarly be used to enhance growth, flower quality, and shape. By removing selected leaves and branches, growers direct energy and resources toward the flowers instead.

In contrast, fluffy buds yield disappointment and less plant matter. These airy flowers are often the result of suboptimal growing conditions, a lack of light, or nutrient deficiency. Fluffy buds don't only look less appetising, but you'll need to use more of your harvest every time you roll a blunt or hit a bowl.

Cannabis plants will show a number of key signs when they're getting too much light. The most obvious indicator is leaf burning. This typically causes yellow leaves at the top of the plant directly under the grow lights. While the inside veins stay green, the leaves take on a yellow, burnt look.

Without light, you can say goodbye to cannabis buds altogether. Yet, too much light will burn the upper areas of your plant, causing leaves to crisp over and even damaging high-flying colas. If you let your canopy grow too tall, expect discolouration, dryness, and reduced yields.

The sugar and fan leaves protect the buds while they dry and can help to create an ideal moisture level. When they are removed before drying, it can cause the buds to dry up more quickly than they should and negatively impact quality.

The good news is, leggy seedlings can usually be fixed before it's too late. I've transplanted hundreds of tall, floppy seedlings with success, most of which went on to recover and have normal, productive yields.

Stretching continues through the first 2-3 weeks of flower cycle. Your plants will double or triple in height.

Lack of light. Indoor plants will always grow toward the light. If the light source, i.e. the window, is too far away, it may make your plant lean a lot as it desperately reaches for more rays. Solution: Simply move your plant closer to a window.

Maximum Yield Explains Internodal Spacing

Internodal spacing can be controlled, to an extent, by growers if they lessen the difference in the daytime temperature versus the nighttime temperature in the greenhouse or growroom. Poor lighting also increases internodal spacing.

How do I stop my seedlings from getting leggy? ›

Put a small fan next to your seedlings on a timer so that the plants are blown in the breeze for a couple of hours a day and gently passing your hand over the tops of seedlings a few times every day to stimulate stronger growth. Some leggy seedlings can be saved with modified transplanting techniques.

You can remove fan leaves during flowering in much the same way you do during veg. Prune away large leaves that are overshadowing bud sites, as well as dead or dying fan leaves. One thing to keep in mind is that you should prune in intervals, giving at least a couple weeks between each session.

From week 4-5 plants stop growing in size and start growing, fattening their buds and darkening their pistils.

Week 5: Buds Grow More and More

Cannabis plants get fatter and fatter every day. This is a good sign that the plant is in full flowering mode. The odor will be very strong at this point.