We are now in Week 3 of the flowering stage. Here are the new developments we will dive into:
- Emergence of pre-flower bud sites
- More growth and stretching
- Continuous use of the trellis to train the plant
In this episode of A Week-by-Week Guide to Flowering Cannabis, our Harvest Manager Justin walks us through these observations during the third week of the flowering period.
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Changes in your plants from Week 2 to Week 3 of Flowering
The biggest change from Week 2 to Week 3 is the emergence of small pre-flower sites. These are the places where your flower buds will bloom. And this should get you excited!
After growing through the stages of planting seeds and vegging your plants, you have been growing for quite some time now with no visual representation of bud. Now you have it! Now you can see that this plant will eventually produce large flowers. Because you are only three weeks into the 12/12 light cycle and you are now beginning to see little mini flower sites.
Now that you know you are on the right track, let’s continue on with the other changes and developments that take place during Week 3 of the flowering stage.
More growth and stretching of the plants in Week 3
In our video, we are just a few days into the third week of flowering. You will notice continued growth and stretching.
You can see in the video how bushy everything has become. This rapid, almost non-stop growth is all a sign of the post-vegetative stretch that these plants go through after switching to the 12/12 light cycle.
All of this growth is an indication that you are on the right track. Your plants are responding well to the reduced amount of daily light. They are recovering and rebounding as a result of the increased dark cycle.
But be ready for the bush!
As you can see in the video, they are much more bushier than they were in Week 2. This additional thickness is part of the post-veg stretch. Your plants will not only grow taller, but the sheer amount of plant material will increase as well.
There are two things that need to be done at this point:
- continuous use of the trellis
- Defoliation of plant material
Continue to Use the Trellis to control the plant
In order to tame and control the plant, you must continue to weave the branches under and through the trellis netting. It is as this stage that proper use of the trellis is critically important.
At this stage, your plant is still pliable and capable of bending and stretching. You must take advantage of the plant’s ability to be trained. It will not last forever. In fact, by next week, you won’t be able to do this. So get after it!
By weaving your plants through the trellis, you will actually spread the plant wide, which will create more square footage of canopy. More square footage of canopy means you will soak up every bit of light you can and use it for the plant.
If you allow you plant to grow tall and skinny, you are wasting light rays, as only a few branches will absorb the light. By laying the plant over, you can capture much more light, and therefore generate many more bud sites and colas.
In short, Week 3 of Flower is your last chance to really train the plant for greater yield at the end of flower. You must take advantage of this opportunity before it’s too late.
Defoliate your plants to remove excess foliage
At this time, if you have not already, you should perform a heavy defoliation. We usually perform a heavy defoliation at the end of Week 2 or start of Week 3. During this time, there is an almost continuous growth that seemingly doesn’t stop for weeks. Do not let this overgrowth get out of hand, or you can fall behind schedule.
When plants get too bushy, they become harder to train. You also do not know where the money spots are, as the entire plant is engulfed in fan leaves.
A good rule is to basically remove every fan leaf on the plant at this point. Don’t worry, more will grow back. But you need to be able to see through the plant and see where the bud sites and future colas will grow.
You also need to be able to weave the branches through the trellis, and excess foliage can obstruct that effort. So remove the foliage, stretch the plant wide and lay down those branches. Pop them up through the trellis squares far from where they started, and watch new bud sites emerge from your newly cleaned branches.
This series continues next week…
Stay tuned for next week, we will dive into Week 4 as we watch these cannabis plants continue to progress through the flowering stage.
