Week 5 of Flower | Week-by-Week Guide to Flowering Cannabis (2024)

We are now in Week 5 of the flowering stage. Here are the new developments we will dive into:

• Budsites are filling out
• The stalks have completely firmed up
• Main priority is keeping the plants healthy

In this episode of A Week-by-Week Guide to Flowering Cannabis Indoors, we are on Day 31 of the flowering period. Both plants, our Apple Tartz #7 pheno, and our Platinum Silk, are coming along quite nicely.

Changes from Week 4 to Week 5

The biggest changes that you will witness in the fifth week of your flowering cycle is not so much in total plant growth (as in Week 4) but in the maturity of the buds. It is in Week 5 that the buds really begin to fill out. Even more growth will occur in Week 6 and beyond.

If you recall the vegetative look and feel of the first three weeks, Week 4 represented a distinct shift away from veg and into flower. Week 5 takes that shift and kicks it up a notch.

It is in Week 5 that you really get to see the room in bloom. Compared to Week 4, the buds in Week 5 are much larger. If you want to know how big your buds should be in Week 5, take a look at our Platinum Silk. It is a fair representation of Week 5 development and maturity.

In addition to the good looks these maturing flowers have, the other element to note is the increased aroma of the room. These plants are fragrant! Flowering plants will give off a strong and ripe aroma in Week 5, so be ready for that.

If you grow in a less-than-private place, you will have serious odor control problems, that are the subject of another article.

But if odor is not an issue, then this is a great time to simply enjoy the season you are in. The latter half of flower brings the best in wonderful scents and smells.

Do not attempt to train your plants in Week 5

At this point in the flowering phase, you should not attempt to train your plants any further. The days of weaving through the trellis are over. Which is why we so heavily promote training in the first three weeks of flower. Instead, this is a time to savor in the beauty of the blooming period.

We like to say that the hard work is done in the first half of flower, and if you’ve done your chores, you get to coast through the second half. And that is largely true.

Assuming you controlled the stretch and utilized the trellis effectively in the first few weeks, your canopy should be full. And if you took care of all defoliation by the close of Week 4, then you should have healthy, happy, blooming plants at this point.

Because you have a wide, full canopy of manicured plants, all there is left to do is bloom. You will not see a lot of vegetative growth over the next few weeks. Instead, all of the light photosynthesis and nutrients will go toward maturity of the flowers, i.e. the buds.

Instead of having to worry about canopy management and defoliation, you can to enjoy the sights of ever increasing flowers.

Keep an Eye on Plant health

You will want to keep an eye on overall plant health. Nutrient deficiencies, pests, and environmental issues can all lead to poor plants and a poor outcome at harvest. So keep an eye on everything. Much of the physical labor is done, but do not sleep on job when it comes to being the boss/manager of the rest of your shift.

While you need not find yourself deep in defoliation, you will want to whip out a microscope if you see something suspicious. Regular inspections of your plants, as well as your emitters, feeding system and the overall plant response, will all serve you in coasting through the second half of flower. Spotting an issue before it becomes a problem goes a long way toward making things easier over the long run.

Things continue to heat up in Week 6!

Well that concludes are look at Week 5. The plants have gotten deeper into flower, the buds are getting bigger, and the vegetative growth has slowed. Next week, we will get to see just how much the top colas have developed.