The babies have had a hard upbringing, but I think they may be approaching time to flower within the next couple of weeks. Can't take pics as camera has died on me They are still fairly small, but they have around 6 to 7 nodes and a number of branches. They are about 8" tall with nice fat juicy leaves and have a lovely musk about them. I know they won't yeild me much because they have had a rather fucked up life so far, but when should I take them into flower? My new copy of the grow bible doesn't actually say
It's all about the "maturity" of the plant; not the size. All else being equal; a plant that has been vegged to a larger size before being "tripped" to 12-12 will produce more bud because it is a larger "factory". Like with most animal species; the maturity of the individual determines the ability of the reproductive system to function - so it is with cannibis plants also. Producing buds is the female cannibis plants' effort to try and reproduce; this is only possible after the plant is mature. So; how can you tell whether or not a plant is mature? Class? Anyone?? Alternating nodes - that's right! Alternating nodes - familiarize yourself with this term!! It will be on the quiz!!! If any of this material is new to you, you havn't been doing your assignments!
I've read the indoor grow bible cover to cover, but I swear it doesn't mention alternating nodes. However, a quick image search on google has yeilded me the results. A couple of the plants are showing this, but the other three haven't got there yet. I shall be patient and wait until they all show this. Thanks T.H.Cammo.
Yes, sexual maturity in Cannabis is indicated by alternating rather than side by side nodes. The thing is that this differs with seeds or clones. Clones are often in that preflowering stage so all the clones may be sexually mature. You could flower them tiny but without roots yields are small as well. A sexually immature seed plant will flower if placed on 12/12 because it will complete its sexual maturing in a hurry. There will be a longer total flowering time in a sexually immature seed plant when compared to a pre flowering clone of course. I disagree with nothing that T.H. Cammo has said actually. BOG
I am always glad to have the finer points explained by the master! The more we know, the better we grow!
Would I be right in thinking that a huge amount of root growth occurs in flower, or do I have it the wrong way around? Also, going by what I know about other plants, does MJ plant size indicate/reflect the size of the roots?
In the first half of flowering rooting continues if there is space available to root. This is beneficial to both yields and health. I often do a last transplant just before flowering and this greatly increases yields. Remember when you harvest to compare rootmass and budmass. You will find a direct correlation I expect with some variation. Respect to those able to show respect to others. Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ... BOG