Lone Hyperion F1

drakkon The Hyperion is looking fine on day 14. There's not much to report yet. I'm just keeping it moist under a dome, plus a few small drinks of water here and there. Soon I'll introduce some dilute nutrients and a root supplement. Transplant day and possible topping-day TBD. It currently sits pretty far from the lamp, and to the side.

drakkon Kaboom! Ouch! I knocked the Hyperion seedling over this week, just when I was saying how I've always had good results starting them off in 1-liter air pots. Well, I can't blame the air pot for this one, it's all on me. A day or two after last week's diary entry, I was rotating a fabric pot containing a Northern Lights Automatic (no diary) and nudged an adjacent pot. The other pot then nudged the Hyperion, causing it to fall off the 15-inch riser on which it stands. The Hyperion landed on its side and about a third of the soil tumbled out, but the plant itself remained intact. I forgot to take pictures as I rushed to refill the container, but I could clearly see some loose and jumbled roots. As carefully as I could, I turned the container upright and put the soil back in. I had watered the plant recently, so the soil was rather damp, but I wondered whether I should re-water it a little bit anyway, to help the soil and roots settle together. After thinking about it for a brief pause, I opted to do so. Without question, the plant stalled. First, it appeared slightly droopy for a day or two, during which time its first set of single-leaflet true leaves yellowed and wilted, as did the cotyledons. It continued looking rather sad for another two or three days before regaining full turgor. Yesterday, I gave it about 200 ml of water with some dilute nutrients and a root booster (GH FloraMicro, FloraBloom, and RapidStart at 3-6-1 ml per gallon respectively). Interestingly, a segment of the main stem has turned a vibrant pinkish color. Today, the Hyperion appears to be back on track, but I imagine the sudden shock it underwent will impact the end-results significantly. It's a good thing I have other plants in the pipeline and can easily start more whenever I want. As long as it's nothing serious in the larger scheme of things, when things don't go my way or a little hiccup occurs, I try to take it as an opportunity to exercise restraint in indulging in any irritation or anger that might naturally arise. Of course, I don't love that it happened, but why get all bent out of shape over what should be my fun hobby? I don't deny that I felt the impulse to get all bent out of shape, though 😉

drakkon The week before last, the Hyperion took a literal tumble, paused growth for a few days, and then bounced back. This past week, I left it in its original 1-liter air pot for a few more days, and then transplanted it into a 3-gallon bag on day 24. I've ceased using pumice as an amendment, and went back to using perlite this time instead. I added about 10% by volume to some Happy Frog soil, just to boost its aeration and drainage a little. I watered the transplant in the new bag with 1200 ml of water plus 1 ml of RapidStart root enhancer. As of day 28, it's had just another 200 ml small drink. I really hope it takes its time before flowering, but given the pause it underwent, I won't be shocked if it flowers soon and I end up with another small one. My next plant has already been sown, just in case this Hyperion ends up being small.

drakkon As of day 35, the Hyperion is looking healthy and growing fast, which is a little surprising since it took a tumble a couple of weeks ago and was transplanted soon after. On day 33 it appeared to still be undergoing vigorous vegetative growth, and I have limited space under my desk, so I decided to go ahead and top it and see what happens. I would generally consider day 33 much too late for topping an auto, but going by its appearance, I think it'll be ok this time. It's only been two days since it was topped so it's hard to be sure, but topping the plant did not seem to slow or faze it at all. When I topped it, I also removed its two tiny first-node branches, leaving it with four nodes (#2 to #5) and eight branches. This past week, it received about 1200 ml of water (pH-adjusted) plus dilute base nutrients and a root enhancer (RapidStart). I'm letting the ambient humidity get pretty low (39%) without intervening because there are other plants in the same area that are in full flower.

drakkon I'm a little surprised the Hyperion F1 hasn't started flowering as of day 42, but I have no complaints. It has undergone plenty of shock and adversity along the way, but continues to appear healthy. The plant fell to the floor as a seedling, was later transplanted, then topped, and just a few days ago I accidentally broke a couple of its branches. While training one of its 4th-node branches, I was a little aggressive and snapped it, leaving only about 40 percent of it still connected. I know branches can often be saved, so I proceed to repair it with a small piece of tape. The repair seems to have worked and the branch remains alive and even growing a little. However, as I repaired that 4th-node branch, I clumsily broke one of the nearby 5th-node branches completely off. I now expect to have a more organically shaped plant with six or seven tops instead of the eight I usually aim for when topping. I recently purchased 4 self-watering trays (AC Infinity) and am phasing them into my area. The Hyperion now rests on one, but I haven't yet begun using it or my other trays for sub-irrigation. Currently, I use them only to catch runoff when top-watering by hand.

drakkon As of day 49, the Hyperion appears healthy and is growing quickly. Yesterday, I started seeing a few immature flowers forming, so I assigned this week as the first flowering week in the diary. Today, I introduced a little dilute bud-boosting supplement (KoolBloom Liquid) to get flowering off to a good start. Recently, I filled the self-watering tray with plain (pH'd) water and set up the wicks. The plant has begun absorbing some water from the bottom, but not much yet. For now, I'll top-water when feeding and see how much it drinks from below. This is my first time trying sub-irrigation so we'll see how it works out.

drakkon The Hyperion F1 is looking great on day 56. It's definitely flowering now, and new bud sites and immature flowers are popping up all over the place. I increased nutrient concentration this past week, including both the base nutrients (FloraMicro, FloraBloom) and the bloom enhancer (KoolBloom liquid). I'm delivering the nutrients via top-watering, and the amount of plain water it's drinking from the self-watering tray increases daily. I released the training ties yesterday and the branches barely sprung back up at all. I will defoliate periodically in the coming weeks to increase air flow and to help get some light deeper into the canopy.

drakkon The Hyperion F1 is doing fine as of day 63. The plant is getting bigger, lusher, and young flowers are stacking nicely along its bigger stems. It receives nutrients via top-watering while also absorbing plain water via the wicks in the sub-irrigation tray. When the reservoir empties, I allow it to remain empty for about a day or two to allow the medium to dry back a little before refilling it. I've been removing (or tucking) a small number of leaves every other day to increase air circulation and light penetration. So far, I'm pleased with the plant itself, as well as my new experience with sub-irrigation.

drakkon As of day 70, the Hyperion F1 is healthy and producing numerous attractive flowers. It continues to drink plain water via the wicks in the self-watering tray, plus nutrients and additional water via top-watering. As of a few days ago, the plant produces a mild generic cannabis odor when disturbed. Now and then, it gets a break from the LED lamp and enjoys a few hours of sunshine. This week, I included the usual documentary photos for day 70, plus some additional staged photos taken in sunlight on day 66.

drakkon As of day 77, the Hyperion F1 looks pretty decent. A few leaves appear paler green than the others, but nothing too serious. There are also a handful of brown splotches, which I suspect result from nutrient splash during top-watering. I slightly increased the concentration of base nutrients this week and the plant continues to drink plain water from its self-watering reservoir. Trichome coverage increases daily, and the immature buds continue to stack. I can now detect a faint generic cannabis/skunk odor when disturbing the plant, but I can't yet identify any particular notes. This week's photos include snapshots taken on day 77 and few close-ups taken several days prior.

drakkon The Hyperion F1 looks good on day 84. Speed-wise, this plant is on a slower maturation track than most of the recent autoflowers I've grown. I think it's a least a few weeks away from harvest, which will put it a little over 100 days from start to finish. That's relatively long, but not the longest I've seen by any means. The plant is starting to smell a little skunky, even when undisturbed, but not strong enough to detect in other areas of the building. It continues to absorb plain water from its self-watering tray, while receiving nutrients and additional water via top-watering. For last week's fertilization, the Hyperion received base nutrients at relatively high concentration, plus a bloom enhancer (KoolBloom liquid) and salt breaker/cleanser (SLF-100). The buds are still stacking and swelling, so I'll continue using the bloom enhancer for another watering or two before switching to a bud ripener/finisher (KoolBloom dry) for approximately two weeks. Then, I'll flush once or twice before harvest. This week's photos include documentary snapshots taken on day 84, plus a collection of bud and sugar leaf closeups taken a few days prior.

drakkon The Hyperion F1 is doing fine as of day 91. The buds continue to swell and are now starting to show signs of ripening. The plant's next feeding or two will include base nutrients plus a ripening enhancer (KoolBloom dry). After that, it will get plain water or water plus cleanser once or twice before harvest, which I expect will occur around day 106-110, as an estimate. It's producing a stronger, skunky odor lately, but the smell is still what I would describe as normal rather than strong. The Hyperion drank a little less over the past week than it did the previous week, but it is still relatively thirsty and continues to absorb water from its self-watering base. This week's photos include a few closeups.

drakkon As of day 98, the Hyperion F1 appears to be entering its final ripening stage. The buds are becoming quite dense, and the plant overall is starting to fade in color, albeit only a little so far. I've been tapering the base-nutrient concentration recently, and this past week I added a ripening agent (KoolBloom dry) to two waterings. From now until harvest, the plant will receive only plain water (or water plus cleanser). As a guess, I'll harvest it in about two weeks or a little less. Lately, each time I inspect the Hyperion, I remove a small number of leaves to expose lower bud sites to more light and air (and to get a head start on fan leaf removal).

drakkon The Hyperion F1 was harvested on day 105. For the last week, it received water only, and nutrients had already been tapered off during the prior week or two. The buds look and feel dense, and they smell great, too, like mixed herbs with a touch of pine or cedar. I'm pleased to report a wet weight of 278 grams, especially given the adversity it faced and its overall compact stature. I determined it was ready to harvest based on my experience and taste. There are very few amber trichomes, but almost all are cloudy, and the plant was noticeably fading and lightening in color compared to its less mature neighbors (other strains). The fade is less noticeable in today's photos, since I've been removing a few of the yellowest leaves each day to get ahead on trimming and clean up. The buds will dry in open air for about a day before being transferred to an enclosed drying & curing unit. They should be ready to sample in a couple of weeks, at which point I'll return and add a smoke report along with some close-up photos. SMOKE REPORT UPDATE After drying and curing for two weeks in an automated environment, the buds were ready to smoke and submit a sample for potency testing. I'm pleased to report that the smoke is tasty, aromatic, and potent. After smoking a little, the effects are somewhat stimulating and giggle-inducing. After smoking more than a little, the giggles remain, but the high becomes more relaxing and sedating. The flavor and scent of the smoke is somewhat like mixed incense -- hard to identify exactly, but something like cedar or sandalwood. The potency test results are as follows: Total Cannabinoids: 24.7 percent (THC-A + CBG-A) THC-A: 23.0 percent CBG-A: 1.7 percent Terpenes: Medium (1-2 percent) I'm pleased enough with the smoke and potency results to raise my rating of the strain by one star. I have three more Hyperion seeds in hand, and will surely rotate them into my perpetual grow in the coming months.