Runtz Upon a Time in Spring

Hey, Runtz has sick genetics, she is way faster then the other plants. I have send her to flower and I'm looking forward to see her buds. See you next week. The Flowering Stretch Right around the time when kids start hitting middle schools, short awkward teenagers go through puberty and turn into taller awkward teenagers…or was that just me? I’m sure you knew of at least one kid who grew so much, they looked almost as if someone grabbed them by their head and feet and just stretched them out. When cannabis plants start to mature, they also go through a brief transitional period; a sort of cannabis-puberty if you will. And just as humans undergo a burst of rapid growth, cannabis plants will also create a large portion of their final height in a very short period of time. This explosion of vertical grow this commonly called the cannabis ‘Flowering Stretch’. In short, the flowering stretch is potential burst of rapid growth that happens shortly after switching to the flowering phase. It can be massive, or it can be next to nothing. The important thing is to expect that it might happen and have a plan ready in case it does. Luckily, most strains you buy from a seedbank are stabilized, so it’s known if the plant will stretch a lot or a little. This allows us to not only plan for a stretch, but take advantage of it when it happens! Depending on the strain you’re growing, you can expect a pretty wide range of stretching. Some strains can double their height or more, while some do almost nothing. However, if you know the name of the strain you’re growing, you can look up the breeder recommendations to get a good idea of what might happen. Additionally, there are other factors that can give you insight: Sativas – Sativas tend to grow taller, lanky stems even when trained; inch-for-inch they tend to stretch much more than indicas. Strain height – Many breeders and seedbanks have the average height of their strains listed. Sometimes it’s as vague as “short – medium – tall”, but even that is enough to give you an idea of its growth characteristics. Expect “tall” strains to stretch! Light type – Certain light types are more conducive to stretching than others. You can use the right light color spectrum to help control growth characteristics. More on that later… Light distance – Plants also stretch when they’re trying to get more light (like this plant to the right). As a result of this type of stretching, plants grow taller, but with fewer bud sites. Note that this is not the same thing as the flowering stretch, rather it’s a symptom of too-little light. Most growers want to avoid stretching caused by not enough light as fewer bud sites means less bud. One of the main reasons it’s so important to know about stretching is that it can rapidly reduce the amount of space you have in your grow tent/area. If you’re growing in a space with limited height, a good stretch can make it so you no longer have room to raise your lights. This leads to light/heat stress and lost buds. I personally had a stretch where there was no longer any room to raise the lights. I used a LED at the time, and the LEDs absolutely cooked the buds underneath it until I got desperate and cut the stuff that was too close. I would handle that situation differently now, but it shows that no one is immune if they’re unaware. To be continued...