Growing weed successfully requires you to learn about the various stages of its lifecycle along with the requirements of the plant in each phase.
Marijuana plants have different growth stages. If you are thinking of growing a cannabis plant, it is crucial that you are aware of these stages. You need to learn more about the life cycle of the plant. This is vital since the requirements of the plant vary with each stage of the life cycle. How much light, nutrients, and water the plant needs depends on the stage of growth that it is in.
Primarily, the growth of the cannabis plant, such as alien dutchess can be categorized into five stages, including germination, seedling, vegetative, pre-flowering, and flowering.
Germination
First, you need pot seeds. This is the first stage of growth of the cannabis plant which commences when the seeds are moistened. You can use wet towels or peat pellets for the purpose. Seeds can also be moistened by merely in potting soil. The marijuana plants need around twelve hours to eight days till the changes begin. The hormones are activated due to the darkness, moisture, and warmth. As a result of this, an embryo is expanded within the seed which is stored in a growing medium. Within two to four days, circular leaves emerge, and roots are attached to them. The plant then progresses to the next stage of its growth.
Seedling
This stage typically lasts for one to four weeks. This is perhaps the most vulnerable stage in the plant lifecycle. During this stage, leaves start to grow with new leaves varying numerous blades. The green color denotes that the seedling is healthy. Moderate humidity levels are required during this phase, while the intensity of light should be medium to high. It also needs to be ensured that the moisture is not excessive. When getting marijuana seeds, choosing the right strains for your growing conditions can significantly impact the health and development of your plants during this crucial phase.
Vegetative stage
During this phase, the final yield, shape, and dimensions of the plant will become apparent to you. The plant will need adequate space at this point so that the side branches can be developed properly. Therefore, make sure that the plant has enough is to grow such that the bud development on branches is optimal, and the top of the plant gets optimal light exposure.
The ideal light schedule would be that the plant is exposed to light for 18 hours and then kept in darkness for 6 hours. The temperature should be maintained within the range of 22 to 28C in the day while the range during nighttime should be between 18 to 22C. The plant should reach its full size during this stage if the vegetative state is successful. Ensure that some extra space is left for the plant to grow further in the next stage. Things will appear a bit slow in the initial phase. Gradually, the plant would have adequate leaves developed to power itself.
The plant needs high humidity in the initial weeks. It would require more nitrogen, potassium, and oxygen during the vegetative stage for powerful growth. Soil, hydro and coco are still among the most common methods of growing the cannabis plant. If the soil is well aerated, it leads to the rapid growth of the plant with fewer nutrients needed.
Pre-flowering stage
Pre-flowering can take anywhere between one day to two weeks. The phase usually comprises of fourteen days. The light cycle in this stage needs to consist of twelve hours of darkness. Furthermore, you need to use fertilizers that have a high concentration of phosphorous in this phase. The plant grows double its size in this stage, and more branches are produced. Small buds also start growing in the areas where branches and stem meet.
Flowering
This is the final stage of growth of the cannabis plant and typically lasts for somewhere between six to twenty weeks. This is an organic process wherein the plant needs twelve hours or less light in a day. Resinous buds develop in this stage. The sex of the plant becomes apparent with the sex organs being developed. Make sure that the males are separated at this point that the flowering females do not get fertilized.
The Key Stages of Marijuana Growth
Just like all livings, cannabis plants undergo various stages when they grow. If you’re excited about growing weed yourself, it’s necessary to know what series of changes a plant go through its life cycle since all stages of marijuana growth need different care such as light, water, and nutrients. The life cycle can be divided into five main stages:
- Germination
- Seedling
- Vegetative
- Pre-flowering
- Flowering
Germination phase
The first stage of marijuana growth is germination. Germination begins with moistening seeds either by wet towels, wet peat pellets or just in potting soil. Cannabis can take from twelve hours to eight days. Warmth, darkness, and moisture start activating hormones that can expand the embryo within the seed stored in a decent growing medium. Soon after 2-4 days, the root is attached to circular leaves emerge in search of life. This indicates the beginning of the next stage.
Seedling phase
The next stage of marijuana growth is seedling, which lasts for 1-4 weeks, enters the period of greatest vulnerability in the life cycle of the plant. Cannabis begins to grow leaves with the whole number of blades on new leaves. A healthy seedling should be green. It requires moderate humidity levels, medium to high light intensity, and adequate but not excessive soil moisture.
Vegetative phase
In this stage, growers can largely determine the dimensions, shape, and final yield of the plants. A plant needs space to develop her side branches in order to have a great harvest. Therefore, it is crucial to promotes good bud development on the branches, as well as up top where light is aplenty. The plants can maintain indoors for a couple of weeks.
The standard light schedule is 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness. The temperature must be kept between 22-28°C during the day and between 18-22°C at night. A successful vegetative state allows plants to reach their ideal size before bloom commences. There should be a little extra space for further growth during the flowering stage. At the beginning of the stage, things tend to go slowly until plants have developed enough leaves to power their development.
There needs to be a high relative humidity during the first few weeks. During the vegetative stage, robust growth means the plant needs more oxygen, nitrogen, and potassium. Various media can withstand different growth speeds. The most common methods are still soil, coco, and hydro. However, soil allows for rapid growth whenever it is well aerated. The richer the soil, the fewer nutrients need to be added.
Pre-flowering phase
The next stage of marijuana growth is the pre-flowering phase which can take 1 day to 2 weeks. Most plants spend 10-14 days in this period after switching the light cycle to 12 hours of darkness and switching to bloom fertilizers higher in P (Phosphorous). Plant growth doubles in size and the production of more branches and nose occur during this stage. As the formation of flowering grows, the plant initiates to grow small buds where the branches meet the stem.
Flowering phase
The flowering phase is the last stage of marijuana growth which lasts from 6 to 20 weeks. The whole process happens naturally when the plant gets twelve hours of light per day or less as the daylight cycle decreases. In this stage, resinous buds develop and you see the results. If you need to discover the sex of your plants, they will start showing their sex organs for a couple of weeks during this stage. It’s important to separate males so they don’t fertilize the flowering females.
