Stretch ???

[dman1234]

Hello,

I read alot about stretching in the begining of flowering, not the kind from a lack of light but the stretch when the plants are hit with the HPS bulb for 12/12.

I generally get about 6-8 inchs of stretch in total and see other people say it could double or even triple the plant size, i'm sure it is all about the strain but was just wondering what others are seeing for flowering stretch, im ok with my 6-8 inch stretch but im curious.

 

[nouvellechef]

About what I get. Cant even imagine tripleing up inside. Not a biggie, just sounds crazy. Outside, diff story.

 

[pcduck]

depends on strain but mine usually double in height at least.


I flip at around 15-18" and right now in their 4th week of 12/12 they are 43"

 

[D3]

I had a Hawaiian a while back that tripled it's height. It turned into a nightmare pain in the butt.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Like pcduck said, it depewnds on strain. The more sativa dominant strains will stretch far more than Indica dominant strains.

 

[OldHippieChick]

My lone WW didn't stretch when flipped to 12/12. I have also wondered and actually worried that something wasn't right. But she smokes fine.....
:48:

 

[Growdude]

When its said they can double or triple in height its not just the stretch that happens the first few weeks but the height at harvest.

Untopped untrained plants will grow verticlly faster than trained plants.

 

[legalize_freedom]

I've not had them more than double since I've been indoors...but I've stuck to indica's, and sats that have the growth of an indica.

I know my bud tried to grow a dwc in a cabinet like 2'x3'x6' like 6 or 8 plant sites in a rubbermaid tub. He tried it with like 4 different strains all in the same tub. One of them was a Jack Herer...and this thing took over the cabinet, he had to stretch it all around the walls and stuff to finish...i bet it more than tripled....lol...and everything else only doubled. I think he ended up finishing some of them early ....I don't remember...but I know I wouldn't try what he did...lol

 

[Mr.Wakenbake]

I agree that it's strain dependent.

That rule is almost exclusively for sativa's, or sativa dominate strains.

My girls don't stretch...... they BUSH.

 

[Droopy Dog]

For sure it is strain dependent and sativa's win the prize here.

But, IMO there are other factors that contribute and easily fixed.

Switching to HPS right at the beginning of 12/12. This low spectrum induces legginess all on it's own and the abrupt shift from 18/6 or 24/7 to 12/12 along with changing the spectrum from 6500k or so to 2700-3000k really makes the plant jump.

This can be solved quite easily by either using MH for the first couple of weeks of flowering or adding a source of 6500k to the HPS.

In nature, that red spectrum really doesn't start to show till the end of flowering.

Too much P too soon. High levels of P induce stretch, or greater internodal length.

Many switch to a super high P bloom food as soon as the 12/12 is started. The plants really don't need the high P until buds are forming, like 2 weeks or so into 12/12.

Easy fix again, stay on veg nutes for the first couple of weeks or so then gradually increase the P. If you are using any sort of complete nute, there will be enough P in there for early bud formation.

I also don't care for super high P nutes anyway, but that's just me. A 1-3-2 ratio has always worked well for me.

Anyway, that's just my experiences that helps reduce stretch besides the strain being grown.

DD

 

[BBFan]

Great Post DD! Lots of great points you raise!

Thanks!

 

[umbra]

For sure it is strain dependent and sativa's win the prize here.

But, IMO there are other factors that contribute and easily fixed.

Switching to HPS right at the beginning of 12/12. This low spectrum induces legginess all on it's own and the abrupt shift from 18/6 or 24/7 to 12/12 along with changing the spectrum from 6500k or so to 2700-3000k really makes the plant jump.

This can be solved quite easily by either using MH for the first couple of weeks of flowering or adding a source of 6500k to the HPS.

In nature, that red spectrum really doesn't start to show till the end of flowering.

Too much P too soon. High levels of P induce stretch, or greater internodal length.

Many switch to a super high P bloom food as soon as the 12/12 is started. The plants really don't need the high P until buds are forming, like 2 weeks or so into 12/12.

Easy fix again, stay on veg nutes for the first couple of weeks or so then gradually increase the P. If you are using any sort of complete nute, there will be enough P in there for early bud formation.

I also don't care for super high P nutes anyway, but that's just me. A 1-3-2 ratio has always worked well for me.

Anyway, that's just my experiences that helps reduce stretch besides the strain being grown.

DD

Well you still get the stretch without changing spectrums. Just going to 12/12 and using HPS the whole time will give exactly the same amount of stretch. Much more strain dependent. I've gotten 5x stretch on the hazeolopes.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Well you still get the stretch without changing spectrums. Just going to 12/12 and using HPS the whole time will give exactly the same amount of stretch. Much more strain dependent. I've gotten 5x stretch on the hazeolopes.

For sure strain is going to play the dominate role here, no doubt.

But I have noticed a difference running the same strain, staying with 6500k and veg nutes for the first couple of weeks in flower vs 2700k and high phos right from 12/12.

Like I said, it was the same strain (indica), and just something that I observed. Running the same strain constantly, it's easy to see how different things affect the plant.

DD

 

[umbra]

For sure strain is going to play the dominate role here, no doubt.

But I have noticed a difference running the same strain, staying with 6500k and veg nutes for the first couple of weeks in flower vs 2700k and high phos right from 12/12.

Like I said, it was the same strain (indica), and just something that I observed. Running the same strain constantly, it's easy to see how different things affect the plant.

DD

Agreed. Many things can influence it. IMO its all a theory. No real scientific experiments to verify it or not. Only observations concerning a limited number of plants(relatively speaking compared to every cannabis strain). But equatorial strains still stretch a lot outside near the equator, so a shift in spectrum due to the position of the sun in the sky is at its minimum at the equator and at its extremes at the poles. Northern latitude indicas would be most likely to stretch the most, based on the theory that spectrum is a major cause for preflowering stretch. I'm not saying your wrong, only that there's more to it than that.

 

[legalize_freedom]

interesting...once again you guys are getting a little too deep for me...lol

WOW...5x stretch?? did you know to expect it? Or did it take you by surprise? Is this a common hazealope trait?

 

[leafminer]

Me, like mr wakenbake. My Dominas don't stretch when I put them in 12-12. They keep on vegging for about 10 days, at the normal rate of growth, then pause, and then the colas begin.
But my sativas ... hahahahahahahahahaha :bolt:

 

[umbra]

interesting...once again you guys are getting a little too deep for me...lol

WOW...5x stretch?? did you know to expect it? Or did it take you by surprise? Is this a common hazealope trait?

All OJD told me was that they were haze dominant and plan around that. So I did not top them on purpose. I was testing seeds for him, so I wanted everyone to see what the plants looked like naturally and to see how much stretch there was. I did do some mild LST on them to keep the canopy even. I started flowering when they were 8". Ended at 3 1/2 ft.

 

[Trafic]

My Super Skunk easily tripled. I started it later than the Hash Plant and it shot past it and is now 8" taller than it. Of course I topped the HP but still it's a lot squatter of a plant.

The Thai SS I killed last year stretched even more.

 

[mrspliffy]

I've always stuck with my M/H bulb and veg nutes for first twoweks of flower.still see some stretch but nothing too radical.an old hippie friend told me to do this and i seem to have good results with mainly indica plants.current grow "superskunk" by sensi seeds.man i love the smell of these ladies