How to Grow BIG Plants
to the growth pattern of your plants . It ’ s like eating a whole pizza for lunch . You can do it once , and it probably won ’ t make much long-term difference . Do it every couple of days , and I guarantee it ’ ll catch up to you . Just like us , cannabis is a living thing and takes time to adapt to environmental changes . One quick blast of light isn ’ t going to make or break your grow . What you want to avoid is frequent exposure to a light source when the plant should be in darkness during flowering .
Defoliation
Partial truth : Removing more than 10 % of the leaves and branches on your plant at one time will cause it too much stress .
Reality : Any time you damage your plant by bending , breaking , pinching , or cutting it , you ’ re causing a traumatic event . That ’ s stressful and takes time to heal . The plant , just like a person , has a certain amount of energy and resources that it uses to heal those wounds . The bigger the wounds and the more of them , the longer it takes the plant to recover . Also , much like a person , a healthy plant tends to heal faster than a sick one . Those principles are important when considering the extent to which you defoliate in one particular sitting .
On many occasions , I ’ ve removed more than 10 % of the leaves on a healthy , happy plant and had nothing but positive results . Ten percent is a good general guideline to reduce the risk of permanent damage to a plant that isn ’ t very strong , but cannabis doesn ’ t have some internal rule that says , “ remove more than 10 % of my leaves , and I ’ ll stop growing properly .”
Nutrient Deficiencies
Partial truth : You can determine which nutrients your plant needs more of by looking at the patterns of damage on their leaves .
Reality : Cannabis is pretty good about telling you what it ’ s missing in its diet through discoloration and damage to its leaves . However , the problem is choosing how best to correct the deficiency because it doesn ’ t always mean feeding the plant more of a particular nutrient . For example , a plant may show extraordinarily clear signs that it ’ s lacking Cal-Mag , and the leaf discoloration matches up perfectly with every picture ever printed of that deficiency . The reason it ’ s lacking Cal-Mag , may not be that there isn ’ t enough Cal-Mag present in the soil or nutrients being used . In this case , the Potential of Hydrogen ( pH ) of the water being used to feed the plant may be too low , preventing the plant from accessing the Cal-Mag that ’ s already present . Adding more Cal-Mag won ’ t necessarily make things better unless it simultaneously brings the pH of the water or nutrient solution up to the point that the plant can absorb it . Just because a plant lacks something doesn ’ t necessarily mean the solution is to add more of it .
Cloning
Partial truth : If you take clones of your clones and then clones of those clones , they ’ ll eventually lose their vigor and potency .
Reality : Cloning is the process of asexually propagating plants . Big words , but it ’ s really just making a genetically identical copy of a plant . It could even be argued that by taking a cutting from the branch of one cannabis plant and allowing it to root , you ’ re actually extending the life of the original plant and preventing it from ever dying . It ’ s still the same plant . The only difference is it has a new set of roots and can be planted in a different location . Some growers choose to keep a single mother plant around for years and take clones by cutting new branches off as they form . Other growers will take cuttings from a plant they are about to flower ( the “ mother ”) and use those as their clones ( let ’ s call it the 2nd generation ).
When they are ready to flower the 2nd generation , they ’ ll take clones from those , creating a 3rd generation . This process can be repeated perpetually . There ’ s nothing wrong with either method as long as the mother plant from which the most recent cuttings were taken was healthy and strong . If the mother plant is fairly old and no longer producing significant amounts of fresh growth , that lack of vigor can make its way into the next generation of clones . Similarly , plants can contract fungal , viral , or bacterial diseases that may not even be obvious right away . If those pathogens are systemic throughout the plant , a clone will continue to carry them along to the next generation .
These are only a few examples of “ partial truths ,” but the common theme is that cannabis is a plant . It follows the same horticultural principles as other plants . While a certain piece of advice may be absolutely spot-on for one situation , it may not be appropriate for EVERY situation . I always recommend taking the time to understand why a piece of advice is true before implementing it so you can be sure it applies to your particular situation .
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