Cannabis goes through different growth cycles. These stages are important to understand if you plan to grow your own cannabis plants. Depending on the stage, the plant will need more light or nutrients. Therefore, it’s important to understand these stages and what your cannabis plants needs during the growth cycle.
Cannabis and Growth Cycles: Stages
Germination
This is the process when a plant begins to grow from a seed. You will notice that your seed will start to grow a little white stem. This little stem is the plant’s first root, also known as, “tap root”. This tap root is the main root that stabilizes the plant and all roots made by your marijuana plant will sprout from this tap root.
This tap root will begin to grow and get longer. In this process, the tap root will push the seed up and once the shell break you will start noticing the first leaves.
This process takes from 5 to 10 days.
Some people believe that good seeds are very hard and dark. However, this isn’t true as soft seeds could be of high quality.
Seedling Cycle
The seedling stage takes 2 to 3 weeks. During this stage, you will start to see more leaves. These first leaves are known as “cotyledons”. The cotyledons are formed inside the seed. After the cotyledons, the seedling will start to develop “serrated” leaves.
A cannabis plant needs some specific conditions to germinate. For example, they need moisture (however, avoid soaking the seeds in water for a long time). Moreover, your seeds will need a warm temperature (approximately 23–25ºC). Furthermore, you need to treat them gently as the tap root is very fragile.
Remember that seeds germinate in warm temperatures and humid environments. In addition, you need to keep controlling the temperature and humidity, especially if you are growing cannabis indoors.
Vegetative Cycle
This stage will take from 3 to 16 weeks. In this stage your plant gets leafier and bigger. Therefore, you will need to water your plant more often so the roots can absorb more water. Moreover, you will need soil with enough nutrients. In addition, your cannabis plant will need more nitrogen during this stage.
Flowering
This stage takes 8 to 11 weeks and it’s the final stage of the growth cycle. Your plants will start flowering when they get less than 12 hours of light. During this stage, your female cannabis plants will start to develop buds rich in resins (cannabinoids). In this stage (if you use regular cannabis seeds), you will be able to distinguish whether your plants are male or female. The cannabis plants will start to develop their sex organs two weeks before the flowering stage.
Remember that it is very important to separate male from female plants, so the male plants don’t pollinate your female plants.
Your cannabis buds will grow more towards the end of the flowering stage. At this stage you might consider feeding your plants with nutrients that will help the plant to bloom. You will notice that your cannabis buds will grow more during weeks 6–7 (end of the flowering cycle).
Cannabis Growth Cycle: Conclusion
There are four stages in the cannabis growth cycle: germination, seedling, vegetative and flowering cycle. Each stage needs some specific conditions. For example, a room temperature of 23–25 ºC and a humid environment. However, don’t soak your seeds in water as this will not benefit your plants.
During the vegetative stage, you will need to give more water and nutrients to your plants, and they will get leafier and taller. Finally, the final stage of the growth process is the flowering stage. This is the cycle when your plant will develop buds rich in resins.
Originally published at https://www.getispire.com on September 8, 2020.
