Is there any way to stop stretching in flower?

Is there any way to stop the stretch?

viridi said:

Is there any way to stop the stretch?

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Running Metal Halide lighting instead of HPS during the stretch will help by about 25 - 30% or so. Weak lighting can actually cause greater stretch as the plant strives to find more light so 50 - 60 watts per sqft of MH lighting is what I have found is the best lighting for minimizing stretch. You can switch to HPS after the stretch phase is over and buds start to form.

Cooler temperatures during stretch can help slow the growth rates without making the plant deficient, you could knock the stretch down by 10 - 15% maybe more depending on the IR content of the lighting source and the resulting leaf surface temperatures. Just watch out for RH% spike issues with cool air, especially during the first 20 - 30 minutes after lights out.

Sometimes you get a strain like GMO that stretches for a month before starting to make flower, so with those you need to account for that and flip them shorter. Genetics is the biggest thing you can do to minimize stretch.

I have tried the 48 - 72 hours of darkness at flip and I don't think that really does much, at best 5%.

Renfro said:

Running Metal Halide lighting instead of HPS during the stretch will help by about 25 - 30% or so. Weak lighting can actually cause greater stretch as the plant strives to find more light so 50 - 60 watts per sqft of MH lighting is what I have found is the best lighting for minimizing stretch. You can switch to HPS after the stretch phase is over and buds start to form.

Cooler temperatures during stretch can help slow the growth rates without making the plant deficient, you could knock the stretch down by 10 - 15% maybe more depending on the IR content of the lighting source and the resulting leaf surface temperatures. Just watch out for RH% spike issues with cool air, especially during the first 20 - 30 minutes after lights out.

Sometimes you get a strain like GMO that stretches for a month before starting to make flower, so with those you need to account for that and flip them shorter. Genetics is the biggest thing you can do to minimize stretch.

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Ya, having a negative temperature differential can help limit stretch a lot. It almost works too good sometimes. Some stretch is good.

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I needed to keep my stretch down last grow and I kept it to 2" by topping several times then defoliating on day 1 and day 10 of flower. The plant concentrates on growing back leaves and does not stretch as much.


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PadawanWarrior said:

Some stretch is good.

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IME Stretch = Yield. (most of the time anyway lol) With strains that make big colas the stretch = the cola. With strains that make a lot of smaller buds then you are just growing more stem between those nodes. With adequate stretch strains like Gorilla Glue 4 or Kandy Kush will make those big 18 - 20 inch long colas that are 4 or 5 inches wide (wet).

Renfro said:

IME Stretch = Yield. (most of the time anyway lol) With strains that make big colas the stretch = the cola. With strains that make a lot of smaller buds then you are just growing more stem between those nodes. With adequate stretch strains like Gorilla Glue 4 or Kandy Kush will make those big 18 - 20 inch long colas that are 4 or 5 inches wide (wet).

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I loved Kandy Kush, but she sure stretched like a bitch. I loved that strain though and if I see it again I'm definitely gonna grab another. I see the GG4 a lot and that's on my list too.

Kandy Kush was precious. I still have a little bit from 2 years ago.

PadawanWarrior said:

Kandy Kush was precious.

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I have had both phenos, the trainwreck leaning one was the best IMO. Massive buds, very lemony and piney with a gassy note at the end. The OG pheno was good too but not as special as the other. The yields one the TW pheno were fucking nuts.

Florel applied in vegetative mode absolutely will 100% stop all plant growth ..
Not recommended as it really upsets the plants. Just an observation . Not particularly helpful

Cytokinetins ( ascophylum nodosum extract ) are natural regulators that cause the nodes to stack. Perhaps it slows the stretch ? Anecdotal

Renfro said:

I have had both phenos, the trainwreck leaning one was the best IMO. Massive buds, very lemony and piney with a gassy note at the end. The OG pheno was good too but not as special as the other. The yields one the TW pheno were fucking nuts.

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I must have had the OG Kush pheno, because it definitely had that OG structure. Not a big yielding plant, but it was beautiful. I need to try the Trainwreck pheno.

I used to veg them to 14" under mh then re pot tie and flip on the same day, it worked well in controlling stretch, the return was well respectable.

I don't do it now as I like an established root system from day one but I don't know for sure if that actually yeilds more?

Keep a full spectrum light, blue helps keep plants shorter

I just pinch off that bud that keeps stretching out..

Renfro said:

IME Stretch = Yield. (most of the time anyway lol) With strains that make big colas the stretch = the cola. With strains that make a lot of smaller buds then you are just growing more stem between those nodes. With adequate stretch strains like Gorilla Glue 4 or Kandy Kush will make those big 18 - 20 inch long colas that are 4 or 5 inches wide (wet).

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Hit the Nail on the head.

PadawanWarrior said:

I need to try the Trainwreck pheno.

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I want that pheno again myself. It made such amazing flower and lots of it.

A definite way to limit stretch is to top right as you flip. The time it takes to bust out the nodes will knock some stretch off but you do lose that big cola potential.

Renfro said:

A definite way to limit stretch is to top right as you flip. The time it takes to bust out the nodes will knock some stretch off but you do lose that big cola potential.

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Well timed super crops work to but yeah you lose the cola best to work around the stretch not limit it

I have found that I tighten the gap between my day and night temp after the lights flip.
Example 82f lights on 77f lights off. Cuts my stretch in half.
When they slow their growth I go back to 10-15f day/night difference.

viridi said:

Is there any way to stop the stretch?

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The short answer is yes but it takes more patience and space than most growers can muster. Like everyone is saying the light spectrum and intensity has a lot to do with how much space there will be in between the nodes during veg phase but the trigger for plants to begin “stretching” is the sudden light cycle change that is typical of growing indoors. Most people veg until plants are almost the size they want and then flip to flower phase.
If you notice most outdoor grows never have this lanky plant structure; the flowers are stacked with tight nodal spacing which makes for huge Christmas tree shaped spires of solid bud when they get to maturity. This is because the sun does not flip from 18/6 to 12/12. Sunrise and Sunset changes slightly everyday. Hours of light increase through the spring into summer until the solstice when hours of dark begin to increase through into the fall.
You can simulate this indoors by gradually increasing hours of darkness instead of flipping right into flowering. Let’s say you veg your plants at 18/6 so begin to reduce light by 1 or 2 hrs per week. 18/6 to 17/7 and so on... By the time plants get to around 14/10 they will have begun to preflower and start throwing pistils. At this point you can continue to reduce gradually or go right to 12/12.
If you have adequate lighting you will have formed tight nodal structures at each cola that will eventually become one solid mass of bud. Of course you’ll also need extra vertical space. To go even further with this method you can easily incorporate monster cropping which will add even more bud mass thereby increasing yields by 20-30% or more. Just go back to 18/6 when pistils start to form for a couple/three weeks and then flip right to 12/12 as normal.

Bears_win said:

Florel applied in vegetative mode absolutely will 100% stop all plant growth ..
Not recommended as it really upsets the plants. Just an observation . Not particularly helpful

Cytokinetins ( ascophylum nodosum extract ) are natural regulators that cause the nodes to stack. Perhaps it slows the stretch ? Anecdotal

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Have you used Florel on cannabis? I've used it pretty extensively but, not on cannabis. Not a PGR fan on things that are meant to be eaten or smoked.