Started 2 off, but one is lagging way behind? Any ideas?

Evening/Morning guys,

I am having an issue with growth on one of my two plants. They were both started on the exact same day, in the same manner. Started off in a root riot cube, then into a small pot each and then when they had got some roots going i transplanted them into 17 litre/5 gallon smart pots.

I am now going into second week in Veg stage but one of the plants just doesn't seem to be coming on as well as the other.

The setup is as follows:

Strain : Lemon Skunk
Soil : Biobizz light mix for seedlings then Biobizz Allmix for the final pot
Lighting: 2 x 300w LED per plant
Humidity : 70-80%
Temperature : 24-27 Deg Celsius

I have attached the pictures below of each individual plant, along with the height from base to tip to show comparison height wise.

Is this common, the difference in growth for 2 plants in the exact same conditions almost? I have just given them some nutes tonight, 1ml/litre grow and lowered the lights slightly to around 14" to try and see if it will make a difference to the little girl.

The small one is 11cm tall from base to top ( 1st pic)
The bigger one is 20cm tall from base to top ( 2nd pic)

Not all plants are created equal.. happens all the time!

Would that account for nearly half the size though? I expect variation but this seems drastic nearly twice the height. Is the likelihood it will catch up in time or will i be left with a plant with 1 ounce off it? This grow is to last me about 4 months next year as i smoke between me and my friend about 2 ounce per month. I got 4 off the last lemon i grew

In my experience it will not catch up.. there are things you can do to the larger plant to enhance your yield
and keep it from running away from its buddy.. first of all pinch the top..when it starts to grow train the new growth
to make a wider plant with more tops.. read about super cropping.. try to keep both plants the same height so they get the same amount of light...

HydoDan said:

In my experience it will not catch up.. there are things you can do to the larger plant to enhance your yield
and keep it from running away from its buddy.. first of all pinch the top..when it starts to grow train the new growth
to make a wider plant with more tops.. read about super cropping.. try to keep both plants the same height so they get the same amount of light...

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There in seperate tenta bro so not an issue light wise. I was tempted to dirch her and start an auto off i just dont want to get a plant at the end of all the trouble in 3 months time and it be a waste of valuable time. I'll give it another week and see if she comes round. Thanks for your input much appreciated.

FruitSpirit said:

There in seperate tenta bro so not an issue light wise. I was tempted to dirch her and start an auto off i just dont want to get a plant at the end of all the trouble in 3 months time and it be a waste of valuable time. I'll give it another week and see if she comes round. Thanks for your input much appreciated.

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Sometimes the runt will produce close to the same.. it's hard to tell... good luck!

HydoDan said:

Sometimes the runt will produce close to the same.. it's hard to tell... good luck!

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Thanks mate, heres hoping. I will just have to veg her a week or two longer and hopefully it will sort any issues out.

It's called phenotypes... It's the same reason why there's no two people that look the same ( with the exception of twins) it's what makes some tall some short some skinny some fat it's the same thing with plants ... The runt will catch up just leave it with the rest and you will see less node spacing ( which is good for indoor grow) good luck

Just a little update on the progress, as expected still got one flourishing and one not. I am wondering if by raising the lights in the tent for the small plant will it help it to stretch a bit or would it be better to put the lights closer to give it more light?

The bigger plant is 34cm high now:


The smaller plant is 22cm high now:

Looks good just two phenotypes showing us two different variations. Even stabilized genes can have a tall chick or a short fat one at times.

Just grow it like normal!! You can't change the genes!

Ok no problem. Do you think i should take a cutting off the big girl and get a clone going seeing as she seems to possess good characteristics? I.E strong and fast growth?

You got the idea!! I used to by a 10 pack of seeds just to find the Mother for the next years grow.. have fun!!

FruitSpirit said:

Ok no problem. Do you think i should take a cutting off the big girl and get a clone going seeing as she seems to possess good characteristics? I.E strong and fast growth?

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Take cuttings from both if you have room, bigger doesn't mean better.

Where is best to take cuttings from do you reckon? And how big should a cutting be? Do i want one that has the beginnings of a flower on the end of just a branch with leaves at the end?