Hi I’m a complete newbie to growing, so please bear with me! I have a plant I sprouted from seed about 3 months ago now. Timing wise this is the middle of southern hemisphere winter, so probably the worst time ever. I originally wanted to grow it outside after germination but quickly realised it was going to die if I did.
Since then I have had it just under a regular study desk lamp. The plant itself has now grown over 1m tall, however there are very few leaves and no “main stems” off the main trunk. There is at least 15-20cm between each leaf stem coming off the main trunk.
After doing some research here it seems this is due to lack of light, does that sound right?? I only want 1 plant just for personal use, so don’t want to buy much equipment, and ideally want to move it in a pot outside come summer.
is there anything I can to save/salvage this plant? e.g. repotting with some of the stem now underground. What should I have done differently??
Thanks MacG, thats what I feared. The current light bulb isn’t a CSL one, do you think just replacing it with one that is will work? Should I somehow try and get more lighting on the side of the plant too, as from the top it looks healthier than the side already. Looks like I need to go to Bunnings (hardware store) tomorrow!
You need more lighting. Whether it’s CFLs, LEDs or HID.
Your plant is screaming for better light!
On the sides, on the top, where ever you want to put them.
Well, what type of light are you using in that lamp? A CFL might be more effective, but I’d have to know what you are starting with.
Absolutely getting light on the side of a plant, like this one, will help.
I like many of the new LEDs available on the market, but you really have to do a lot of homework to get the best bang for the money, especially what might be available in your area locally or by mail order. Dealzer, e-bay and Amazon are great places to check out and shop prices and features.
Keep in mind you might need around 30-50 watts per square foot of floor space, roughly. The amount of power the light uses can be dependent on the type of light. A really good LED can be as low as about 30-35 watts per sq foot. And with CFL and other high output fluorescent lights, you can get away with about 40-50 watts per sq. foot. And with HID lights like Ceramic Metal Halide, or good old fashioned High Pressure Sodium, 50 watts per square foot is considered the industry standard. There is also Light Emitting Ceramic, and this is supposed to be maybe even more efficient than LED, and also claims needing around as little as 30 watts per square foot.
Also look into training techniques to make the best use of the light and space available to you.
Thanks for all your help! So today I went to hardware store and bought a new desk lamp and a CFL globe for it. The highest wattage I could find at the hardware store was 100W. The other globe I had was only 25W and not a CFL just a regular old-style one (don’t know the name - I had to google CFL to work out what it was!)
So I now have 100W CFL on top of the plant, and 25W old style on the side. Is the internode distance now set or can new internodes form midway on the stem? I’ve had to move everything from my bedroom into the lounge room to do this, hopefully it helps as thats the room where a heater is so its warmer too. I hope the smell doesn’t begin too much of an issue.
I still don’t know whether to repot in a deeper pot and put some of the existing stem underground to make the plant a bit smaller, what do you think?
I have also attempted to “top” it (after googling what that was too). Fingers crossed I havent stuffed it up. Do you think there is hope for this plant, or is it too weirdly shaped already??
I think it actually looks healthy just stretched. No new nodes will grow on the stem but side branches will. It will always be spindley but it still has potential.
An “incandescent” bulb? Is that what you were using? @yublocka
Like @stomper said, no new nodes will grow on the stem. But if you take care of her and give her more light (I’m talking even more light that your 100w) she should still give you some buds for your hard work. The more light, the better in my opinion. Hope this helps!
Hey, @Aquaponic_Dumme, is cloning this plant at all possible in this stage , I never have cloned, or is it possible to cut the plant , re -plant, to make it shorter, I myself am an out door soil grower, and never delt with or even tried these things.
Sure, as long as it’s not an Auto. While having nodes is recommended, and does make it easier for the cutting to root, its possible to grow roots from the stem.
As a general rule, you want 3 nodes in the new desired root zone. Here’s two pictures of clones I cut a few days ago. Notice only one node is in the first picture, and none in the second. Although new root mass tendencies are to be faster when growing from node tissue, it’s not required. The stem itself will thickin up with rough, white, bumpy, flesh, and finally roots.
In the past, I’ve experimented with pushing clones down into an Aero system, so stem turns into root mass, to make the plant shorter. Mainly because how my states laws are setup, and anything above 12 inches, is no longer classified as a “seedling”. I’ve done this upto about 6 inches of stem, but never to this extent. With this, you’re talking feet. I’d say it’s possible, but I’d be seriously worried about rot setting in and not recommend it.
In theory he could hack it all up and possible get a few smaller plants out of this big one right???
LED or good CFL lights would really be the way to go but on my first grow I had whatever I could get which was a mixture and then later on a saved up and got an LED, and let me tell you the difference was crazy. My LED wasn’t even a fancy one but the growth started double. Which isn’t really what you want but if you were to take some clones and then get some new lights.
How close did you have the light to the plant most of its life?
Very cool , I may try a few clones in the future, , is it true that most clones don’t take well and never make it? I heard stories, and also what are you planting your clones in , in your pictures?
With general hydro (aero), I get about 90-95% success rate. The only time I take loss in clones is when the water isn’t changed enough and rot sets in.
With Aqua-Aero clones, it’s very close to 100% success rate, but I find it takes longer to pop roots.
FyshhTrap7h
In the “Guides” section, there is a great article on growing “just one plant”
Thanks, I’ll try to find it now. The guide I downloaded when I first got onto this site seemed more geared towards larger crops. A lot of it went over my head!
Very nice clones @Aquaponic_Dumme! @FyshhTrap I would say the opposite. If you know what you’re doing clones will almost always take root. I built my own bubble cloner but it took me a month to really get successful. And now, I’d say I have a 90% success rate.
In the past, I’ve experimented with pushing clones down into an Aero system, so stem turns into root mass, to make the plant shorter. Mainly because how my states laws are setup, and anything above 12 inches, is no longer classified as a “seedling”. I’ve done this upto about 6 inches of stem, but never to this extent. With this, you’re talking feet. I’d say it’s possible, but I’d be seriously worried about rot setting in and not recommend it.
Can you clone directly into soil or only a hydroponic or aero system (not even sure what this is). You’re talking about taking off the main stem yeah? I just tried to “top” it yesterday so I’ve only got a little stump there now. If that doesn’t stop it growing and it gets too much taller I may look into cloning. I don’t want a giant tree inside.
This is my 3rd attempt (1 seed didnt servive germination, 1 died after a a few days - maybe cold, lack of light or overwatering). So far I’ve taken about 4 months to reach this stage. I only have 2 seeds left so want to maximise my chance at success!
Imnewatthis6h
In theory he could hack it all up and possible get a few smaller plants out of this big one right???
LED or good CFL lights would really be the way to go but on my first grow I had whatever I could get which was a mixture and then later on a saved up and got an LED, and let me tell you the difference was crazy. My LED wasn’t even a fancy one but the growth started double. Which isn’t really what you want but if you were to take some clones and then get some new lights.
How close did you have the light to the plant most of its life?
Unfortunately I didn’t use a light for maybe the first week or so, thinking light in a room might be enough. Then I started panicking when the little sprout poking out did nothing. Then I moved it under my kitchen range hood but had it too far away, and I think that light has even less watts, so it still did nothing, then I moved it to this desk lamp. Only for the last month has it had light on 24hrs though, and thats when most of the growth has happened. Before the last 4 weeks there was only 1 node, so having the light 24hrs made a big difference. The burnt leaf you can see in one pic is because it grew too close to the light. I’ve got the top and the side light about 4 inches away at the moment, I hope that works!
