Size does matter!

[staff11]

Basic botany has told us all for years that when a plant is switching it's hormones from veg to flower root growth slows to a crawl. Really, the best way is to transplant BEFORE putting them into flower to take advantage of the normal root growth rate in the vegatation phase. Switching to a larger pot right as you flip them really does nothing more then waste time, space and money on more growing medium. It's been proven over and over and over again for years with plants that have actually been scientifically studied, unlike the MJ plant which has been illegal to do so with.

 

[jrosek]

Basic botany has told us all for years that when a plant is switching it's hormones from veg to flower root growth slows to a crawl. Really, the best way is to transplant BEFORE putting them into flower to take advantage of the normal root growth rate in the vegatation phase. Switching to a larger pot right as you flip them really does nothing more then waste time, space and money on more growing medium. It's been proven over and over and over again for years with plants that have actually been scientifically studied, unlike the MJ plant which has been illegal to do so with.

Staff, i have to disagree with your post.
From my experience with transplant and root development, the roots explode the first 4 weeks of flower.
If your plant is fully rooted in a container before you flip to flower you will suffer major loss by the end of flower, small plant, undersized buds, etc... the plant will also kill off most lower growth to sustain healthy new growth if the roots are not permitted proper room to grow with the plant.
This is more applicable with soil than hydro, however still applies to both.
Perfect example would be the last pics i posted 2 posts back.
The cuts had roughly 3" of roots when planted... when harvested 50 days later the containers were completely full of root matter...
If i would have put them in say a 12oz cup because the root system was so small they would have finished at a fraction of the size they were...
peace

 

[supermanlives]

They look tasty, same yield per plant or for the whole tub?

the plants yielded as much as the individual plants i put in 2 gal pots. flowered as soon as they rooted.the 2 gal were overkill and wasted space. yield was the same . wasted space using 2 gal pots. the roots didnt grow that much in the 2 gal pots. i examined the rootmass . i dont see the explosive root growth that others claim in flowering. i wont be using 2 gal pots again unless there is some veg time.why would i waste the room if the plants dont need the bigger container. i can fit 12 per tray 3 trays per light.

 

[jim.mars]

totally agree for sure no bout a dout it

 

[thal]

Basic botany has told us all for years that when a plant is switching it's hormones from veg to flower root growth slows to a crawl. Really, the best way is to transplant BEFORE putting them into flower to take advantage of the normal root growth rate in the vegatation phase. Switching to a larger pot right as you flip them really does nothing more then waste time, space and money on more growing medium. It's been proven over and over and over again for years with plants that have actually been scientifically studied, unlike the MJ plant which has been illegal to do so with.

I found a decent book on root growth in plants during the flowering cycle. The link is Plant Root Growth. It lists a lot of different plants and their root mass, root growth during flowering, etc.

Basically it comes down to is that some plants put out lots of roots during flowering, eg: legumes, and others don't or even reduce total mass, eg: wheat.

My personal experience is that the roots grow tremendously during flower, especially during the stretch. I just transplanted plants 12 hours before their first dark cycle. I did two from 3 gallon grow bags to 5 gallon smart pots, and 3 from 1 gallon grow bag to 5 gallon smart pots. I'm confident that 100% of all medium will be used by the plant during flowering. I'll post pics when its done.

 

[the gnome]

I found a decent book on root growth in plants during the flowering cycle. The link is Plant Root Growth. It lists a lot of different plants and their root mass, root growth during flowering, etc.

Basically it comes down to is that some plants put out lots of roots during flowering, eg: legumes, and others don't or even reduce total mass, eg: wheat.

My personal experience is that the roots grow tremendously during flower, especially during the stretch. I just transplanted plants 12 hours before their first dark cycle. I did two from 3 gallon grow bags to 5 gallon smart pots, and 3 from 1 gallon grow bag to 5 gallon smart pots. I'm confident that 100% of all medium will be used by the plant during flowering. I'll post pics when its done.

thal, please keep us posted on how fast and how much the roots
fill out the space in the new pots.
I'm very interested in knowing more about this.
I just started a thread about roots filling out the pots during flower etc etc

 

[EastBayGrower]

Basic botany has told us all for years that when a plant is switching it's hormones from veg to flower root growth slows to a crawl. Really, the best way is to transplant BEFORE putting them into flower to take advantage of the normal root growth rate in the vegatation phase. Switching to a larger pot right as you flip them really does nothing more then waste time, space and money on more growing medium. It's been proven over and over and over again for years with plants that have actually been scientifically studied, unlike the MJ plant which has been illegal to do so with.

I also have to disagree with this post,,

Ive transplanted from 1gal. to 2.5gal pots right before flower and left plants in the 1 gl. and flowered, ive noticed 2 things that disagree with your post...


1. the plants put in larger pots have alot of roots on the bottom of the pots by week 2, which suggest that plants DO still grow a significant amount of roots in flower, this is especially true with more sativa strains which tend to keep putting out more roots throughout flower,,

2. the plants left in 1 gal. are significantly smaller in stem and overall growth,,


so from what ive seen through out my years of growing shows that transplanting a day before flower or within the first week or two, does give the plant significant advantage to being left alone (ie not a waste of money or time IME)

and the plants left in

 

[thal]

[/b]

thal, please keep us posted on how fast and how much the roots
fill out the space in the new pots.
I'm very interested in knowing more about this.
I just started a thread about roots filling out the pots during flower etc etc

Because I'm using smart pots I don't see how I'll be able to check root growth without stressing the plant.

My hypothesis is that the roots will have filled the entire medium, and densely filled it, by the time that harvest is over. I expect that I'll be able to remove one solid clump of root mass without any problem at that time.

One variable that should be measured for, but can't be, is whether the transplant immediately before flower increases the total flowering time. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to test that at this time, as all the plants I'm flowering are different strains.

The strains that are being flowered currently:

AK-47 pre-97
Banana Kush
Blackberry
Diesel - unknown
Bubbleberry

I also have a White Widow that I transplanted to five gallons before I decided to let it veg for another week or two. I'll be able to see if it performs better.

 

[jrosek]

here is a shot from a 1gal milk jug. the cutting went to flower as soon as it rooted. the medium is perlite...
I think this should prove well enough that roots grow well into flower. the size of your container is what is dependent of the final plant size.

roots make the plant... no question!

 

[thal]

That looks like a solid root mass, and it is a nice look at root growth during flowering.

I would think that anyone who has ever flowered out a freshly rooted clone would see how much growth they go through. If a clone didn't develop a large amount of roots during flowering the weight of the plant during stretch and flowering would surely uproot it.

 

[dobo]

Hey guys, I experimented with a strain i've been having issues with, in previous grows i've had from 6-12 plants growing this time I put 4 plants into 30L pots and let them veg for 6 weeks before putting them into flower to try and get better buds. I've also been playing around with pruning the "popcorn bud" seeing how my plants react. I trimmed 2 plants (both different strains) and left 2 plants to get really bushy, my expectations was that the one I pruned would put all its energy into the fewer remaining branches, however I found that my plant wasn't in balance and because I had removed a lot of folliage (over period of time though) it was lacking the energy to produce some solid buds.

My plants are currently at week 5 flower and the 2 plants in the back are the ones I pruned hard 2 at the front are the ones I left go jsut removing some of the lower branches that were stretching for light.

Every strain is different experiment and find out what works for you. obviously I now know that it's better to leave my plants with more folliage

 

[staff11]

It's just been my experience with transplanting two weeks or so before flower the pots fill in with much more root density. I always like to take good advice so my next run I will try it again and take some notes. Whenever I transplanted in the past right at flower they usually didn't fill the whole pot. I do know there is still root growth in flower it just slows down substantially after the first two weeks or so.

A month long to fill in 3 gallon pots from 1 gallon is enough for me.

And I think getting 3 oz's of a plant in 3 gallon containers (which are more like 2 gallon for that matter as they are 3 gallon nursery pots are pretty decent results.) Of course if you have the room a bigger pot will make a bigger plant, pretty much common sense.

 

[BubbleMan420]

I flower out now in 18 gallon bins. i transplant them from a 1 gallon pot into it and let it veg for 1 week in that bin then trigger em. i yeild around 6 oz a girl minumum. Bigger pots or containers = bigger root space = BIGGER BUDS

 

[staff11]

Thing is not everyone has that kind of space to use. It's all about the size you have to work with and maximizing that space. So far 3 gallon pots have been perfect for me. 4 three gallon topped plants at 3 oz's a piece is more then enough for me personally. I usually veg them for about three weeks, or until they are about 10-12 inches tall after being topped.

6 oz's in 18 gallons eh? I have seen people do that in 5 gallon buckets.. not saying it's not a nice yield but the pot size is just part of the over all factor, no?

 

[chef]

Your legs getting tired backpeddling yet?

basic botany tells us... lmao

 

[staff11]

Have you ever read any thing on Botany?All Plants are different but root growth does slow down in this stage. It's a fact.

Go read something other then a pot forum on plants.....

 

[staff11]

Have you ever read any thing on Botany?All Plants are different but root growth does slow down in this stage. It's a fact.

Go read something other then a pot forum on plants.....

 

[staff11]

And the MJ plant is an ANNUAL, there is a reason why the root growth slows at this point, just like any other ANNUAL.

15 years in nursery, owning a landscaping business for 10 years doesn't give me any idea how a plant works though.... lol

 

[chef]

run along son, yer gettin' on my nerves

 

[staff11]

And you are the one that asked opinions on the matter, dont cry like a schoolgirl when someone disagrees with you, like you have done through this whole thread.