Replant Those Long Stretchy Stems ( Its Easy )

MaloMAL

Active Member
I won't be able to finish in time with a reg seed. I'm in the middle of summer. I need a quick finish.
Man I cannot stand those autos lol
No i don't have shitty luck with them. I just cannot stand how fast they flower and how much repotting I go through. Hahaha man middle of summer ? Shit it's cold over here bud
 

A[Y]S

New Member
hey, noob here, ive done tons of reading but first time grow. I'll cut to the chase - grew the little guys on the window sill for weeks before my lights came in. They tall, about 12"-16", not a chance to support themselves, (top foilage is getting big).

So question is... half the crop is going outside, half inside some large pots... i can plant these 12+ inches deep? in both settings?

I only ask because I couldn't find any plants that resemble mine in this thread - everyone seem to address this at a much earlier stage than I have. While I'm sure the plants will do well, I'm curious how deep these little guys can go - hypothetically if i grew 4' tall skinny stems that couldnt support themselves, could I literally plant them 3.5 feet deep and aim for correction?

Thanks in advance for any advice - been reading alot of posts and learning tons from the community. Hope my question wasn't already answered, and I hope my hypothetical question induces conversation
 

gg2

Well-Known Member
This is just to show you how easy it is to bury those long stretchy stems ,

After you replant them make sure you lower your lights so they wont continue to stretch

I do not have a pic of one of those seedlings with the long ass stem reaching for a light that's 2ft high

But i got this one that i internally let slightly stretch a little , you can see the slight stretch at the bottom of the stem

You do not want your soil wet when you do this

its best for the soil to be dry so the extra soil will come off the roots easier

After you take your plant out , GENTLY break lose the soil from around the roots

After you got the excess soil off the roots , put some soil back in the bottom of your cup or pot

you dont want to put your plant right in with the roots hitting the bottom of your cup because you dont want the chance for the roots to grow out the drain holes

so put some soil in the bottom first then put your seedling back in

position your seedling at desired height for your stem to be buried at

i would bury all the way up to the Cotyledon leaves ,

after your have replanted and buried your stem you can then give it just A LITTLE bit of water

the part of the stem that you buried will eventually start to grow roots

your plant will pretty much not go into shock at all from this

just make sure your gentle when your braking the lose soil off the roots

Like i said this is not a bad stretchy plant but the same principle applies with those long ass stretchy stems

hope this helps you all that has the long stretchy seedling stem problem

remember to lower your lights so they wont continue to stretch
I did repot and this is second day, but seems no shock.. Just hoping they will grow bigger.. Someone told me I needed perlite? How do I add this b/c I do not want to mess with soil again. Can you just add some on top soil? any help would be so appreciative n thank you:peace:
 

Dynamo626

Well-Known Member
no perlite needs to be mixed with the soil b4 planting. Fyi it has grown for 1000s of uears without perlite. You dont need it it just adds drainage
 
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MaloMAL

Active Member
Remove lower nodes on clones you don't need them, they also force you to care more the the clones until it roots. If you want fast rooting clones avoid leaving the majority of lower leaves and nodes. Essentially lollipopping the clones. Snip the tips of the large UPPER fan leaves. I guarantee your clones would root faster. It's all in the roots man. More roots more nodes. Good luck
 
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SensiBlaze

Member
I think this can work to some extent. In my experience if you have stretching issues very early on in the seedlings' life, all hope is lost.. It may be strain dependant and definitely affects a sativa far worse.. But if the plant is born into a low light situation I think something in the genetics tells the plant that it needs to grow very tall to survive throughout its life. Kind of like if you prune a plant too early it will stunt the plant permanently.
 

Dynamo626

Well-Known Member
stretching a
I think this can work to some extent. In my experience if you have stretching issues very early on in the seedlings' life, all hope is lost.. It may be strain dependant and definitely affects a sativa far worse.. But if the plant is born into a low light situation I think something in the genetics tells the plant that it needs to grow very tall to survive throughout its life. Kind of like if you prune a plant too early it will stunt the plant permanently.
stretching as a seedling just popped by no means does it mean all hope is lost. i have customers come in with plants so stretched out they are growing along the soil. add some soil to support the stem and move the light closer they are just fine. stretching as a seedling has nothing to do with strain. many plants stretch for light as a seedling. in nature if a seedling isnt getting enough light it usually is because grass and weeds are shading them. they stretch fast get above the crap and then grow just fine. i do my first top at abought a week and a half. they are never stunted.
 

SensiBlaze

Member
stretching a

stretching as a seedling just popped by no means does it mean all hope is lost. i have customers come in with plants so stretched out they are growing along the soil. add some soil to support the stem and move the light closer they are just fine. stretching as a seedling has nothing to do with strain. many plants stretch for light as a seedling. in nature if a seedling isnt getting enough light it usually is because grass and weeds are shading them. they stretch fast get above the crap and then grow just fine. i do my first top at abought a week and a half. they are never stunted.
That is definitely good to know. I must have just ended up with some lanky stem genetics haha. I had to go out of town for a week so I raised my lights up a lot to compensate and when I came back I had a seedling with 3 nodes that was over a foot tall lmao. Ended up having to tie up every branch to keep them from falling under bud weight.. Very light, fluffy buds too, so I was surprised it couldn't handle its own! I tend to stick with indica dom varieties for indoors to avoid that issue now
 

Dynamo626

Well-Known Member
Foot is pretty tall in that case would have also topped it to the first node. Usually you can catch the stretch before its over 4 or 5 inches if taller than that also top
 

gotty

Member
My first grow also.....also had a couple of wannabe beanstalks....repotted and added more soil upto (feeder leaves) i thought they were called. No major prolems but them bloody flies..gnats I believe. Tried drying my soil right out as I've read gets rid but...I keep seeing them. Guess there's no way to totally get rid?
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
Excellent thread, as I made a mistake with the Acapulco I started off and now the bugger is several inches tall as it did some serious stretching quickly.

Going to give it a few more days to "settle", then bury it in deeper as I use the one size of pot from start to finish so I wouldn't be transplanting anyway..
 

GodfatherKCCO

Well-Known Member
My first grow also.....also had a couple of wannabe beanstalks....repotted and added more soil upto (feeder leaves) i thought they were called. No major prolems but them bloody flies..gnats I believe. Tried drying my soil right out as I've read gets rid but...I keep seeing them. Guess there's no way to totally get rid?
Try a cup full of vinegar with some cellophane over the top secured tightly with a rubber band and pin holes punched in it. You don't need a ton. They'll go after the vinegar and die in there. Empty every few days and repeat. Banana peels work as well. Doesn't get them all but it gets a hell of a lot of them.
 

Skunk Baxter

Well-Known Member
My first grow also.....also had a couple of wannabe beanstalks....repotted and added more soil upto (feeder leaves) i thought they were called. No major prolems but them bloody flies..gnats I believe. Tried drying my soil right out as I've read gets rid but...I keep seeing them. Guess there's no way to totally get rid?
Google "fungus gnats." Yeah, you can get rid of them, but don't waste any time. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get rid of them. Drying the soil doesn't do anything but stress your plants, which is the last thing they need when thir roots are already under attack from the fungus gnat larvae.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
Try a cup full of vinegar with some cellophane over the top secured tightly with a rubber band and pin holes punched in it. You don't need a ton. They'll go after the vinegar and die in there. Empty every few days and repeat. Banana peels work as well. Doesn't get them all but it gets a hell of a lot of them.
I see recommendations for using apple vinegar, maybe the smell of the fruit gets their attention.

But another option seems to be our good friend garlic, just stick a clove in the soil and if you water from the top it'll spread the garlicky goodness through the soil and they don't like that. I'm guessing a liberal spread of powder around the plant which you then water in would do the same as you get the garlic soaked through the soil.
 

GodfatherKCCO

Well-Known Member
I see recommendations for using apple vinegar, maybe the smell of the fruit gets their attention.

But another option seems to be our good friend garlic, just stick a clove in the soil and if you water from the top it'll spread the garlicky goodness through the soil and they don't like that. I'm guessing a liberal spread of powder around the plant which you then water in would do the same as you get the garlic soaked through the soil.
I've used those home made 'traps' with great effect and have never heard of the garlic option. I may give that a run in the future but I'll check with mama. AKA the 'plant lady'. And see what she has to say :) Thanks for the advice.
 

Fubard

Well-Known Member
I've used those home made 'traps' with great effect and have never heard of the garlic option. I may give that a run in the future but I'll check with mama. AKA the 'plant lady'. And see what she has to say :) Thanks for the advice.
Found that tip courtesy of The Old Farmers Almanac, was looking for a non-chemical means to keep them down.

Another one I see is a mix of camomile tea and cinnamon, kills off the fungus the larvae feed on and no food equals no larvae. Or just sprinkle cinnamon on the surface, repeating every 2 weeks.
 

GodfatherKCCO

Well-Known Member
Found that tip courtesy of The Old Farmers Almanac, was looking for a non-chemical means to keep them down.

Another one I see is a mix of camomile tea and cinnamon, kills off the fungus the larvae feed on and no food equals no larvae. Or just sprinkle cinnamon on the surface, repeating every 2 weeks.
Do you worry about that altering or affecting the taste after the fact?
 
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