will a 24 hour light cycle stress plants?

Originally Posted by Xare

You can start seeds under 24 hour light but you absolutely have to put them in their home outside before they reach sexual maturity.


If you allow them to preflower inside ( 1-1/2 - 2 months old) and then put them outside, you are risking early spring flowering / revegging plants.

See if you had clones under 24 hour light and put them outside, even on the longest day of the year, they will start to flower. Because they are mature, and a large photo-period shock sends the hormones of the plants into flower mode.


An Immature seedling plant will not have proper hormone level to start flowering. But a mature 2 month old vegging plant that shows preflowers does. and so do clones.

Total agreement. On my seed grows I begin looking for preflowering at 4-6 weeks and always slowly get my indoor lighting down (hour a week for me) to match outside light before permanently putting them outside.

Originally Posted by madodah

Total agreement. On my seed grows I begin looking for preflowering at 4-6 weeks and always slowly get my indoor lighting down (hour a week for me) to match outside light before permanently putting them outside.

that's interesting! i keep mine in an 18-6 hr cycle for 2 weeks and harden off and outside till harvest. mother nature is a beautiful woman!

Originally Posted by Space Angel

that's interesting! i keep mine in an 18-6 hr cycle for 2 weeks and harden off and outside till harvest. mother nature is a beautiful woman!

I start indoors in March and due to inclement weather with freezes don't go outside full time until May.

I have ran me veg room for 24 on for years now. Everything is all good for me! But I have heard that plants actually grow faster on 18/6

I have seen some plants flower when going from 24/0 to 18/6. It doesn't take 12/12 to make a plant flower. I don't think it's ever really 12/12 outdoors. Anything close will make them flower.

I have a group of 24/0 friends a group of 18/6 friends. The opinion of the 18/6 crowd is that you will get more growth with 18/6 because everything living does need rest at some point. They also feel that their plants grow during the dark period. More dark is more growth. Like when you flip them to 12/12 indoors, suddenly you get a massive stretch even though you are only at 12 hours of light...it's the 12 hours of dark where they grow.

Just their opinions.

I've done both and can't really tell any difference.

A cloner I know runs 24/0 solely to avoid powdery mildew. In SoCal PM can happen anywhere any time.

thanks everybody

I'll keep them at 24/7

well, I've felt obligated to keep the 24-cycle constant now that I've started doing that....wouldn't want to confuse/disrupt the plant now