# Early Flower Transplant. Good Idea? Bad Idea?



## Zaehet Strife (Dec 20, 2010)

first off guys time is nothing to me, i have all the time in the world and i am very patient, so if there will be stunted growth for a week or two its no prob. but heres my question.

say i dont make much money, and my different medium ingredients are expensive. which means if i dont have to transplant the more money i soil i save, the more money i save.

*????? If i switch my lights on 12/12 until i see some signs of sex on my plants, find the bad boys and throw them out, what will happen if i transplant right then, about a week or two into flowering????? what should i expect to happen??*

that way i dont have to waste the dirt, time and energy transplanting male plants that im going to throw out anyways. PLEASE HELP! thanks guys!


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## phyzix (Dec 20, 2010)

You can transplant, no worries. Make sure the dirt you take from the other plants is clean (not full of nutes/salt/bugs/fungus/mold/pollen/ect...) before adding it to other plants. 

Do it now and it will be more beneficial than later.

Check the link in my signature.


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## Zaehet Strife (Dec 20, 2010)

thanks bro! just what i was looking for. anyone else have any input?


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## trunkneck (Dec 20, 2010)

Zaehet Strife said:


> first off guys time is nothing to me, i have all the time in the world and i am very patient, so if there will be stunted growth for a week or two its no prob. but heres my question.
> 
> say i dont make much money, and my different medium ingredients are expensive. which means if i dont have to transplant the more money i soil i save, the more money i save.
> 
> ...


Why not clone the plants you have, keeping track of which ones came from what plant, then sex the clones with 12 on 12 off. In this way you can veg the plants (A plus) while sexing the clones with very little risk of pollination of the main plants. Maybe I'm confused what you are trying to do, but you can transplant at any stage of the plant's life. In fact transplanting is encouraged to have more control over the plant's development. (Not having to drown it in fluid just to saturate the soil etc. A smaller container will allow smaller amounts of fertilizer too, so it's a win win situation for your wallet AND the plant's health. Hope this helps.


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## darkdestruction420 (Dec 20, 2010)

trunkneck said:


> Why not clone the plants you have, keeping track of which ones came from what plant, then sex the clones with 12 on 12 off. In this way you can veg the plants (A plus) while sexing the clones with very little risk of pollination of the main plants. Maybe I'm confused what you are trying to do, but you can transplant at any stage of the plant's life. In fact transplanting is encouraged to have more control over the plant's development. (Not having to drown it in fluid just to saturate the soil etc. A smaller container will allow smaller amounts of fertilizer too, so it's a win win situation for your wallet AND the plant's health. Hope this helps.


I think he means just transplanting while early into flowering, not flowering early.

Sure, go ahead, just be careful. You shouldnt hurt it much if at all. I do it all the time and i never experience any negative repercussions, at worst you'll see a day or 2 of shock.


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## trunkneck (Dec 21, 2010)

darkdestruction420 said:


> I think he means just transplanting while early into flowering, not flowering early.
> 
> Sure, go ahead, just be careful. You shouldnt hurt it much if at all. I do it all the time and i never experience any negative repercussions, at worst you'll see a day or 2 of shock.


I like the quote *Can't we all just get a bong? LOL! nice.*


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## palerider (Dec 22, 2010)

When pot plants become sexually mature they show their sex by way of pre flowers. Basically they look like they are starting to flower but they are not, you will see little white hairs coming out at the nodes. Preflowers start to show depending on the strain any where from 4 to 8 weeks into veg at the latest,if your not in any rush just wait and they will reveal their sex to you without having to change your photo period at all. hope this helps.


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## canefan (Dec 22, 2010)

Well basically you are set up much as I am as far as tranplanting the girls and boys. When putting my seeds or clones into the rotation I have a pretty simple and over the past several years successful potting schedule.
I put my cuttings or seedlings into their starter pots, these are about 16 or 20 oz pots. They stay in here until I see the roots come out of the drainhole. As soon as I see the roots I usually give them 3 to 5 days more then step up to a 1 gallon pot. They stay in these anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. They then go into a 3 gallon container until ready to flower for the girls, the guys stay in the 3 gallon. The girls are set out to flower and when they are done stretching usually about 2 weeks I put them into 5 gallon container to finish.
I have kind of a funny or unique growing set up with partial lights in veg and sun to total sun for flowering. I have been growing MJ and nursery stock for many years and like the root system I develop from this set up. Plus I am getting older, have had a couple of strokes and heart attacks and physically unable to move a bunch of 5 gallon pots around. It is much easier on me this way, also as you pointed out I save dirt by culling out undesireable females or males while I am still in a smaller container.
Also if you are transplanting even late into flower, which I have done many times either by getting behind with other work or just plain too lazy to stay on schedule, there will not be a problem if you follow a couple of easy steps. Just wait until you are ready to water your plants, when the soil is fairly dry the soil pulls aways from the side of the container. This property allows you to easily and without damage to slide the entire rootball out undistrubed and place into a new container. I have never had a problem doing this with any plants MJ or otherwise.
The big question is does this slow you down in the grow? IDK, I like you, have plenty of time and start seeds, clone and cull plants according to the plants growing in flower. If my clones get ahead of my schedule to flower I may cut them back to the second node to buy time, keeping them in veg and having them grow out 2 or 4 main colas, similiar to Uncle Bens method. Having unlimited time and knowing that I can top, or take a clone and throw out unwanted plant or plant that I just don't have room for then is not a problem. Isn't nice to have the time in your grow to be flexible. I see these growers that are so tied to this many weeks or days to do this or that instead of just letting the plant have their way.
Sorry for the long winded rant this morning with my coffee and pipe. I guess I will go water the girls now it is feeding time.
Merry Christmas and happy growing


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## Zaehet Strife (Dec 22, 2010)

dude, thank you so much canefan, means a lot... i will save this on my pc and will try some things out. if you are ever enjoying your coffie again i my next project is cloning, i have never cloned before and dont know how to start or what materials i need. if you have time let me know man thank you for the awesome info. patience is everything.

palerider, ive been wanting that info for a few weeks now and havent been able to find anything on it, thank you bro.


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## Holden Caufield (Dec 23, 2010)

Okay kids, it's like this.... Transplanting will almost always damage the root system of any plant, unless you transplant before any roots reach the container walls. 
Don't get me wrong, it most likely will not kill your plant, you will still get nugs, and the sun will still rise. It will also reduce your yield, lengthen flowering time, and increase risks of going hermaphrodite.
Once again... The female mj plant is like an olympic sprinter, for best results all must go without a hitch from start to finish. 
I too suggest using clones and if you must use soil place babies in finally sized potentially before switching to flowering, or put 3 or even 4 starts in each of your final sized containers, this should ensure at least one female.

PEACE


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## phyzix (Dec 23, 2010)

Holden Caufield said:


> Okay kids, it's like this.... Transplanting will almost always damage the root system of any plant, unless you transplant before any roots reach the container walls.
> Don't get me wrong, it most likely will not kill your plant, you will still get nugs, and the sun will still rise. It will also reduce your yield, lengthen flowering time, and increase risks of going hermaphrodite.
> Once again... The female mj plant is like an olympic sprinter, for best results all must go without a hitch from start to finish.
> I too suggest using clones and if you must use soil place babies in finally sized potentially before switching to flowering, or put 3 or even 4 starts in each of your final sized containers, this should ensure at least one female.
> ...


I would not take this advice for these reasons:

1. Transplanting is easier when the plant has started to fill up the container with roots because it will hold the mass together through the switch. Since you transplant before the plant develops, it is less capable of bouncing back after the switch, and you also probably damage the plant in transport because of the weak roots not holding together.
2. You wont damage plants transplanting if you follow the direction in my signature.
3. Transplanting can increase yield, wont effect flowering time and will not induce hermies if you do it correctly.
4. Don't overcrowd containers with lots of plants, this will do far more damage than any proper transplant if you leave them too long.


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## phyzix (Dec 23, 2010)

Ready to transplant, note the dry soil.


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## darkdestruction420 (Dec 24, 2010)

Holden Caufield said:


> Okay kids, it's like this.... Transplanting will almost always damage the root system of any plant, unless you transplant before any roots reach the container walls.
> Don't get me wrong, it most likely will not kill your plant, you will still get nugs, and the sun will still rise. It will also reduce your yield, lengthen flowering time, and increase risks of going hermaphrodite.
> Once again... The female mj plant is like an olympic sprinter, for best results all must go without a hitch from start to finish.
> I too suggest using clones and if you must use soil place babies in finally sized potentially before switching to flowering, or put 3 or even 4 starts in each of your final sized containers, this should ensure at least one female.
> ...


it wont do any of those things you listed. ive done it hundreds of times now and i have not ever had a problem. if anything they outperform those put into their final pots right away.


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## canefan (Dec 24, 2010)

^
That's it Dark, well put.
Holden......really, I'm not your kid. Sounds like you have had bad expriences transplanting, sorry to hear that. If you follow the instructions given by phzix you can't go wrong, I have followed those basic transplanting instructions given to me many many years ago and they still work.
*




Originally Posted by Holden Caufield ***
*Okay kids, it's like this.... Transplanting will almost always damage the root system of any plant, unless you transplant before any roots reach the container walls. *
*Don't get me wrong, it most likely will not kill your plant, you will still get nugs, and the sun will still rise. It will also reduce your yield, lengthen flowering time, and increase risks of going hermaphrodite.*
*Once again... The female mj plant is like an olympic sprinter, for best results all must go without a hitch from start to finish. *
*I too suggest using clones and if you must use soil place babies in finally sized potentially before switching to flowering, or put 3 or even 4 starts in each of your final sized containers, this should ensure at least one female.*

*Your logic is fairly faulty in the following areas. You say the plant is an olympic sprinter and must go without a hitch and then you recommend to put 3 or 4 plants in the same containers?*
*You also suggest using clones, yes this cuts growing down over seed but if you have this many clones to plant wouldn't you know if the cuttings you are taking are already female? I wouldn't run a batch of clones not knowing the sex, one or two but not where I would put 3 or 4 in a container.*
*One last point is that transplanting before your roots touch or circle your container you are much more likely to damage your tender roots. The reason for this is that the roots will not tend to hold the soil intact when removing from the container. The soil falling from this process will most likely result in pulling the roots away from the plant.*


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