Can you flush after chopping down?

I used the search function to answer my question but to no avail. I was wondering if it would be possible to place an MJ plant into ro water for 2-3 days after it's been cut down. I know non-rooted clones will uptake water if sitting in a glass but does this actually "flush" them or are the roots needed to do it properly.
Thanks!

Yes some people do this. You can put food coloring in the water and make the stems change color and possibly some of the bud lol. I personally don't feel that flushing is needed, but if you are going to do it, then the after harvest flush is the best. Just cut the plant and stick it in water for a few days. The plant is still alive after you cut it, so it'll uptake water still.

i have not heard of this.. but if you are concerned with removing impurities AFTER you have chopped it down.. you might want to consider water curing..

If you do it after the chop it's called "water curing". It will remove the chlorophyll and maybe some other nasty things and make the smoke very smooth. It also reduces the smell of the bud and the smoke, to the point you can actually smoke it in public and will not turn a head. You have to put it in water and change out the water every day. Leave it in water for exactly 7 days, no more, no less, then gently remove the bud and let it air dry for a few hours until it is dry and smokable. It won't look pretty but it will be more potent per gram than air cured bud.

OP are you asking about water curing? (removing the nug from the plant and putting it in water) or cutting the plant off at the ground and sticking it in a glass of water?

Thanks for the replies. I've read about food coloring and flavorings here and also have water cured before. I was more specifically wondering if placing just the fresh-cut stalk in ro water for a few days would force the plant to use up additional stored nutes as long as there is a light source. Sometimes I can't get to a location to flush outdoor plants. For just a couple plants I was thinking about 5 gal buckets and my HPS light for maybe 3-5 days. I guess I'm wondering if, after cutting the roots, the plant wont really synthesize food sources since it likely gets shocked from the cut? Isn't there usualy a few days or longer after cutting a plant before it'll do anything? Will it just suck up water and not use up stored foods? Am I making any sense? Is what I'm thinking considered "water curring", "alt flushing", or absolutely nothing at all......

That's a good question but someone with a biology or botany background would be the one to answer that for sure. All I know is that you're talking about water curing after it's been chopped. It's not going to grow anymore or use anything; it's dying at that point. But water curing is great if you want really smooth smoke. I've got some curing right now.

I think some strains can be cloned at anytime even late into flowering I've only taken them at 4-5wks. I guess it may be possible for the plant to keep using it's food source as long as there is fresh water and a light source?? Unless the base, after flowering for 8wks doesn't have the same hormones as branches or changes in other ways to tell the entire plant to die if it's removed from the roots? .... Maybe I'll have to go longer than 3-5 days and also add an extra amount of light duration to kick it back into veg(if possible after cutting the base stalk) but harvest before any veg material shows up. RO water ph'd n at 0-10 PPM......Hmm wonder what effect that would have on taste and THC... Maybe I'll do some stoner tests and find out lol I have two fems late in wk3 so I'll only flush one then try some stuff with the other unflushed plant. Unless someone with knowledge could tell me or point me in the direction of some reading material.
Thanks.

Thanks Bamfrivit, I was hoping someone had tried it and had results to share. I will try it only just for something to do. This time around I had to use some MG soil and only had one under-tray to catch water from the plants runoff so I can only flush that one. I can't take them out because I secured the screen with screws to the cabinet like a dumbass would.... I don't want to mess with it because I'll break branches n who knows what else....... and not that it'll really make too much a difference to me... I mean I've smoked bad tasting weed while sick and would do it again. Resin isn't pleasant either and I smoke that as well. So it's not a huge issue but if I can improve taste and burning qualities with a simple flush then why not... Using this technique to harvest a branch or two a bit early before flushing starts can give me some very week weed. I enjoy it on occasion for specific activities where I just need a very very light buzz....I get bored and It'll give me something to try I guess. I'd water cure but I like the natural smell and look of green weed..

How would it intake much water with no root system?

FlyLikeAnEagle said:

How would it intake much water with no root system?

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well you can cut a branch off of a plant stick it in a cup of water and leave it there for a long period of time and it wont wilt. it wont so anything actually but it will stay nice and green.

to the OP, i understand what your saying, its not convienet for you to get all that water to your plants to flush as they probs outdoors in a secret spot or w/e. i guess if your that hellbent on flushing and not satisfied with just watering with straight water 2 weeks befor harvest you can cut em and try and get them to take a root, then flush them? this seems like alot of extra work for the minimal difference in taste, personally just feed without nutes for a couple weeks prior to chop and call it a day. up to you tho

I thought I just read a thread about this, I kinda remember the term e-flushing where you chop then put the stalk in water to flush or something, its all foggy to me like I was xanned that nite, much like tonite!

FlyLikeAnEagle said:

How would it intake much water with no root system?

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It probably wont.... I don't know plant biology that well... n was also thinking that it wouldn't be enough(without roots)... First question should have been "If I can clone a base stalk instead of lower branches....especially so late into flowering" That would have givin' some insight into whether it's possible to flush this way. But even if the stalk wouldn't uptake the amount of water needed( I believe it will uptake some regardless ie. food coloring technique... just not sure if it only hydrates itself or it will actually eat up stored food sources as well) I could keep it in a humid environment or foliar spray so it takes in more water. I'm not worried about mold indoors since I have grown in the summer with the cab at 75%+ humidity durring flowering - without mold... had fans blowing and also have hepa filters inline with our heating vents(anti-fungal to limit Mushroom FC Trichoderma and other molds) yes there are still spores in the house, no doubt, but minimal. I thought about digging the roots up with the plant and putting the root mass into ro water but that could get messy and I don't want to introduce outdoor "biologicals" into my indooor grow space.... I'd have to set something up outside the house and that's not really an option at the moment. Again, just something to experiment with

matthebrute said:

well you can cut a branch off of a plant stick it in a cup of water and leave it there for a long period of time and it wont wilt. it wont so anything actually but it will stay nice and green.

to the OP, i understand what your saying, its not convienet for you to get all that water to your plants to flush as they probs outdoors in a secret spot or w/e. i guess if your that hellbent on flushing and not satisfied with just watering with straight water 2 weeks befor harvest you can cut em and try and get them to take a root, then flush them? this seems like alot of extra work for the minimal difference in taste, personally just feed without nutes for a couple weeks prior to chop and call it a day. up to you tho

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Thanks, No it's not a deff' must, to flush, for me.... I'm trying to figure out if I'll need to root them again or not..... I have had some really smooth smoke before and some really harsh...both that got me equally high. Normally, I wouldn't care; for my backpain, I just need instant relief. I can handle a few coughs with backpain... it hurts it more while coughing but I can handle it.... Sometimes though, there may be a time I want really really easy smoke. Like when I get bronchitis lol. Coughing up blood is no fun especially half way through an inhale... what a mess that makes I could water cure and that's pretty good smoking that way but to me it smells funny, before buring, and sometimes looks really bad.. n there is just something about fresh jar-cured buds that adds to the whole pre-getting high "excitement".......
I'm probably just diggin a hole of confusion and should just STHU and buy a vaporizer??

dbkick said:

I thought I just read a thread about this, I kinda remember the term e-flushing where you chop then put the stalk in water to flush or something, its all foggy to me like I was xanned that nite, much like tonite!

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Hey thanks, that'll give me a starting point (e-flushing)... I'll try to find some info on it.

"much like tonight" haha I think too much. Whether good thoughts or bad; it all adds up to stress n anxiety... thank Mother Earth for weeeed! I'm fortunate in that MJ actually helps my anxiety or stress. Think I need higher THC content though for my back. Nulls the pain but I could use a little more relief.. Don't like the Opiates for a daily fix. I build up a tolerance quite quickly within 2-4 Oxys over 2-3 days and then they just make me lethargic n go to sleep for 14hrs.... They're great 1-2 times a month for me. I'll take one and after 15-25 minutes I'll start smilling for no reason....well there's a reason I guess...called feelin goood....... I'll feel great for 6-10hrs and can get a few things done anyways.

Wow, I found many threads of people argueing if flushing works or not lol.... Also found this...
"Lady Zandra"

Quote: "Many people who grow in soil have said "oh shit! I checked my trichs, and the plants are ready for harvest! And I haven't flushed yet!! WHat do I do??"

Here ya go-- a way to flush in a 3-4 day period that works GREAT (we do all our soil grows this way)
Why???
If you flush the soil, you can NEVER get EVERY nutrient out of it.. so the plant still has some nutrients available to it during a regular "soil flush"..
those nutrients are what make the smoke bitter or hash after drying/curing....

SO-- here's how to get rid of as much as possible and still retain the health and crystal on the plant...


You Need---
a clean 5-gallon bucket
an air-pump (aquarium kind-- any size)
air stone
tubing
water
clippers

attach the air stone and a 3 foot legnth of tubing to your air pump.. and putthe stone in the bottom of the bucket-- put at least 2 gallons of plain tap water in the bucket and let it stand an hour or so (helps saturate the air stone so it works better..and brings the water to room temp.)

Trim all the DEAD leaves from your plant-- ONLY the dead or 1/2 dead ones.. and throw them away...

Turn on the bubbler.

Cut your plant off at the base-- as close to the soil as you can...
set the trunk of the plant all the way down in the water.. be sure the leaves are not submerged-- if they are-- cut them off---

You can now either put the plant back into 12/12-- or, if you like leaving the plant in the dark for the last 3 days of growing to increase the resin, nows the time.

Replace the water every day.....

after a full 3-4 days, harvest as usual!
you'll see that, with the bubbler-- the plant doen't wilt or distress at all-- wheras if you just do the bucket without the airstone, day 3 they get a bit wilted.....

Hope this is helpful!! Been doing it that way for over a year now...
(got it from a George Cervantez book)"
cut the plant at soil level-- SOME folks prefer to uproot the plant--rinse the roots off, then put em in the bucket-- works just as well--maybe even better--BUT a HUGE mess!!!
Soil clogs yer drains, gets all over--- and really isn't nessisary when cutting her works this well! end quote-

I've not read the book but know of the guy and may have seen videos on Ytube. I can't personally vouch for George Cervantez but would imagine this technique is valid and will run with it.
Thanks to all who replied, peace~

Plants don't suck up water; rather the water climbs the plant using capillaries via inter-molecular forces such as hydrogen bond interactions. (Dip an end of tissue paper into water and watch the water rise up the sheet).
If you purchase cropped flowers at a florist you usually receive a small sachet of plant feet to add to the water in the vase. This encourages the flowers to bloom and it does it without a root system. Water and nutrients are still transported through a plant without roots, although less effectively than a plant with a root system. Roots are an efficient way for plants to take up optimum amounts of water and nutrients although without a root system sugars usually stored in the root are unavailable and the plants life span can be greatly reduced (unless of course hormones are activated or encouraged to produce new roots). So although roots are important for a plant they are not totally essential in their final days. And flushing is the beginning of your plants final days.
Flushing cannabis after cropping from the main plant is therefore completely possible. And as a bonus it enables you to get that little extra from the buds on the lower branches by cropping the top and leaving the bottom to mature further with better access to lighting. For the cropped cuttings I’d advice placing the end of the stem from the cutting into container fresh water, be extra careful not to get any of the bud or leaves wet and change the water daily. Leave under 10 to 12 hours lighting with high UV (this reduces disease and pests on your bud and in the water, but most importantly increases resin production). Do this for 5 to 7 days, then trim, dry (2 weeks), cure(2-6 months) and smoke (straight away)………………

SSHAZE said:

Thanks for the replies. I've read about food coloring and flavorings here and also have water cured before. I was more specifically wondering if placing just the fresh-cut stalk in ro water for a few days would force the plant to use up additional stored nutes as long as there is a light source. Sometimes I can't get to a location to flush outdoor plants. For just a couple plants I was thinking about 5 gal buckets and my HPS light for maybe 3-5 days. I guess I'm wondering if, after cutting the roots, the plant wont really synthesize food sources since it likely gets shocked from the cut? Isn't there usualy a few days or longer after cutting a plant before it'll do anything? Will it just suck up water and not use up stored foods? Am I making any sense? Is what I'm thinking considered "water curring", "alt flushing", or absolutely nothing at all......

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You’ll need little Xmas tree stands! Lol

Bigdaddy76 said:

You’ll need little Xmas tree stands! Lol

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posted
Dec 15, 2011
nice dig!!

teddy bonkers said:

posted
Dec 15, 2011
nice dig!!

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Yea it’s a little old but interesting.