When broken down into simple stages, the process of cultivating cannabis can appear to be more effortless and exciting. Cannabis goes through four main stages as it grows from a seed to a plant that can be harvested. It’s critical to understand these stages and how long each lasts to determine what the plant requires and when it should receive it.
A skilled cannabis grower will know how to give the plant the best possible environment at each stage of its growth. However, if you’re new to the world of cannabis, you may need some advice on growing marijuana plants. When you purchase Canada marijuana seeds from farmerslabseeds com or another reputable seed bank, you expect a perfect harvest. So dive into this article to discover everything you need to know about the different stages of the cannabis plant’s life cycle.
How Long Does a Marijuana Plant Grow?
From the time the seed is planted until it is ready to be harvested, a weed plant can have anywhere from 10 to 32 weeks. If you start with a clone or an autoflower seed, the process will go much more quickly. In the vegetative stage, which occurs after the seedling phase and before the blooming phase, there is the greatest potential for variation in the total time required for a marijuana plant to mature. As mentioned in the intro, there are four stages of plant growth.
- Seed germination takes 3-10 days.
- The seedling stage requires 2-3 weeks.
- The vegetative period lasts about 3-16 weeks.
- Flowering lasts up from 8 to 11 weeks.
When grown indoors, you can push a weed plant into flowering in as little as a few weeks if the plant is small and in as many as several weeks if the plant is big. When you grow marijuana outside, you are at the mercy of the changing of the seasons. You’ll have to wait until the days get shorter in the fall before the plants will flower, and then you may harvest them.
Stage #1: Seed Germination
The seed is the initial stage of the marijuana plant’s growth. A cannabis seed should have a dry and firm texture and a light to dark brown hue. Undeveloped seeds are typically mushy and have a green or white coloration; they have a low chance of germinating.
When a seed has germinated, it’s ready to be planted in a growing medium. While the seedling’s stem grows upward, the tap root will continue to develop deeper into the soil. As the plant comes out of its protective covering inside the seed, round cotyledon leaves grow from its stem. Your cannabis plant will be deemed a seedling once its roots have developed, the stalk has grown taller, and it has begun to produce its characteristic fan leaves.
Stage #2: Seedling
As soon as your cannabis plant transforms into a seedling, you’ll see that it begins to sprout the characteristic fan leaves. The seed will first produce leaves that each have a single ridged blade. Soon, leaves will begin to generate additional blades. A cannabis plant that has reached full maturity will have between 5 and 7 blades on each leaf.
Be cautious not to overwater the plant; its roots are young, so it doesn’t require much water to thrive. The plant is susceptible to disease and mold at this point in its maturation. Maintain a clean environment for it, and watch out for excess moisture. Make sure that there’s a lot of light shining on it.
Stage #3: Vegetative
At the vegetative stage, you move your plant into a larger container, and both the roots and the foliage are developing rapidly. Additionally, now is the time to start topping or training your plants and giving them nutrients.
As the plant grows, remember to increase the amount of water that you give it. Your plant will require water close to the stalk when it is young, but as it grows, you should begin watering it further away from the stalk so that the roots may spread out.
Stage #4: Flowering
The flowering stage is when plants start to develop buds. Flowering begins when the plant gets less light during the day, which happens naturally outside as summer gives way to fall. Growers who cultivate marijuana indoors can cause the flowering cycle by reducing the amount of light their plants receive from 18 hours per day to only 12 hours.
There are three subphases at this stage:
- Flower initiation is when females develop pre-flowers, which are the beginnings of buds (weeks 1-3).
- At mid-flowering, the plant stops growing; buds begin fattening up (weeks 4-5).
- When late flowering plants get very sticky, the color of the pistils tells when to harvest (6 weeks and on).
Final Words
Keeping a journal to keep track of how your plants grow and change should be a top priority. Reviewing your notes will help you identify areas for improvement, allowing you to enhance both the quality and quantity of the buds you produce next time.