Where do I count a plants age from?

[Suzie]

Ive got a NL#5 haze plant that Ive grown from seed. I intended for her to be a mother plant, but she seemed on the weak side, was a bit spindly and slow growing so I topped/ manifolded her at 4 weeks. Her 2 branches are 2 weeks old and she has recovered from the shock and is growing well, but I am reluctant to top the branches as shes not that robust. I thought Id just flower her as need the space. Is she 6 weeks old or 2 weeks old? Where do I count from? and any advice? Thanks.

[Tersky]

You count from when it pops out of the soil/medium. Topping the plant doesnt change it's age.

[SoOrbudgal]

Agree with Tersky

[alltatup]

Just give the girl time to pick up strength and energy before you switch her to flower: if she's growing strong before you switch her, you'll get much better results.

[Suzie]

Thank you Alltatup. Ive only just found your comment! My notifications didnt! Well I have left her and now 24 days further on she has more than doubled in size. As I didnt top her again just LST, all the side shoots are growing strongly, albeit slowly!and forming the classic table shape. Im going to veg her until the space is needed. Ps. The scent that comes off her is something else, a new one to me.

[alltatup]

Suzie Do you know how to get notifications sent to your email? Go to your name in upper right-hand corner of screen and click;
go to User Settings;
go to Notifications and set em up the way you want.

So glad to hear she's doing well!! Post a pic!!! ;-}

[Suzie]

alltatup Here she is 3 days ago, Hazel. She grew too big for the cupboard which is only 2ftx2ftx3ft so today ( at 10 weeks old) she had to move out to FC. She was completely manifolded at 4 wks,potted on on the same day( didnt think) so terrible shock, so all the growth was in 6wks.She has been under 4x 2ft tubes with no fan and the ventilation being a wafting of the door now and then, so I think shes done very well considering. Im a complete novice and poor Hazel has been my loyal tutor ( I think she should be called Phoenix! )

[Tersky]

I commend you on sticking with it! These plants can be pretty resilient! I dont know what you plan to do for flower but if you are using 4 2ft t5 bulbs it may not be enough to get any good dense buds. It depends on the wattage and the space your plants are taking up. Rule of thumb, you want 35-50w/sq ft of space the plants are taking up. Just my thoughts! They look good though!

[alltatup]

I agree with Tersky She does look good!! You want to make sure you have air circulation, especially during flower. That's when it's easy to get mould or mildew if the foliage and buds are too dense and retaining too much humidity. And I don't really know about lights and square footage...

Cannabis plants love their humans; they have always worked with us, kind of like dogs do...

[Tersky]

To be honest alltatup, i didnt know about wattage per square foot until this fall. And i also agree, ventilation is important in flower like she said. Forgot to mention that! Heat and humidity can cause airy buds or mold and mildew issues. Never had the mold issue but my first couple grows were in a poorly ventilated small grow box and had heat issues that caused airy and light buds or just toasted the buds completely. Now i use that box for seedlings and then veg and flower in the tents. Much better result!

[Suzie]

Tersky Ive got a 4ft x 4 t5 (HO) 230W. I worked out the light part ages ago and I think those lights say theyre alright for the sq footage that Ive got. We will have to see! ( I needed the cheapest lights to run )Theres good ventilation and humidity and temp control too. Its a first.
Ps What do people do with a slow grower? Ive got a seedling that is looking like a week old when its over 2 weeks old. Bin it? Thankx alltatup I really like your footnote about plants and humans.

[Tersky]

I thought they were 2 ft which is usually half the wattage of a 4 ft. My mistake! 230w should be enough for one or two good sized plants. Just harvested a blue og under a 250w and got 3oz off of one plant so you are right!

[Tersky]

Oh and the slow grower...i usually never toss a plant unless it's dying and cant be saved or saving it would not be worth it. You could if you wanted too but i try to find out why it's slow. If you find a cause for the issue then usually it can be remedied quickly. I have 2 sour diesel plants that were stunted early due to not buffering the coco first but are now the best plants in the tent! If you dont want to bother with it then you can toss it.

[alltatup]

Suzie Try to always post a picture when you've got a problem, it helps us diagnose.

[Suzie]

Tersky You were right, theres 2ft ones in the veg cupboard. I have just done more sums and realise I havnt got enough light! an article said 10,000 lumen per square ft. For flowering. 1W=100 lumen. Phew! But you did well so fingers crossed!..The slow grower popped 3 days after the others. Being a gardener I sometimes wonder if its caused by genetic damage in the feminization process or maybe a virus from an insect, when all physical needs are met. Ps I never give up!