A plant is called a cannabis seedling after it has gone through the germination process of creating the white taproot, sprouting of the cotyledon, and when the seedling leaf appears.
After it has created its first true leaves, it is now considered a seedling. During the seedling growth stage, the development of the root system speeds up rapidly, while the green above is very slow.
Cannabis seedlings need a minimum of 16 hours of light to keep them in a vegetative state. Many growers utilize highly efficient fluorescent lighting, the most commonly used fluorescent lighting is the T5 and with these, you can have both red as well as blue spectrum lighting.
Fluorescent lighting is commonly hung about 12 – 18 inches away from the cannabis seedlings. Even though many other growers prefer to use HID lighting to supply light to their cannabis seedlings, with these types of lights the growth is much more rapid, though heat and electrical costs can build up.
These lights are commonly hung about 3 – 4 feet away from cannabis seedlings, which in this case you could supply light to many, many more seedlings than a fluorescent light. The seedling stage is complete, once rapid foliage growth starts and this explosion of growth is caused by the root system that has spent the whole last stage of its life developing.
When your plants enter this stage with their rapid growth, they will soon need to be moved into another room or transplanted into a larger growing container for them to develop further.
Germinating Seeds Timeline
48 – 72 Hours
- Water is absorbed through the seed’s shell.
- Radicle or Taproot has sprouted and is visible.
10 – 14 Days
- The first roots are now visible.
21 – 30 Days
- At least 50% of the seeds should now be rooted by the 21st day.
- After 30 days if there are seeds that have not sprouted, they are likely to slow growth, bad seeds, have a very hard shell and need to be sacrificed, improper growing conditions, and whether the pest has inhibited growth.
When seeds have become well rooted, the overall growth of the plant will accelerate and the plant will begin to develop larger roots, lush foliage, and a larger stem. After four (4) to six (6) weeks from the germination of the seed the cannabis seedling will enter its full vegetative growth.
Let us know what you think.
Responses