Springtime, Indoor Plants Go Outdoor

Why are my plants in flower already?

You want to get a jump on the season growing outdoors. You start your seeds under some lights inside (lights on 24 hours or even 18 hours), say around February. Your plants are doing great and the temps outside are warming up every day. Finally the BIG day comes and you want to put them out, say April. The night temps are above 46f consistently and you are just busting at the seams to get those girls out under some real sunlight.

It is May or June now and you notice that your girls are starting to put clusters of pistils at the ends of their branches. You suspect that they are going into flower, then in a few days you know they are and you come here to Marijuana Passion with your concerns.

The reason they have gone into flower is the drastic change in hours of daylight compared the the hours of artificial light they had been under. Plain and simple as that.

Your plants are in early flower and you wonder what the heck is gonna happen now. They are small, they are early and you are freaked.

What will happen next is they will continue to look like they are in flower for a few weeks, developing buds nicely and trichlones too. Assuming you leave them out and don't kill them and start over. They will eventually give you some smoke if you leave them to go into the reveg stage then on to flowering normally early August.

Soon, (about two weeks) The buds will start to grow apart, elongate. Each budlet (do not know the biological term) will move apart and the stem will grow longer. The leaves will start to come out in threes and ones. Some will look twisted (see picture). As the weeks pass, you see the new growth look more and more normal (meaning that the leaves get less twisted and more like a normal MJ leaf). The earlier in the season this starts, the more new vegetative growth you will get.

Sometimes the plant will not grow much more taller or wider (by this I mean they will not be five or six footers, though sometimes they will). Or I should say mine don't. I have a short grow season and it seems every year I run into this problem. IF I put out plants early, even shielding them from cold weather.

I have learned, when I start seeds in late February, I use a 14 hours of light. This way, when I put them out mid May, they have almost exactly the same light as when they were inside at 14 hours. No reveg, just nice big plants. There are Links here to light tables that will show you exactly how many hours of daylight on a certain day at your exact location. That way you can plan on how much light to give your plants depending on the day you want to put them out.

I have also read that if you wait until June to put out your 24/7 plants you will be able to have some good vegetative growth before they start to flower, as the days are longest in June. That way they do not do the reveg thing.

I hope this helps someone else out. I was freaked myself, my first grow. Since then I have grown some pretty amazing plants using this technique of matching daylight to artificial light when moving from Indoor to Outdoor in Spring.

This is a Post Crash Thread. Please feel free to add your comments and experience with this subject.

Hick please add your experience on reveg.

1. Lavender goes into early flower in June.
2. Lavender in reveg (note the single, tripple and curled leaves)
3. Lavender after/during harvest in October. The leaves that were on the plant when it reveded have died.

Lavender yielded an amazing amount, between two plants I got just under a pound, very close. This is the first time I got good growth on a reveded plant, usually I get three or four ounces on a reveged plant. The two Lavender were so heavy they had to be tied up to the cross braces of my cage. They also achieved about a five foot height.

I think i am experiencing the same problem with revege. I bought my clones that were under lights and took them home outdoors in early April and theyre only about a foot tall with buds! Ive been freaked out cuz i still want them to grow a lot more and i know they shouldnt be growing buds yet! so if i just leave them will they continue to grow or will they flower all small?? I heard putting them under light at night could work but i just want them to get a decent yield u know!!

Fresh clones dont do the re-veg thing I have found out here. Maybe get some fresh clones?

Mr. Dubee said:

I think i am experiencing the same problem with revege. I bought my clones that were under lights and took them home outdoors in early April and theyre only about a foot tall with buds! Ive been freaked out cuz i still want them to grow a lot more and i know they shouldnt be growing buds yet! so if i just leave them will they continue to grow or will they flower all small?? I heard putting them under light at night could work but i just want them to get a decent yield u know!!

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Yup, I totally agree to this one. Just want a decent yield for my plants too, but it happens to, happen what happen to yours guys.
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tcbud said:

Fresh clones dont do the re-veg thing I have found out here. Maybe get some fresh clones?

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have to agree mine always took off too heavy in veg then late flower like normal

There is no need to take the indoor plants outdoor if you have the perfect lights. It do not matter here weather it is spring or winter but here the care and the nutrient make the difference. so you can take it outdoor.

Really good Things u wrote...thnks for posting.........

Yes,let the indoor plants be there inside home,with proper light and ventilation,they will grow.

thanks I was going to use seeds next year. I have always used clones. so seeds will be completely different for me . you answered all my questions. I think I will just start them in my greenhouse. just like my tomato's.

First time poster here and I thought I would visit the section of the forums that has given me the most satisfaction of watching what mother nature can do outdoors is way more satisfying than what I need to accomplish today inside a few tents. Moving from the secluded area I once had has left me with nothing more than memories and a few pictures I saved from back in the day.

Your thoughts on the Feb seedling lite/cycle of 14/10 for mid May placement is very valid and something I struggled with living around the latitude of Los Angeles. My first experiences of going out to early when starting beans indoors for starter plants was 18/6. You can almost get away with this if you wait tell mid June for placement but not mid May.

This year I have a gorilla application where I can choose the time of placement and based on some vacation time taking me away for the better part of May, prior to departure on said trip I plan on placing a six week starter plant in a 35 gal container and water deeply. The transplant will occur the day before departure. With this in consideration I will be using the 14/10 from the VERY start, not dialing it down from 24/7 or 18/6. It is very important when getting this that the seed has to start out from day #1 on a 14/10 for a successful early placement without flowering out mid summer with undesirable traits. I have learned this the hard way many years ago. Thank you for reminding me of this very important part of pre starting seeds in the winter for spring time placement. I think one needs to consult the farmers almanac where one lives and adjust to the sunup to sundown time they illustrate for your location.

From seed in ground, no soil prep, hadn't taken the little sprout very seriously when it first appeared mid March. All I did was protect it with some screen to keep the bunny's away.

View attachment 179619-9a92bd7c7924eee531b6422cae01a5c9.jpg

portlandish more central inland 45*N. the 4 grow shops i ask all give a diff answer and/or they're stumbled by the questions i brought up before i read this post. is this cast in stone now and the procedure is clear? doing all seeds this year. regular and feminized.
1. it's seems to make sense to set at 14 hours of light (grow shops told me 12 hours light at anytime will trigger flowering but ALL said do 18 or 20 hours on).
2a. our area had a freeze about may 30 last year so it's not safe to move outdoors earlier.
2b. the blog articles are mixed but the one's that look pro seem to agree moving out in June when near max sunlight is best. do 14 to 18 hours but gradually reduce 18 hours to 14 before you move outdoors. i'd rather just stick to 14 hours, any objections? LOL!
3a. we have no space for indoor flowering grow let alone the smell. we've converted our living room next to large windows but still have 2 T5 8 banks. set up for 2.5 months only.
3b. it's seems like we're trying to do something that has never been done on earth? what about every lowes, home depot and nursery selling indoor grown flowers and vegetables starts because it's too cold outdoors. that's why we pay extra for them. why don't these have all the problems too?
4. last year we bought 4 clones - they all started flowering after 4 weeks (forgot exactly but hit them with nitrogen and they started vegetative growing again) (i thought it was because i used black plastic pots and too small then i transferred to fabric 20 gal 30 gal. i thought my errors cause the flowering but maybe cause the clones were under 24 hour light. (got them at 5").
5. can a black sheet bet used to shield the light from a 2' away grow tray/light set up? i'm not sure how sensitive the plants in other trays are to light. the light will reflect off the ceiling, floor, walls and fall upon the plants in night cycle. i would like to use one tray for autoflower but they cannot be started for about a month after the regular and feminized.

this thread is 4 years old. is there now a consensus that 14 hours is best?

thanks for any advice or which shop to call for definitive methods!

Sunlight said:

portlandish more central inland 45*N. the 4 grow shops i ask all give a diff answer and/or they're stumbled by the questions i brought up before i read this post. is this cast in stone now and the procedure is clear? doing all seeds this year. regular and feminized.
1. it's seems to make sense to set at 14 hours of light (grow shops told me 12 hours light at anytime will trigger flowering but ALL said do 18 or 20 hours on).
2a. our area had a freeze about may 30 last year so it's not safe to move outdoors earlier.
2b. the blog articles are mixed but the one's that look pro seem to agree moving out in June when near max sunlight is best. do 14 to 18 hours but gradually reduce 18 hours to 14 before you move outdoors. i'd rather just stick to 14 hours, any objections? LOL!
3a. we have no space for indoor flowering grow let alone the smell. we've converted our living room next to large windows but still have 2 T5 8 banks. set up for 2.5 months only.
3b. it's seems like we're trying to do something that has never been done on earth? what about every lowes, home depot and nursery selling indoor grown flowers and vegetables starts because it's too cold outdoors. that's why we pay extra for them. why don't these have all the problems too?
4. last year we bought 4 clones - they all started flowering after 4 weeks (forgot exactly but hit them with nitrogen and they started vegetative growing again) (i thought it was because i used black plastic pots and too small then i transferred to fabric 20 gal 30 gal. i thought my errors cause the flowering but maybe cause the clones were under 24 hour light. (got them at 5").
5. can a black sheet bet used to shield the light from a 2' away grow tray/light set up? i'm not sure how sensitive the plants in other trays are to light. the light will reflect off the ceiling, floor, walls and fall upon the plants in night cycle. i would like to use one tray for autoflower but they cannot be started for about a month after the regular and feminized.

this thread is 4 years old. is there now a consensus that 14 hours is best?

thanks for any advice or which shop to call for definitive methods!

Click to expand...

Sunlight said:

portlandish more central inland 45*N. the 4 grow shops i ask all give a diff answer and/or they're stumbled by the questions i brought up before i read this post. is this cast in stone now and the procedure is clear? doing all seeds this year. regular and feminized.
1. it's seems to make sense to set at 14 hours of light (grow shops told me 12 hours light at anytime will trigger flowering but ALL said do 18 or 20 hours on).
2a. our area had a freeze about may 30 last year so it's not safe to move outdoors earlier.
2b. the blog articles are mixed but the one's that look pro seem to agree moving out in June when near max sunlight is best. do 14 to 18 hours but gradually reduce 18 hours to 14 before you move outdoors. i'd rather just stick to 14 hours, any objections? LOL!
3a. we have no space for indoor flowering grow let alone the smell. we've converted our living room next to large windows but still have 2 T5 8 banks. set up for 2.5 months only.
3b. it's seems like we're trying to do something that has never been done on earth? what about every lowes, home depot and nursery selling indoor grown flowers and vegetables starts because it's too cold outdoors. that's why we pay extra for them. why don't these have all the problems too?
4. last year we bought 4 clones - they all started flowering after 4 weeks (forgot exactly but hit them with nitrogen and they started vegetative growing again) (i thought it was because i used black plastic pots and too small then i transferred to fabric 20 gal 30 gal. i thought my errors cause the flowering but maybe cause the clones were under 24 hour light. (got them at 5").
5. can a black sheet bet used to shield the light from a 2' away grow tray/light set up? i'm not sure how sensitive the plants in other trays are to light. the light will reflect off the ceiling, floor, walls and fall upon the plants in night cycle. i would like to use one tray for autoflower but they cannot be started for about a month after the regular and feminized.

this thread is 4 years old. is there now a consensus that 14 hours is best?

thanks for any advice or which shop to call for definitive methods!

Click to expand...

I'm a new grower in Massachusetts and germinated a few seeds at the end of March. I kept them under lights in my basement 24/7 until mid April, when it was 60 degrees or higher I would put them outside during the day, and bring them in at night under the lights (16/8). When it was warm enough at night I left them outside. (End of Apr)
Being an impatient man I want my pot as soon as possible, I started to put one plant in my shed at night for a 13/11 light schedule on May 13. (It's an indica so it does not need 12 hours of dark). It's now May 27 and it is beginning to stretch and flower nicely.
Depending on the number of plants you have you could put them out during the day to take advantage of the sun and inside under lights for a couple hours at night until the days are long enough.

The only problem with that scenario that was brough to my attention was inviting bugs back in to your indoor grow space...

Thread is still valid. The change from started seedlings/clones indoors on more manmade light to less natural (outdoor) can set your plants into early flower then into reveg as the days get longer.

Haven’t read this in quite awhile. Those pics are from 2008, second Grow. I get over a pound a plant now. All thanks to MP and of course thanks to my Mr TC.

Best plant I ever grew in a pot started indoors was this winter and put outside in spring. Huge tight buds and ended up with 18.1 OZs. Going to do the same thing every year. Was nice having a August harvest as I only grow indoors in the winter time and plants in my garden are still growing outside.

Light is one of the biggest factors contributing to plant shock. In fact, the intensity of sunlight outdoors is far greater than that found within the home. In order to make this transfer more successful and with the least amount of plant stress, you shouldn’t place any houseplant in direct sunlight outdoors. Instead, seek out a nicely shaded area, perhaps your patio or under a tree, and allow your plants to take in the fresh air for a few hours each day.

Cannapot1 said:

Light is one of the biggest factors contributing to plant shock. In fact, the intensity of sunlight outdoors is far greater than that found within the home. In order to make this transfer more successful and with the least amount of plant stress, you shouldn’t place any houseplant in direct sunlight outdoors. Instead, seek out a nicely shaded area, perhaps your patio or under a tree, and allow your plants to take in the fresh air for a few hours each day.

Click to expand...

exactly

this process is sometimes called hardening off

we take our vegging plants out into the partial shade/sun every day we can for as long as we can and then bring them back indoors under the lights

if a gardener tries to take a vegging plant from artificial lights and places them outdoors under the sun , that gardener is asking for trouble

I move my potted veggies in when it's under 55f at night and back out the next day until the temperature swing stops.

I’ll be doing that hardening off when I plant my girls now in veg under a plant light in my MBR. Now they are on 24 hour kinda as I turn the lights up full blast during the day and dim them at night. I may have to put them on a timer scheduled to the exact light outside before putting them out. I’ll probably be posting questions at that time as I do before any decision I make that causes me stress. This was a good post.

If u on the west coast I’m in California MAY 16 IS THE DATE TO PUT YOUR VEGGING PLANTS OUTDOORS AND THEY WILL NOT START TO FLOWER MAY 16 put your mature plants outdoors all of that trying to put mature plants out in April is a no no they gonna start budding immediately