“Why are my weed plants growing so slowly?” is a question and problem that no gardener wants to face but must be addressed.
Slow plant development can be caused by various factors, both inside the plant and how it is grown. Let’s go over the most common causes of sluggish plant development in your garden and how detecting early indicators of slow growth can help you save your cannabis plants.
Help, My Weed Plants Are Growing Slow Outdoors!
Although cannabis can grow in almost any environment, such as a closet or the outdoors, the process from seed to harvest is complex if you want to develop great buds.
Especially if we’re talking about growing photoperiod cannabis outside, it’s damaging to you and your cannabis if it takes its sweet time germinating.
If you’re new to cultivating, photoperiod cannabis strains only flower when exposed to a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark cycle. Outdoor growers face challenges in growing photoperiod cannabis because they rely on sunshine.
Because you’re at the mercy of the weather, time is of the essence. You should grow your cannabis plant until it is at least 4 feet tall. You must also maintain the health of your weed plants.
You’ll have fewer buds if you don’t meet your weed plants’ demands before mid-autumn. Most producers combat this by deceiving their plants into remaining in their vegetative phase with artificial light until they reach the appropriate size for flowering. However, the cost of this alone is not inexpensive.
So, it’s a lose-lose situation. Slow plant growth impacts indoor producers as well, as it requires them to keep the lights on for longer, increasing the power cost. And if you’re trying to cultivate weed plants covertly, a higher electrical price implies you’re more likely to be discovered.
How are you going to solve this issue? Be proactive. Check the condition of your cannabis leaves for early warning signals of sluggish plant growth. Typically, the first indicators of poor development show when the leaves are:
- Diminished in size
- Wilting
- Leaves are yellow
- Brown around the edges and tips
- Shriveled
Top Reasons for Slow Cannabis Growth & How to Deal with Them
Poor Genetics
The most apparent reason for delayed plant growth is cheap weed seeds with poor genetics.
This occurs when you use old seeds lying around or random seeds obtained from another enthusiast. Seeds with faulty DNA will take longer to germinate and thrive. They might not even grow.
Stop attempting to answer the question, “What are the reasons why my weed plants are developing slowly?” Make things a little easy on yourself. Choose high-quality seeds that are guaranteed to germinate. i49 sells the best cannabis genotypes.
But what if you’re working with clones from a genetically sound parent? Your issue could be rooted in troubles in your cuttings that impede their growth.
To correct this, soak the bottoms of your cuttings in apple cider vinegar before placing them in your rooting media. Along with vinegar and water, Apple cider vinegar acts as a natural rooting hormone, promoting root formation in your clones. If you have chemical solutions on hand, you can also utilize them.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Because of the similarity in their early symptoms, nutrient insufficiency is sometimes confused with a nutrient burn. Growers should be concerned about nutrient deficits and overfeeding their weed plants.
A lack of nutrients will cause irreversible damage to your cannabis and hinder development if it is not handled correctly.
Knowing how long the nutrients in the commercial potting mix you’re growing will last (usually 3-4 weeks) will help you determine whether the problem is oversaturating or depriving your plants of nutrients.
Another factor to consider is the stage of your cannabis. Your weed plants require a lot of nitrogen during the vegetative phase.
Nitrogen is essential for plant growth and is a crucial component of photosynthesis.
You’ll need a lot during the vegetative stage, but it’s critical to change the type of fertilizer once your cannabis enters the flowering stage, when it doesn’t require as much nitrogen.
This cannabis feeding guide will teach you more about cannabis nutrients.
Keep in mind that other factors, such as sun exposure and the type of growing media you’re using, can induce nutritional shortages in your plants.
Marijuana Plant Overwatering
Water is required for your cannabis to be able to transpire. Too much of it, though, might drown or stunt your weed plants. Transpiration is the passage of water throughout your plant that transports nutrients that aid in its growth.
It’s usually beneficial, but did you realize that nearly all of the water you give your cannabis (97-99.5 percent!) is lost through transpiration and guttation?
This explains why it’s so simple to drown your weed plants by mistakenly overwatering them, especially if you follow fixed watering schedules. Why is this the case?
Shouldn’t the fact that you’re timing it to make it less likely? No, not always. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is a term that refers to how the transpiration process in cannabis is affected.
If your cannabis cannot transpire adequately, your soil will become saturated due to the surplus water that your plant was unable to take.
If your soil isn’t well-aerated or your pot has inadequate drainage, it can become waterlogged. If left alone, your cannabis roots will struggle to acquire enough oxygen, causing them to stop developing.
Worse yet, they suffer root rot. To avoid this, purchase a well-draining pot and mix perlite into your soil.
Bad Cannabis Plant Lighting
Proper illumination is critical to the growth of good cannabis. If you have an indoor setup, one of your key concerns should be maintaining adequate light coverage for your cannabis growing. The development of your cannabis will be affected by how you position your grow lights.
If you set your grow lights too close together, your cannabis leaves will burn. In addition, whether you’re cultivating seedlings or clones, the bright light will stunt their growth.
If you set them too far apart or at an inconvenient angle, your weed plants will spend most of their time straining towards the light rather than growing—a skinny cannabis plant with scant branches that produce low yields when harvested.
Aside from where you set your grow lights, the type you use can significantly impact plant development. Cannabis works well with HIDs.
They are available in both Metal Halide (MH) and High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) (HPS). Because cannabis responds to different colors of light, you’d need to adjust your lighting based on the stage of growth of your plant. MH emits a cooler blue light appropriate for your plant’s vegetative phase, while HPS emits a warm, reddish light ideal for blooming cannabis.
Problems with Marijuana Plant Temperature
The temperature has a significant impact on the growth and health of your cannabis plant since it influences its ability to photosynthesize and respire. When the temperature rises, the rate of photosynthesis and respiration in your weed plants rises.
It has the opposite impact when the temperature becomes uncomfortably hot for your plants.
Unfavorable low temperatures can also stifle cannabis plant growth by slowing its metabolic activities.
So, how can you keep excessive temperatures at bay?
This isn’t a big deal for outdoor growers, but it can be a problem for indoor producers because grow lights generate heat. Even the best lights can generate heat, and if not monitored, the temperature in your grow room can fluctuate.
Although HIDs are suitable for cannabis cultivation, they generate a lot of heat, challenging to manage.
Not enough Darkness
Just as light and temperature are critical in the growth of your cannabis, so are their dark cycles. Although darkness is considered “rest time” for your plant, it does not necessarily mean that nothing is happening.
Weed plants can still breathe even if they can’t photosynthesize. It may not be as prolific as photosynthesis, but it is sufficient to keep them alive and growing at night.
Dark cycles, in particular, are critical for cannabis flowering. If you disrupt them during this cycle by leaving your grow lights on all night, the buds of your cannabis will cease growing.
In the worst-case scenario, your flowering cannabis could pollinate the buds and damage them.
This problem is simple to avoid since it only affects blooming cannabis.
It’s not a big deal if your cannabis is still in the vegetative stage; at this point, it’s safe to expose it to light for longer lengths of time.
Slow Growth of Marijuana Plants? It isn’t over yet!
If you notice that your cannabis grows slowly, don’t despair; it’s not the world’s end. When it comes to cannabis cultivation, many faults emerge early enough to be corrected – if you know what indicators to look for. I strongly advise you to compare your plant’s troubles and uncover problems by inspecting its leaves.