Vortex stretch, when will it end?

Jar Man

Active Member
rocknratm-

Tube flours, some CFLs and MH are heavier in the blue spectrum which diminishes stretching. HPS are heavier in the orange/red spectrum bands which encourages stretching. Some strains are not as sensitive to this as others. The HPS became popular in the mid '80's because blooming is enhanced with the heavier orange/red bands. However many large scale growers mix MH and HPS 50/50 for a better overall balanced spectrum that more closely matches the sun.
 

wheezer

Well-Known Member
heard a trick: use MH your first 2 weeks of flower. will help lessen the stretch.

i am having just the opposite with Qrazy train, almost no stretch at all.
no doubt! I 've been doing this for a couple rounds now on 1 grow to see the difference, and it is big. I have the same issue with my Romulan stretchinbg like crazy....MH for 2-3 weeks at the beginning of flower reduced stretch from 15-18" in the first 3 weeks down to 12-15" in the first 3 weeks so Im know it works!!
 

OBMF

Member
Easiest way to stop stretching is to drop down the light as close as you can to the plants without inducing heat damage. I have a 1000 watt hps and keep mine about 6-8 inches away from the bulb and this effectively keeps my plant stems from stretching. Keeping the light that close makes your plants extra frosty during flowering as well. I just have a really strong fan blowing between the bulb and the plant to deal with any heating issues.
 

burrr

Well-Known Member
Easiest way to stop stretching is to drop down the light as close as you can to the plants without inducing heat damage. I have a 1000 watt hps and keep mine about 6-8 inches away from the bulb and this effectively keeps my plant stems from stretching. Keeping the light that close makes your plants extra frosty during flowering as well. I just have a really strong fan blowing between the bulb and the plant to deal with any heating issues.

Vortex, unfortunately, gets light bleaching quite easily. I've done 4 rounds of vortex, and the one that I started bloom nutes with extra P as soon as I moved it to flowering was the one with the least stretch. I did my latest round with plenty of N during early flower and strecth is back in full force. Vortex wants to stretch into a nice bush, don't try to fight it. :)
 

steampick

Active Member
I do the same thing, OBMF. Got a little fan always between my plant tops and light so I can bring it down as close as the plants say so.

Had four Super Lemon Haze vegged for 3 weeks then flipped and even the tallest one never got past 4-feet (HPS for the whole duration). This round, I've got some OJ Haze under MH for 4 weeks, then flipped. Right now they are tied down, otherwise they'd be 6-feet tall (they were 5-feet when I started lst). Thankfully, most cannabis is a very bendy plant.
 

heuheuheu

Member
Just to update. They have only put on maybe an inch in the last week so it seems that disaster was averted. Today when I was watering I noticed that the footprint seemed to have shrunk. I think this is due to removing my ties for the LST. I was getting caught on them and figured the branches had hardened enough that it would be safer to not have them tied down anymore. My guess is that I probably gained a number of inches due to a minor loss in training. I reorganized the plants to more of a V setup around my cool tube, removed the reflector wing and will probably lower the light tomorrow. In the end I feel like I've still got some great plants for a first go and look forward to next month. Here are a few pics, they will be 5 weeks on Friday(in two days).
Family - Copy.jpgMost of the grow box.
Jilly Bean #1(tall) - Copy.jpgJilly Bean #1 is very tall and will have a large yield.
Jilly Bean #2 - Copy.jpgJilly Bean #2 is short and bushy with many bud sites, it has a nice orange smell.
Vortex #1 - Copy.jpgVortex #1 is tall with a fruity smell.
Vortex #2 - Copy.jpgVortex #2 is tall with a body odor funk/poo smell.
Vortex #3 - Copy.jpgVortex #3 is tall with a citrus smell that is hard to put your finger on.
SLH #1 - Copy.jpgSuper Lemon Haze #1
SLH #2 - Copy.jpgSuper Lemon Haze #2
acid - Copy.jpgParadise Seeds - Acid: I popped this seed late when I was worried about getting too many males. It started kind of slow with some deformities but ended up having 3 sets of leaves per node and will be a fantastic producer. I'm shocked with this one to be honest, it was a UFO from the tude and I really wish I had cloned it. It was showing trichomes really early and has some seriously dense nugs compared to the rest.
 

Snafu1236

Well-Known Member
First of all, you guys are all flowering some tiny plants. If you want to grow soil, you have to spend time in veg. Sub vegs for up to 60 days, I veg until roughly 18" tall. You need time to develop thick stems and thick roots, you CAN NOT do that in less than a month. A few weeks more in veg will more than double to triple yields... but anyway.


If you have height problems then you need to do your research better, because both Vortex and Jilly are well known for their stretch. Its also not recommended to top vortex, and IME I agree. Vortex from seed, will more than double in size, and will continue vertical growth fro roughly 3 weeks into flower.


I would suggest trying to find a way to move your light up, start pinching the tallest shoots to slow them down, and get to bending and tying. On the bright side, Vortex clones are much more manageable than those from seed.
I cannot agree with you more.
 
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