In our last article, we discussed how long it takes to grow weed. And in that article, explained that this is determined by the length of the various stages of growth.
What are the Stages of Growth for a weed plant?
Well, as a weed (i.e. cannabis) plant grows, it goes through stages just like a human would. You can think of humans as going from infant to toddler, to child to teenager, to adult, and to elderly. At each of these stages, we humans have different needs.
An infant needs a lot of sleep, and it needs regular feedings from breast milk or formula. A toddler needs even more calories, as well as daily naps, sometimes two. A small child may need a nap depending on activity and a teenager needs a ton of calories and also a ton of sleep.
A teenager can also be stressed through physical training, and recover from that stress, due to the introduction of hormones not possessed by a small child.
A weed plant, just like a human, has its own stages of growth during its lifecycle. And just like children and adults have different needs, so do weed plants as they grow.
How many different Stages of a Weed Plant are there?
If you search the internet, you may find two different answers. Some websites may say that there are four stages of growth for cannabis. And then other sites may reference only two stages.
What gives?
Well, it just depends on what you consider to be a stage. The sources that refer to four stages will generally count the following:
- Germination
- Seedling
- Vegetation
- Flowering
And then you will have websites like ours that often refer to only two stages, Veg and flower.
The reason we tend to refer to two stages is that we are indoor growers and we are always referring to the two light stages.
The germination stage is not really a stage in the context of cultivation. You plant a seed and it either sprouts or it doesn’t.
Seedlings are the tiny little products of a sprouted seed taking root and push up above the dirt. A seedling, even when subjected to 12/12 light, will not flower until it has first reached a sufficient height.
And then after the seedling is six to twelve inches tall, it starts going through it’s vegetative growth, unless the light cycle is switched wherein it will begin flowering.
But for purposes of an indoor grower, just know that the first two stages – germination and seedling – take place in the first two weeks.
Therefore, when we talk about the various stages of growth for a weed plant, we are really talking about the Vegetative Stage and the Flowering Stage.
The Different Stages of Growing Weed is controlled by your light cycle
When you grow weed indoors, you can control what stage the plant is in by controlling the light cycle.
You first start with the 18/6 light cycle. You can read these articles to decide how long to keep your plants in this light cycle.
Next you would switch to the 12/12 light cycle for flowering your plants.
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the different stages of growing a cannabis plant. Growing weed is simple once you understand the different phases the plant must go through. Once you understand that, you simply give the plant what it needs, when it needs it, and you reap the reward at harvest time.