7 weeks need help!

it was given to me as a gift 5 weeks ago and i was told it was two weeks, although it was 9 inches tall! im not even sure if its a clone or seed. its my first grow and i have no idea what im doing but im following a grow guide book. i have it in a small closet with a cheap sprial bulb and plain potting soil. not sure if it looks good or not? what im doing wrong or right? any advice would be awesome

Its still alive, I'd saying your doing pretty good what are you trying to do? produce fat buds or just learn how our beloved plant grows?

thanks! just learn how this grows and eventually make it a successful hobby! would u know if the age could be right or if its a clone or not and when and how will i know if its a female?

Well age at this point really doesn't matter, a 7 week old plant can be anywhere from 10'' to over 2 ft. When you feel like you're ready for your plant to show its sex you're going to have to change the lighting period to 12 on 12 off. The first few weeks with the lighting schedule your plant will grow vigorously and show flowers. These flowers appear where the leaves meet the stem. A small pod with white hairs is female. A raised pod that begins pushing out more pods is male.

WOW, just goes to prove the point I have been trying to make. It is a weed that wants to grow and does not need to be 'spoiled' by expensive equipment and over-complication! Good job, nice and healthy! The best advice I can offer is to read, study, plan, and act. Tons of great people and info on RIU. Please check the link in my signature. It is a thread with a bunch of great videos done by master growers with 1st timers in mind. I do have 1 warning...cannabis growing is much more than a hobby, it is the only thing about the plant that is truly addicting! +rep for a great start!

and yes, preferably fat buds! there are lots of small leaves at the bottom which are growing poorly, can i cut them so the plant will give all of its energy to the top fat leaves? im planning on getting some quality lights but not sure what kind for this stage and when should i change the lighting schedule? thanks budz will check the vids!

I have to agree here with Bk and that is an awesome looking plant. (IMO) I would say that is a clone, since I believe that plants that are produced from seeds, you can tell by the fan leaves growing 180 degrees from each other. "Clones grow and branch in an unruly manner ... Seed growth more uniform" ~ Old Hippie From the 70's. As far as age, that is harder to judge, but I would have to say it is in the ballpark at 8-9 weeks.
Take Bk;'s advice and look and study the tutorials. I know I have, and are having some great results with my 1st grow. There are some great members on here that will steer you right, throughout your "Hobby". Just remember that "Weed" is just that, a weed, and therefore, will be resilient and a tad more forgiving to you in you mess up.
Best of Luck ~ The MaineYankee (+Rep for Having a "Green Thumb)

thanks yankee! would you say this is the pre vegetive stage?

Yes you can prune the smaller leaves or let them age and die off on their own either way. Are you planning on staying with CFLS or going to tubes, or HID's? I see your walls are already painted flat white. You can loose that tin-foil ain't doing her any good anyway and the paint is more reflective. If you go HID, which will produce the best plants, absolutely remove the tin-foil. It will create hot-spots and burn her. As for changing the schedule to 12/12, that depends on a few other things...How much light you have, how much height you have, and when you plan to harvest are the basics. If you stay CFL, the light will not penetrate deep enough to do a lot of good under the canopy, unless you add more of them. BTW any light source you choose should be 6400K range in spectrum for vegging, and 2700K range for flowering, or a mixture of both. A cannabis plant will double and sometimes triple during flowering so you want to consider height restriction. And the longer you wait, the longer you have until harvest.

mlex420 said:

and yes, preferably fat buds! there are lots of small leaves at the bottom which are growing poorly, can i cut them so the plant will give all of its energy to the top fat leaves? im planning on getting some quality lights but not sure what kind for this stage and when should i change the lighting schedule? thanks budz will check the vids!

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At this stage, again only IMO, I would leave them be. When they fall of (if they do), then remove them. They may take off running, and if you do clip them, your loss. Def take your time on the lights. That is so critical in getting you "dialed in" to getting some great big buds that you stated you wanted in your opening statement. There are so many to choose from, so take your time, and scour the posts and see what everyone else is using. Lighting Schedule; again, IMO, you will know. Since I do not know what you have for space, nor the strain it is. In general, when you switch the schedule from 18/6 or whatever you are using, and go to 12/12, most strains triple in size. So if you are at 1 foot in veg, you should top out at 3 feet in flower. Once again, all of this info are in the vids.
Best suggestion to you is to grab a pen and paper, a cup of joe or whatever, smoke a fatty, and watch away
Best of Luck to You Mlex ~ The MaineYankee

She is in vegetative stage now. BTW it may be time to move her into a larger home, I believe I see a root tip at the bottom of your pic. I would suggest avoiding additional transplants and putting her in the pot you want her to finish in. A good rule of thumb is to have 1 gallon of soil for every foot in height you want her to be at harvest.

that girl looks very healthy so you're doing something right! i would say, make sure you have everything set up and ready to go for what you want to accomplish before you flip to flower. it can be much less forgiving than if something were to happen in veg.

definitely taking your advice on the HID's! would it be too much for this stage? my closet is 4x2 5ft high and gets below 50 deg. at times. how long can i wait to harvest and would it yield more buds waiting? how long should i harvest for ? what nutrients are mandatory?

With 5 feet I would not let her get more than 2.5' before switching. What nutes you need are completely dependent on what is in your medium, and what stage she is in. For vegging the Nitrogen requirement is higher and in flowering the need for Nitrogen is reduced and Potassium and Phosphorous is increased. I sugggest getting a simple nute system. I have used Thechnaflora's recipe for success exclusively for all my grows. My girls love it and it is completely idiot proof. You also want to do something about increasing the temp in your closet. cannabis thrives best at temps between 76 and 84. It is ok to go down 10 degrees or so in resting periods. But too cold of an area can cause issues with nutrient lock out.

she's about a foot and a half now! i transplanted her 3 weeks ago (root bound) shes been under 18/6 for a week now since 24/0 i was planning on switching to 12/12 in 8 weeks? but how will i know when the time is right and if its indeed female?

thanks misty!

Cannabis will show pre-floering signs during mid to late vegetative stages. However, I highly suggest waiting until you switch to determine sex. Here is a pic of what too look for...View attachment 1972878

mlex420 said:

definitely taking your advice on the HID's! would it be too much for this stage? my closet is 4x2 5ft high and gets below 50 deg. at times. how long can i wait to harvest and would it yield more buds waiting? how long should i harvest for ? what nutrients are mandatory?

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I would kindly ask that you take a breath Ml I think you are putting the cart in front of the horse just a tad. "Patience is the key to success".
Harvest is just that ... It is the time when you cut down your plant, and reap the rewards that your plant has given to you. It is an act of love. Love it, and it will love you back. The correct verbage here is Flower or Flowering Stage. Most plants (depending on strains) go anywhere from 48 days, and some up over 100 days of Flowering. You best bet is to calm down ... I know it's hard, for we all have been there as excited as you are currently. But you have to. For both yourself, and the plant that you love and are excited about. Take the time and effort and watch the vid's. All of the info is there, including what nutes to get and everything. Trust me. We will be here tomorrow
Peace and Love ~ The MaineYankee

if its in fact a clone would i grow it any different from a seed in this stage? sorry for bombardering you guys with ??? just really anxious and enjoying the positive feedback! i appreciate all you stoners!!

an hid can really help you control that temp during the winter and produce bud much better. just cycle your lights during the night and its also a heater. but also be prepared for it to get too hot inn your small grow area as well. personally, i prefer to veg under fluorescents because of the efficiency of the energy used.

you can introduce an hid. initially, keep a good distance between the bulb and the plant, then gradually mover her closer as she acclimates.

as far as how long it will be til harvest, it is really strain and environment dependent. generally, indoors, it should be between 8-14 weeks of flower. with your plant appearing to be indica dominant, there's a good chance she will be closer to 8.

here are the necessary nutrients for a cannabis plant: (macro) nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, (micro) iron, boron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum, chlorine, cobalt, nickel, and not sure if i missed any....

for fertilizer, there is more debate and myth than i could ever stay interested in. for a better recommendation, what have you been using so far?