First post, First Plant and First questions

Hello all,

New grower here with some new grower questions. I've been checking around on the boards and other sites for these answers but was wondering if I could get some answers from experience. If these questions have been answered elsewhere I'd really appreciate links to those threads. I also tend to WAY over think things so if any of these examples sound like I'm chasing a rabbit please let me know.

1.) When do I mark a plants younger stages of development. ex
I germinated a seed using paper towel on 9/2
It popped on 9/6 and was planted to a solo cup
The sprout broke ground on 9/10

So how old is the plant on 9-24? (I ask because I have some plants that where germinated, planted and broke ground in 3 days.)

2.) Can I pre sex a plant using cutting?
I am working with unknown seeds and, due to plant counts allowed, would prefer to sex a plants as early as possible to save flowering space. I have read that you can top the plant, re root the top and then 12/12 it to see the sex. I'm concerned about the effects this has on me being able to harvest further clones should the top be female and any effects it may have on topping/training.

3.) Crowding.
I understand the basic concepts of space for light density, oxygen/carbon etc. I also understand the idea of sexed plants crowding one another but, all environmental needs med, will they hinder each others growth just be being near each other?


Thank you all for your time and information. I'm sure more will come.

Hello and welcome to RIU,
First of all mate keep it simple,
Second less is more when it comes to everything growing.
Third buy female seeds and you wont have to stuff around with all those time waiting steps,

Not sure what your asking about plant age, pre sexing a plant with cutting is not something iv done before lol,
As for space don't pack the shit outta ya tent because later on your going to have all kinds of problems.

I know this isn't really answering your questions but that's just my 2 cents lol
@hotrodharley might be able to help you a little more then me tonight,
Hope your grow works out and best of luck

1) chasing a rabbit, dont worry about how "old" it is, count days after light cycle change if you want, or once it starts flowering if you are outdoor, but dont concern yourself with age of veg plant(rabbit hole)
2) sexing a cutting is done by nipping off a branch or top, putting it in a cup of water and placing it into 12/12 to force that piece into showing sex to identify the sex of the parent plant, if you wait till its big enough to take a rootable cutting from your top, then root it, then force it to show sex, my guess is the mother plant will be showing by then anyways
3) crowding, depending on lighting you will have a lighting (footprint) of x amount of coverage, dont plant more than that remember final plant size will be about 2x size of plant at start of flower cycle, so when your footprint is half full, its full

Cut a clone and flower the original plant if you're in a race. Crowding is fine within reason. SOG is just that. Jammed together. The more plants the more air movement is needed. Ventilation is a key part of growing and should not be underestimated.

I usually cut clones then flower the parent. If it turns out male I kill it and all it's clones. You can always clone the clones for more later.

Bbcchance said:

1) chasing a rabbit, dont worry about how "old" it is, count days after light cycle change if you want, or once it starts flowering if you are outdoor, but dont concern yourself with age of veg plant(rabbit hole)
2) sexing a cutting is done by nipping off a branch or top, putting it in a cup of water and placing it into 12/12 to force that piece into showing sex to identify the sex of the parent plant, if you wait till its big enough to take a rootable cutting from your top, then root it, then force it to show sex, my guess is the mother plant will be showing by then anyways
3) crowding, depending on lighting you will have a lighting (footprint) of x amount of coverage, dont plant more than that remember final plant size will be about 2x size of plant at start of flower cycle, so when your footprint is half full, its full

Click to expand...

1. It was kinda my gut feeling that vegetative stages were more fluid. Thank you for the confirmation. (Been reading too many "Stages of marijuana plant life" posts

2. It didn't dawn on me until you said it but it totally makes sense that a clone is going to be a poor indicator of the parent plant if saving time is the goal due to ... well time. I'll take some healthy clones when the time comes and assume they are good until the parent tells me otherwise... then I'll bust in their bedroom like Darth Vader!

3. I can hang with that. I'll let my available grow environment dictate plant number and then grow those plants to fit that space. Seems like a less backwards way to think about it than what I had in my head.


Thank you for the information.

hotrodharley said:

Cut a clone and flower the original plant if you're in a race. Crowding is fine within reason. SOG is just that. Jammed together. The more plants the more air movement is needed. Ventilation is a key part of growing and should not be underestimated.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I think I've just gotten a little over anxious. I dont think a SOG will be in my future (we are only allowed 6 plants in flower) but I will keep my available grow environment in mind.

Thank you

~MoE~ said:

Hello and welcome to RIU,
First of all mate keep it simple,
Second less is more when it comes to everything growing.
Third buy female seeds and you wont have to stuff around with all those time waiting steps,

Not sure what your asking about plant age, pre sexing a plant with cutting is not something iv done before lol,
As for space don't pack the shit outta ya tent because later on your going to have all kinds of problems.

I know this isn't really answering your questions but that's just my 2 cents lol
@hotrodharley might be able to help you a little more then me tonight,
Hope your grow works out and best of luck

Click to expand...

Thank you for the welcome!

I do agree that it is very easy to begin overthinking what is essentially a very basic process. To be fair I blame you guys posting pictures of your 28 cola plants! Thanks for the reply!