How To Transition From Vegetative To Flowering Stages

When you are at the stage of getting ready to move from the vegetative to the flowering stage with your plants, it needs to be done carefully so that your crop thrives through the cycles. 

It can be critical to transition your plants as smoothly as possible to stay healthy and not go into shock damage. 

There are some things to take into consideration as you move through these stages, and we have listed the things below that are crucial points to follow when your plants are ready for the transition. 

The Light Cycle Starts The Flowering Process 

When the light cycle provides your plants with longer hours of uninterrupted darkness, the plants enter the flowering stage. The plants stop growing, and instead the plants start putting their energy into producing flowers.

When plants are grown outdoors, this process usually happens when the days get shorter toward the end of summer. When plants are grown indoors, the flowering begins when you switch your lights to 10 to 12 hours of darkness.

This part of the process will last about seven to nine weeks, although some plants will take longer.

Transition Into Flowering As Smoothly As Possible

When transitioning from vegetative to the flowering stage, your plants will require different humidity levels and different temperatures than what they did as vegging plants. Some growers tend to change the temperature, the humidity, and the light cycle all at the same time. 

However, it is best to change the temperature and humidity over a two day period of time and then let your plants grow accustomed to these changes. You are leaving them in veg for a few days before changing your lights.

It Is Important To Get The Light Right

Like the red and orange wavelengths during flowering, your plants, between 580-700nm, encourage their flowers' ripening. For the best results, is it good to use a grow light with this spectrum during the bloom stage.

When It is Close To Bloom, Don't Transplant

Transplanting will be a shock to any plant. It is best to avoid transplanting both before or while the flowering stage is in process. Transplanting at this time can damage the yield.

Before Flowering Trim Excess Foliage

Before the flowering stage, it is an essential step to trim and train your plants a little to allow light to reach the bud sites. There are different opinions as to the best way to approach trimming. 

Kyle Kushman's recommendation is that if the tip of a branch doesn't break at least 50% of the height of the plant, trimming should take place. This helps the plant to concentrate its energy on the flowering that will produce the best product.

The Humidity Should Be Kept At 45% At This Stage

One thing that you want to avoid is bud rot at this point. It could ruin an entire crop if you are not careful. To protect your plants, keep the relative humidity to 45%, which will help optimize your plant's growth.

Monitor The Temperature At All Times 

Your plants are going to like daytime temperatures between 80 and 85 degrees. During the nighttime, the temperatures should be 70 to 75 degrees. 

Be careful that there are no sudden drops in temperature or that there are also no spikes in temperature. These changes can shock the plants. When there are sudden rises in temperature, it can cause condensation to form and lead to rot.

Consider A Carbon-Filtered Airflow System

If possible, supplement the airflow system with CO 2 during the bloom phase. This can enhance growth and yield. Try to keep the CO 2 levels at 1,000 to 1,200ppm during the flowering phase.

Guard Against Nutrient Burn

If nutrient burn happens during flowering, you can't undo the damage. It is best to follow a feeding calendar that you adhere to strictly. Stop feeding two weeks before harvest and flush the plants.

Heavy Buds Need To Be Supported

Sometimes the flowering plants will buckle under the weight of the buds. To avoid this, you can use bamboo stakes in the pots to support the heavily loaded branches. 

Use the stakes and string to support the branches and make sure that they get as much light as possible.

Protect Against Light Burn

Just like with nutrient burn, if your plants get light burn during flowering, you can't undo that. This can be avoided by keeping the lights a distance from the top of the canopy. 

If plants get light burns, it will damage healthy foliage and cause calcium deficiencies in the early flowering phase. If you see any type of bleaching on your plants, it is likely that you need to lift the lights higher.

Fulvic Acid Should Be Used During Pre-Flowering

Fulvic acid used in the late veg/early bloom phase will help increase buds' size early on. It is also good to remember that your plants will need more calcium during bloom in both hydro and soil setups.

Step By Step Transition From Veg To Flower

Step One

For the first one to two days in flowering, let your plants get used to the 12-hour photoperiod. The light intensity should be the same as what the exposure to light was in the vegetive stage.

Step Two

Once the plants are acclimated, they gradually increase the light intensity by about 10% every one to two days.

Step Three

When the light intensity is at the level you want for flowers, work on adjusting other environmental variables that they need. 

Any changes made in cultivation can impact plant performance during your plants' transition through their life stages. It is best for your plants to minimize the number and amount of changes you make at any one time.

In Conclusion

When your plants transition from vegetative to the flowering stage, it is the critical last phase for your plants. You can see that the harvest is in sight. This is the worst time to make mistakes that will result in the loss of your harvest. 

With careful consideration and monitoring of your plants, you will be able to bring your crop to fruition.