I have a few grows under my belt and still learning. What would cause a plant NOT to stretch or not much at all and the colas never fill out or fatten up. Not all of my plants do this a plant growing next to it same breeder and strain and it takes off and looks really good with nice colas and these are indica dominate that are Topped once and scrog. Veg time from seed was about 5 weeks or so. Setup 3x3x6 tent Soil grow Fox farms OF 600 Watt HPS FF Trio Calmag every once in a while Thanks
If growing from seed, there will be genetic variation between the plants. You can see all kinds of different things between seeds of the same strain. Now if you were growing clones and that was happening, then you would have a problem.
Cut the roots directly off the stem of the plant . This for sure will cause them not to stretch . Also feed them hot coffee every grow . Perfect . The super hot soil from scalding hot water should prevent them from stretching . Let pets dig in the flower pots and play . Suggest putting a large animal on a leash and attach it to the plant then throw a ball . Throw the entire plant into the ocean . This EDUCATIONAL video will also show you how to split a plant so it will not stretch .
Silica in a foliar tends to reduce stretch. You can also do a hard generative steer right at the start of flower by cutting way way down on nitrogen, which tends to urge the plant along to flower and finish, reducing stretch but maybe reducing yield too. Experimenting with this now on a Gruntz with good results so far.
Supplement some UV-A lighting, helps keep the plants short and bushy. According to Dr Bruce Bugbee. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
cutting your nitrogen is a great point, while in veg if you can find that balance between your N and P , by focusing on more root growth and have bigger and better feet for bigger yield, but you also need that N in vegative state so tweaking the balance would be a chore but beneficial down the line in flower. i also use HID lighting and i can reduce stretch just by lowering the light
I not looking for a way to make them not stretch. The buds are also not big and fat very small colas. But the plant next or it same strain same breeder grows like it is suppose to, I just don't get it.
Genetics play a huge role. Usually the slow growing, minimal stretching plants are some of the best but they can be so dense mold and ultra fluffy buds under the tops are big issues.
Some people have a kid with downs syndrome. Then they have another that is an Olympic athlete. Seeds are like children. They have some predispositions, but in the end, its a lottery.
Reversing the temperature difference from day to night can shorten internodes. You want day time temps (lights on, not necessarily "daytime") to be lower then night time temps, that will shorten the nodes and lessen the stretch. The day time temps don't have to be cool all day, the first couple hours of light are most important. Where i live this would be impossible without running up a huge electricity bill but if you lived somewhere with cold temps it would be worth trying https://hightimes.com/grow/grow-hack-day-and-night-growroom-temperatures/ There are links to research in that article. https://hightimes.com/grow/grow-hack-day-and-night-growroom-temperatures/
I've had this many times, and for many its a combination of things, anything as simple as under watering to poor light control, even genetics will all have a bearing, its the red light the 2700k in the hps that stimulates the auxins/hormones' that dictates the 'stretch' or the gap between internodes, vegging under cool white like 5600k keeps them very short, but be warned close internodes, = makes mold, for me a little stretch with autos is a good thing, I used to hang a 16inch string of the hps bulb to set the correct height but now have gone to LEDS consider a LST? cheers