Full Blown Buds In Veg

[Calimari]

I'm feeling kinds foolish on this one, so help me out. I've got my legal limit of plants (24) veg, and I'm running about 6 different strains, all of which I've grown before. All are clones from mothers that I've grown myself. About 20% of the plants, from 4 different strains, are showing full-blown buds and they're several weeks away from going into the bloom room. They are in 18/6 under a 400 watt MH. They are only 9"-12" high and sporting marble size buds that I wouldn't normally see until 2 weeks into a 12/12 cycle. I assumed that the bud action would be temporary and that the 18 hours of light would force them back into veg, but that has not happened at all.

 

1) Given the situation, would you just throw them into flower and accept that they will be tiny when finished, or keep them in veg longer?

 

2) What do you think caused this, knowing that it is happening to several different lines but only affecting a minority of plants?

[Kingdiamond]

My brother ran into this same issue utilizing the 18-6 veg light schedule and it continued until he set it to 24-7 (always on) like i run in my garden.

 

Reguardless of their size flowering plants will double and sometimes triple in size under the hps lamps id place each premature flowering lady in flower asap.

[ToadInCan]

About a year ago I read an article in HighTimes, something like "It's all in the veg". The plant builds it's structure in the veg phase, and the better the structure - the better the yield. I know that there's a lot more to it than that, but I'm learning that the article made a good point. After vegging some beautiful big plants, I had too many monsters in my flower room. They were great strains, and I got good cuttings from the ones that I wanted to keep. I figured that I'd put them into flower while they were smaller, and not have to deal with all the big trees. Well, I now have some beautiful little plants packing on the buds. The problem is that there isn;t as much structure, and there won't be as much yield. I did need to give my plants more space in flower, but it was a mistake to do it the way I did. I've got new lights and plans in my head for more flower space, and I'm gonna veg little monsters again and not have to crowd them at all. I guess my point is that you really should veg the plants until they build sufficient structure. If you put those young plants of yours into flower now, you won't get the yield that you'd hope for. If you're gonna use up nutes and electricity for at least two months, you might as well put a decently vegged plant in flower. Just my humble opinion, but I'm looking at plants right now that have done quite well. The trichs are creamy and just turning amber. The hairs are pulling back in, and the leaves are fading. It'll be good medicine. Too bad I didn't veg them longer... there'd be at least twice as much.

[jayt]

If they have always been at 18 hours or longer with light then something caused them to auto-flower. What are the strains? Has there been any unusual stress? Something happen that never happened before? What are they growing in? I saw one time a root bound plant begin to flower under 24 hours of light, it was in soil that was too hard for the roots to push through. If they are auto-flowering they probably won't stop. If you keep the plants then leave them at 18/6 you might as well get the benefit of more growth that the extended light will allow for.

[Shredder]

Were the clones taken while the mom was in flower? That will make for buds on clones, but normal growth will come back in a week or two of vegging......shredder

[pic book]

I wud add with some deformed leaves forming on the lower plant, but they are harmless and will soon be outgrown.

[tricloud]

Sounds like genetics and a weak light. How old is the 400 watt bulb? Do any of these strains have lowryder or other auto-flower varieties in their genetic make-up? Are the plants that are growing buds on the far end of the light footprint?

[ToadInCan]

shredder and picbook make a couple good points. If you took the clones after veg, even just a couple days into flower, then the hormones would have been changing. The leaves do all sorts of funky things, and the buds will form until the plant is forced back into veg. I'd still force them back into veg if it were me. Then make sure that you get your cuttings before you move them into flower next time. If the same thing happens, then it's genetics. But four different strains doing the same thing? I'd guess it's mechanical or environmental. Let us know what happens, calimari. We all learn from this adventure.

[Calimari]

I made a small error when initially reporting my problem. Turns out it was only two strains that were doing it, not four. One of the plants died naturally while vegging, so I'll just concentrate on the other three. These were from two different mothers of the same strain, which is Rx from Vancouver Seed Company. It is a cross between Romulan and F*&king Incredible, so no auto-flower in those genes. They are under a 6-month old MH light and receive as much light as any other plant in the room (i.e. they are not on the fringe of the light pattern). All were removed from their mothers while still under 18/6, so these were not "flowering clones". I ended up moving one into flower immediately, waited two weeks to put the second one in, and the third is still in the veg room. Oddly enough, all three are progressing identically! They have turned into bonsai trees - buds are moving along and all vegetative growth has stopped. You'd have thought that going from 18/6 w/ 400 watts of MH to 12/12 w/ 600 watts of HPS would make a difference, but they look identical.

 

One more twist to the story: Just before they started growing buds I took some clones off them, and now their kids are showing preflowers and in one case full buds while still in the clone dome under 24/7 light! I feel like I'm looking at a 2 year old baby who is growing a beard. My buddy is now calling this strain "Benjamin Button".

[LoudPack]

I made a small error when initially reporting my problem. Turns out it was only two strains that were doing it, not four. One of the plants died naturally while vegging, so I'll just concentrate on the other three. These were from two different mothers of the same strain, which is Rx from Vancouver Seed Company. It is a cross between Romulan and F*&king Incredible, so no auto-flower in those genes. They are under a 6-month old MH light and receive as much light as any other plant in the room (i.e. they are not on the fringe of the light pattern). All were removed from their mothers while still under 18/6, so these were not "flowering clones". I ended up moving one into flower immediately, waited two weeks to put the second one in, and the third is still in the veg room. Oddly enough, all three are progressing identically! They have turned into bonsai trees - buds are moving along and all vegetative growth has stopped. You'd have thought that going from 18/6 w/ 400 watts of MH to 12/12 w/ 600 watts of HPS would make a difference, but they look identical.

 

One more twist to the story: Just before they started growing buds I took some clones off them, and now their kids are showing preflowers and in one case full buds while still in the clone dome under 24/7 light! I feel like I'm looking at a 2 year old baby who is growing a beard. My buddy is now calling this strain "Benjamin Button".

 

 

Seems like your ruling out autoflowering, light problems and flowering mama as the culprit. Logically speaking this leaves only one culprit...your strain. Lowryder isnt the only autoflowering strain, you could have very easily had beans with "the potential" to autoflower and guess what? they did..or at least some. Thats the thing with seed moms and clones from seed moms....unpredictable.

 

 

I would chalk it off as autoflowering tendencies in "Rx"

 

Peace

[peanutbutter]

Check for spider mites.

[MrShpongle]

Check for spider mites.

Just out of curiosity, why would mites promote early flowering? Not questioning you, but wondering what the link between the two is.

[peanutbutter]

Just out of curiosity, why would mites promote early flowering? Not questioning you, but wondering what the link between the two is.

 

I've seen several times where a mite attack caused the plant to want to flower.

 

The plant is dying .. it makes one last attempt to pass on its genes.