White Rhino bonsie and the Church - an up date, WITH PICTURES THIS TIME..

[Guest guest]

Enclosed is some more recent pictures of my White rhino, I have placed a 12 inch/30cm length ruler to give some idea of the size of the plant,

happy growing:

[paok4444]

HI superbluehaze !

I just wonder how you use the same plant after flowering and harvest how do you get buds again ?? do you just put it in veg again tell me pleas

[Guest superbluehaze]

Thanks Fuzzy for taking an interest, and for the effort you are putting into this site so we all can learn and have a place to dislay our efforts.

all the best Fuzzy and happy growing, my friend

[Guest superbluehaze]

Of course I will tell you , my friend.

If you want to double harvest, you take most of the buds, and leave as much leaf as possible, bring your light down, leaving it on 12 hours, and you will have another crop in around 8 weeks, but watch for magnesuim deficiencies.

To regenerated a plant the method is slightly different; Take most of the buds, but leave some on the plant(say at the bottom, and as much leaf as you can. Turn your light up to 18 hours, or better still, give the plant 24 hours of light, until the plant shows signs of new growth and then turn them back to 18 hours. The plant will just seem to be sitting there doing nothing for around 2 to 3 weeks, and sometimes a week or two longer. The plant is switching from flowering mode to veg again.

This is why it is important to leave some bud material, the first sign you will see that the plant has returned to veg is that new branches will start to come out of the buds - it is from the buds that new growth will come. You do not need to leave many, and just the undeveloped bottom buds are fine. The new leaves look really strange and unlike weed leaves at all. This is normal and after a week or two weeks from when they first appeared, they will start to look like normal weed leaves again. Once the new growth is established you will have to prune the plant as branches are sent out everywhere, and if left on the plant it will be too bushy, and the buds, when the plant has been flowered again will be very small as the floral hormones will be spread too thin. Once new growth forms, the plant grows very quickly, because everything is there for it, and it only has to form new branches. Try not to let it become root bound as this is a stress factor for the plant.

If you really look after a plant, and only use sterilized scissors to prune it, and watch for any nutrient deficiencies, then a plant can be regenerated over and over again. In my experience, I have had plants that were 18 months old and still going strong, and I had flowered them many times; I got busted and lost them that way.

The plant will eventually become weak through old age and be more susceptible to disease. Only take cuttings from her for the first 6 months. How you gauge wither you should regenerate her again is by the yield; if the yield has decreased them dramatically, it is best to not regenerated her again as she is becoming weak through either stress old age or desease.

Once I have flowered the white rhino, I think I will regenerate her, so I will show the process step by step with photos here in "advanced techniques" when I regenerate her, but that will not be until probably late July.

happy growing.

[Guest superbluehaze]

I forgot to tell you that once you have turned the lights up to 24/18 hours, feed the plant a grow formula high in Nitrogen. The main advantage to regeneration is that it does cut down the time between crops, as once the plant has reverted back to veg, it grows new branches very fast. You must prune them though in order to have say 6 main branches that will have thick and dense buds on them, and your yield can increase, and be more than the first time it was flowered, as long as the plant is not root bound as it is forms bigger roots, and a thicker stem. The main thing is to watch for any signs of deficiencies or stress.

The plant is classified as an annual; tat is a plant that completes its life cycle in 12 months. It vegs through spring and summer and then with autumn, and shorter days, it flowers, and as the weather becomes colder it dies, but with pot in warmer climates the plant does survive through winter and with the new spring starts to veg again. Indoors of course we can control the life cycle of the plant through light, and a controlled environment.

If you have problems or want to know more, then just let me know and I will help as much as I can.

all the best, and happy havests

[Guest samuelo]

Said it before SBH but this is a plant i enjoy seeing and one i have been following.... Sometimes something catches your eye and you think - hmm.. wish i could do that

Keep it up..... You are an inspiration to many and hopefully someday i may be able to grow something similar

Your pictures and knowledge is without exception - Great to have you at SH

[Guest superbluehaze]

thank you ,samuelo; you can do it. It just takes extra time and you have to give them a lot of light. One thing I recommend very much to everyone is beneficial bacteria, and if you can afford it, an air pump connected to an air stone in each pot. I have seen an amazing difference in my rate of growth since I have been able to afford to do this. organics or hydro, you can not give the roots too much air.

happy harvest, samuelo

[Guest superbluehaze]

thanks fuzzy. I started to regenerate when seeds were very difficult to get . This was in the early 90's before the explosion of the internet. then you had to go overseas and get the seeds yourself or know someone who was going over seas.

Where regeneration really comes into its own is when you have harvested, and seen what the plant can do and have smoked the product, and decide to have the plant as a mother, or to breed with her.

happy gowing.

[Guest Turtle]

Hey Dude,,

Nice words with regards to the regeneration,,

Now I know where I've been going wrong in the past,,

Inspired !

Like anything that inspires it leaves you with more questions,,

Have you ever tried double cropping or regenorating any of the auto strains ?

[paok4444]

thank you superbluehaze that was very help full i appreciate it, you can't learn to mutch about anything ...

I must try this. happy grow !!!

[Jay Ryan]

Wow, that's amazing. So, it's kind of like picking the fruit but leaving the tree?

I have a kick ass Super Skunk that is getting heavy buds right now, and I took a bunch of clones from her sister, but she seems to be a super plant. I'll give it a try when I harvest.

This is exciting stuff, great post!

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi turtle,

thanks for having a look. No, I have not regenerated an auto strain but it should work.

All the best and good luck with it.

[Guest Turtle]

I'ts nice to be inspired,,

Will def try with an auto strain at some point,,

Gotta be an interesting experiment,,

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi Turtle,

I have been thinking about regenerating an auto strain; firsty, it would be a bloody great experiment, and cutting edge too.

It may not be possible to regenerate auto strains, but it would be a cutting edge experiment to attempt to.

Here is why I think you may not be sucessful, but I am not sure - this is just the theory:

Cannabis has 3 races: cannabis Sativa; cannabis Indica and cannabis Ruderalis .

hemp which contains little thc is a sativa. Indicas where bred for hashish.

Ruderalis is a stain that originally came from Russia, and it was a wild strain. The plants, therfore, had a very low THC content, and were considered to be a hemp variety; these plants, however, which only ever grew to around 3 feet, displayed a strange quality. Unlike other races of Cannabis, they flowered regardless of the length of daylight.

Normally cannabis flowers when the days become shorter in autumn, but not ruderalis, which flowers when it is physiologically mature, regardless of the day length, at around six weeks old. Breeders, and in particular Sensi Seeds, started to experiment with these plants and breed them with higher THC strains, to raise their potency; and then inbred these off spring in order to isolate the genes that determined the flowering cycle of the plant, and made sure these genes were expressed in their off spring.

The auto strains are not sensitive to day length.

This is where I think you may have some problems and will have to experiment. Normally light is the trigger that makes a plant switch from the flowing cycle back to veg and start to send shoots out, and starts to regenerate.

This is a reaction to a longer day length(18 hours of light).

The auto strains are not sensitive to day length, but are genetically determined to follow a set life cycle.

Normal strains are too, but because their life cycle can be manipulated through day length, then it is easy to make them think they have passed through winter and that it is spring again, and so they switch and start to veg again.

Auto strains are not light senstive in the same way, and their life cycle does not depend on the length of the day; this may be a problem, but then it may not.

It would be cutting edge to have a go at regenerating an auto strain.

Instead of using light as a trigger to make the plant revert to veg, I would use heat instead.

The plants come from a very cold climate and that is why they have such a short life cycle, and flower regardless of day length. Russia has a very short growing season, and I think the ruderalis strain adopted to the Siberian summmer, which is very short, so light may not be a trigger, but I think warmth may be.

Give the plants 18 hours of light, and keep the temperature at around 25 C, or perhaps a few degrees higher and see what happens. If you need some advice please let me know, but that is how I would approach regenerating the auto strains

Good luck with it and please let us know how it goes, as such an experiement is be cutting edge.

happy regenerating and may you always have bountiful harvests

[Jay Ryan]

I think that it would be very hard to regenerate an auto mainly because as they bud, they die, and it all happens very quickly, relatively speaking.

I've seen it in the three different types of autos I've grown. The fan leaves change colors, red/yellow/purple and die as the buds rippen. You'd be fighting death as you try to regenerate.

[Guest guest]

It is getting cold here, so I put up another light to keep the plants and myself warm.

The 4 plants are now under one six hundred halide and a 400 HPS, with a son-t-agro bulb. Here are the pictures.

and again one of the 4 plants together:

This a picture of my Church plant:

and another Church plant:

sorry, same one:

and another Church plant:

and the this is the white Rhino plant:

and lastly the Church:

They are dancing all over the place now; always watch your plants, talk to them, get to know them, and they will give you their best and let you know when something is quite not right with them; above all things though, love them.

happy growing.

[Guest superbluehaze]

You are no doubt right, my friend. Their ancestors come from Seberia, with a very short growing season, and they have adapted to that environment, but I think if anything would encourage them to come back, heat would.

I am being an arm chair grower here, as I have never even grown an auto, but if you could get them to regenerate, then you would be doing cutting edge research on the plant, and adding to our knowlege of this amazing and beautiful plant.

all the best, and happy growing.

[Jay Ryan]

I made my own Auto Diesel seeds and White Russian seeds, so I may try to regenerate something this summer. I've stopped growing them for a bit because the yield can be so bad. They seem to do really well outside though. I live in the mountains so my season is really short. I do most growing inside, but I can get at least 2 or stagger 3 grows outside in the summer.

I'll take one in after I cut the buds off and try heat. It will be a good experiment.

[the chef]

Nice job! Beautiful greenage!

[Guest samuelo]

they are really coming on SBH, taller and starting to get more denser .......

nice job

[Guest superbluehaze]

thanks for having a look at them.

happy growing.

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi fuzzy,

The white stuff is the medium I use; it is just new n the maket, and it is amazing; similar to rock wool but unlike rock wool, you do have problems with ph and it is totally boidegradable. here is some informatin on it:

Is Fytocell for Hydroponics?

Fytocell has been developed to be used as 100% hydroponic growing media on its own, but can be mixed with perlite, rockwool, coir and even clay balls.

What systems can I use Fytocell in?

Fytocell will work well in a dripper or hand watered run to waste system.

Will Fytocell work in a recirculating system?

Absolutely. Either in a dripper, or flood & drain recirculating system.

Do I need to prepare Fytocell for planting?

Ideally yes. It does not matter whether you are running to waste or recirculating, it is best to run just water through the system for 24 hours. At the end of this period dump this water and start with a 1/4 or 1/2 strength nutrient solution.

Should I saturate Fytocell before starting?

If you are not going to flush the system as above, you will need to saturate the Fytocell with water in the bag for 24 hours. This also stops Fytocell being too fluffy.

Do I need to pH adjust Fytocell?

No. Fytocell comes already pH adjusted between, 5.5 – 7.0

Does Fytocell have any nutritional value?

No

When using a recirculating system, do I need to do anything different?

Fytocell has a combination of particle sizes. It is best to place a pot sock or a stocking in your pot to stop these fines. In addition, it is better if you can place a filter over your pump intake. With recirculating for 24 hours you will greatly reduce the amount of fines.

How do I plant the advanced plant into a pot of Fytocell?

Most advanced plants are grown in rockwool cubes / blocks or FytoClone. With rockwool it is very important that you place the cube/block on top of the Fytocell or only slightly into it, ie 5 mm.

Why sit the advanced plant rockwool block on top?

If the top of the rockwool block is planted flush with the top of the Fytocell, it can not self regulate its water / air content. As Fytocell holds up to 60% water and after that releases excess water, it gives this excess to the rockwool. The root environment of the young plant becomes too wet with very little air. Creating an anaerobic situation and the young plant will die quickly.

What irrigation regime do I use in the first 0-14 days after planting the advanced plant?

Much depends on your environment, but because Fytocell holds a large amount of water you are better to water slightly less for this period. If the Fytocell starts to dry out you can slowly increase the amount of water either by volume per cycle or the number cycles.

What irrigation regime should I use in a dripper system after 14 days?

Fytocell is very flexible because it holds a lot of water and air, but still flushes and drains well.

Anyone switching from rockwool should not have to change a thing. The old adage little and often works well.

Switching from coir. After the initial 14 day period and as the roots get down into the Fytocell, Fytocell is far more tolerant to greater amounts of water than coir.

Switching from clay balls and perlite is a bit more dramatic. They both hold less water and so they are watered more often.

In summary Fytocell can be watered a range of ways from once every 1-2 days to a number of small waterings throughout the day. Fytocell does not require a large volume of water 3 - 4 or more times a day, all things being equal regarding, environment, pot and plant size.

What irrigation regime should I use in a flood & drain system after 14 days?

Fytocell is a denser product than either clay balls or rockwool. This means Fytocell relies on capillary action to move the water upwards. You may have to initially flood the tray for longer and to a higher level. However you will probably only have to do this once per day. Always pull back on the watering initially. You can always increase it if necessary.

How can I expect plants to grow and look in Fytocell?

The initial 0-14 days the plant may look like it is sitting still. In this time the plant is furiously putting roots down into the Fytocell. You then see the plant explode in growth.

Fytocell Qualities

Physical

The air / water ratio in Fytocell is unique with approximately 37- 40% being air and 57- 60% water. The remaining 3% is dry / solid matter and unpenetrable. This means there is almost no barrier to root growth in a physical sense.

Temperature Heat/Cool

Many substrates / medias hold either an excessive amount of air or water, but not reasonable quantities of both. As Fytocell holds this 57% water it acts as a great insulator under warm conditions, slower to heat up during the day and once warm offering some heat in the evening. Air is very quick to either heat up or cool down.

This is also why when using Fytocell and FytoClone under cool conditions that you must provide some kind of artificial heat. Due to the fact that moisture content is good at approx 60%, if the air temperature is very cold the water will become cool over time and therefore is also slower to warm up.

Moisture

The ability of Fytocell to hold water is very good. Due to this fact Fytocell can be watered slightly differently than many media. This can be done in either small irrigations, at a regular interval, or a larger irrigation perhaps as little as once per day or even 2-3 days.

Plant Available Water

Fytocell while containing good ratios of air and water has no problem in giving what water it does have, to the roots’ as they require it. For example a 10L or 2.3 gal pot saturated, holds approximately 5L or 1.2gal of water. In experiments, plants have been able to stay green and grow in these pots even to the point where there is not even a drop of water left in the Fytocell. There is of course some stress, but there is no other media that does this.

The plant available water abilities of Fytocell are amazing.

Capillary Action

Fytocell has excellent capillary action. It takes up water both vertically and horizontally. A pot with holes in the bottom, filled with Fytocell, will draw water upwards approximately 15cm or 6 inches. This water will move at an even level up through the pot. It will not saturate to a percentage higher than approximately 60% by volume when drawing water from below.

Drainage

Fytocell drains by gravity. As long as the water/nutrient solution has some where to drain to, it will never hold more that approximately 60% moisture by volume.

If Fytocell is watered too much, and too often, you may not allow enough time for Fytocell to gravity drain.

Cation Exchange

Fytocell has a low cation exchange ability, which means it flushes salt build up easily.

Fytocell Flakes

Part of the success of Fytocell is it’s large air component. Therefore when placing the saturated Flakes in the pot do not compress these down. This does mean over time there may be some natural slumpage, but this will have no effect on the established plant. If you want to you can top up the pot.

Fytocell Slabs

These are not as robust as some other media types, however this has absolutely no bearing on Fytocells’ great performance. If the slabs break, just manually push them back together. Due to the way Fytocell holds air/water and it’s great capillary action

These cracks/breaks do NOT cause a problem.

FytoClone

Do not over water and keep in a warm position. Preferably on a heat pad

Happy growing,

[Guest superbluehaze]

thanks Samuelo

happy harvest, my friend.

[willmcmahon]

Looking good! The White Rhino looks like it is just about to spread its arms out!

That is going to be a good grow!

[Guest superbluehaze]

Here are the 4 plants together, under a 600 watt halide and a 400 watt Son-T -Agro.

Here is each one individually, this Church plant is 7 weeks old, and is 500cm tall(that is a 12 inch ruler for scale):

This Church plant is about 30 days old; it stands 60 cm tall and is 60 cm wide:

Here is another of the same plant, with a rule for scale:

Here is a picture of the white Rhino:

and a picture of her stalk:

another of her:

and another picture of the Church plant:

and of the 4 plants together:

Well there they are as of today;

happy growing.