Brian420pm
Well-Known Member
I'd like to share my observations of how and where buds form to get a better understanding that may help with future grows. So far I get the impression we can control many aspects of budding but it's not very common to come across discussion about it!
First some basic terms about just female plants to get out of the way. The axil is where the leaves meet the main stem. From the axil will grow lateral (or side) branches or flowers. Late in veg you'll see 2 stipules grow at the axils... they look like two spears at a 45 degree angle. I'm not clear if every strain has stipules.
I can't find more detail on the purpose of the stipules. My guess is that they help the plant determine if the conditions are good at that axil to support bud formation... for example if it gets enough light. (?)
In flower, there seems to be a very distinct decision by the plant if they should grow a bud at each axil location (putting the availability of light aside for now). This is determined by the presence, and the length, of any lateral branch growth that is growing there. I see three scenarios on my plants so far:
#1 If no lateral branch present, grow a bud at the axil.
#2 If lateral branch present, and it's short (under x inches long), grow buds at the axil AND the lateral branch.
#3 If lateral branch present, but it's long (over x inches long), do NOT grow buds at the axil but grow them on the lateral branch.
Other scenarios not listed seem clear but I'm not sure the mechanism, for example if the axil is low on the plant and doesn't get much light, neither buds or lateral branches will grow. The plant has closed down those growth pathways completely.
So let's talk about those 3 scenarios above! My plants are in week 4 of flower.
With all cases of #1, a bud is forming and it's unknown at this stage if it will grow to a size where it will meet and merge with the growing buds coming from the nodes above and/or below it. That answer probably depends most on good light and short inter-node spacing of the plants.
In every case of #2, where the lateral branch is small and growing near it's parent branch, it has at least 2 bud sights AND a bud sight at the axil, and it appears they will ALL merge together into large bud masses.
In every case of #3, it looks like the lateral branch will produce popcorn size buds that are far away from the branch it is growing away from.
So which scenario would be optimal?
About #2, would the energy spent in those small laterals/buds be better spent on just one bud site as in scenario #1? I like the idea of large bud masses
I'm pretty sure I could optimize for #2. With pruning at the right time in late veg you can get small side lateral branches to come up in the flower stage. The right kind of pruning would be crucial... if you sweep a young lateral branch from the axil with your fingertip, many times it will not grow back. If you snip it with scissors close to the axil it should grow back, possibly two shoots, soon after. This pruning step would be separate and later than anything you do earlier to get your main growing sites.
First some basic terms about just female plants to get out of the way. The axil is where the leaves meet the main stem. From the axil will grow lateral (or side) branches or flowers. Late in veg you'll see 2 stipules grow at the axils... they look like two spears at a 45 degree angle. I'm not clear if every strain has stipules.
I can't find more detail on the purpose of the stipules. My guess is that they help the plant determine if the conditions are good at that axil to support bud formation... for example if it gets enough light. (?)
In flower, there seems to be a very distinct decision by the plant if they should grow a bud at each axil location (putting the availability of light aside for now). This is determined by the presence, and the length, of any lateral branch growth that is growing there. I see three scenarios on my plants so far:
#1 If no lateral branch present, grow a bud at the axil.
#2 If lateral branch present, and it's short (under x inches long), grow buds at the axil AND the lateral branch.
#3 If lateral branch present, but it's long (over x inches long), do NOT grow buds at the axil but grow them on the lateral branch.
Other scenarios not listed seem clear but I'm not sure the mechanism, for example if the axil is low on the plant and doesn't get much light, neither buds or lateral branches will grow. The plant has closed down those growth pathways completely.
So let's talk about those 3 scenarios above! My plants are in week 4 of flower.
With all cases of #1, a bud is forming and it's unknown at this stage if it will grow to a size where it will meet and merge with the growing buds coming from the nodes above and/or below it. That answer probably depends most on good light and short inter-node spacing of the plants.
In every case of #2, where the lateral branch is small and growing near it's parent branch, it has at least 2 bud sights AND a bud sight at the axil, and it appears they will ALL merge together into large bud masses.
In every case of #3, it looks like the lateral branch will produce popcorn size buds that are far away from the branch it is growing away from.
So which scenario would be optimal?
About #2, would the energy spent in those small laterals/buds be better spent on just one bud site as in scenario #1? I like the idea of large bud masses
I'm pretty sure I could optimize for #2. With pruning at the right time in late veg you can get small side lateral branches to come up in the flower stage. The right kind of pruning would be crucial... if you sweep a young lateral branch from the axil with your fingertip, many times it will not grow back. If you snip it with scissors close to the axil it should grow back, possibly two shoots, soon after. This pruning step would be separate and later than anything you do earlier to get your main growing sites.
