GROWTH AND CARE OF YOUR PETPOT - After Germination

You've got a sprout, now what?  

Container Size: Hemp will grown in any pot size. You could keep your PetPot in our biodegradable pot but it would only grow up to around a maximum of one foot and may not thrive. Plants like more room as they get bigger. The roots will spread and then wrap around the inside of a small container, becoming "root bound." 

A standard 8-10" diameter pot will provide plenty of space for a PetPot to grow well as a house plant, to about 4' tall. You can put it in a bigger pot and you'll get a bigger plant.

If you do want to transfer your PetPot into a larger pot, perform the transplant within 3-4 weeks of the seed sprouting.

  1. Prepare the new pot by filling it with soil till around 1/2 full. Make a small indentation in the middle where your PetPot will be placed.
  2. Gently remove the soil and plant from the biodegradable pot. Leave the mesh around the soil. Place it on top of your already prepared new pot's soil. Place new soil around and over your PetPot's soil. Dont pack it too tight but ensure the plant is stable. 
  3. The mesh can stay, it is compostable and the roots break through it (but you can also remove it if you feel it necessary)

What size pot is best?  Many growers say that you need is about 2 gallons per 12″ of height.  So, when your plant is about 3ft tall, you should probably have it in a 6-gal container.  Keep in mind, it’s not good to repot plants during the flowering stage, so you want to have your cannabis plants in their final container at least 2 weeks before the beginning of flowering/budding.

Watering:  Young plants won't be growing very fast yet, so they also won't be using much water. Wait until the topsoil feels dry about an inch deep. Roots will thrive in a moist environment at all times, without being waterlogged and starved of ambient oxygen. Watering every 2-3 days is optimal for a young plant. If it’s taking too long for your plant to dry out, you may need to give less water at a time until the plant is growing faster.  It’s very important to make sure that water can drain freely from the bottom of the pot (by having both a soil that drains well and holes or other escape routes for water), otherwise, the roots will get waterlogged.

Temperature:   During this vegetative stage, wherever you are growing your plants should be a bit warmer than room temperature. That means between 68°F and 86°F.  Again, a spot receiving sun from window may be the best spot for indoor plants. 

Light:  Natural spectrum light from the sun has been the main source of light for growing plants since the dawn of time. Whether you keep your plants indoors or outdoors, make sure that the plants are in a sunny spot where they get plenty of sunlight throughout the whole day (5 hours minimum, 8+ hours of sunlight a day for best results).  Growing a single plant means that, in many cases, you can place your plant on a windowsill and have enough natural sunlight for it to thrive.  However, cannabis plants that are intended to grow vigorously and flower grow best with 10 to 12 hours of direct sunlight every day.  Your location might not have sufficient sunlight, however. Again, the optimal amount of sunlight (or artificial light) depends on your purpose of growing your PetPot, so we refer you to these Very In-Depth Resources for more information on light requirements.  

Nutrients / Grow Lamps:  There’s no simple rule on this. It depends on your reason for growing your PetPot (harvest, no harvest, decoration, flying your rebel flag) and what conditions you grow in (e.g. using amended soil, indoor vs outdoor growth, adequate heat, etc). We refer you to some of the Very In-Depth Resources if you are interested in feeding your PetPot for accelerated or amplified growth.

Life Cycle:  The simple answer:

  1. These seeds are feminized (as opposed to autoflower). This means they will continue to grow up and out until they start receiving 12 or more hours of darkness. At which point, they will begin the flowering process.
  2. If using natural light only, this typically begins towards the end of summer (which is why outdoor growers typically plant their seeds during the first quarter of the year).
  3. It will take anywhere between 8 to 12 weeks to reach its optimal plant size (depends on the pot). After that, you can continue to grow it. There are trees out there! But if your reduce its light cycle to have 12 or more hours of darkness, as mentioned, it will begin to flower.
  4. Once it begins to flower, the plant will typically grow up and out again by about 50% of its pre-flowering stage.
  5. Once your plant has grown its flowers and packed them to form buds, which typically can be anywhere between 2-4 months, you can decide to harvest it or let it grow.
  6. Harvesting means you're cutting the plant down. Note that you could cut a branch of a plant in its vegetative stage (pre flowering) and start growing it by placing it in a new pot! (yeah, that's right, free plants!).
  7. If you're harvesting it, pull it from its roots and hang it upside down in a dry place. The least you shake it the better. Dry it and use it for its amazing healing effects! (note this is a hemp cannabis plant, rich in CBD and low in THC. It will not get you high!)
  8. If you like the look of your plant and you don't want to harvest it, dont cut it down. Leave it grow. See what happens:) 
  9. For a more in depth answer, please check out these Very In-Depth Resources.