Biggest possible outdoor plant

[beefalo bill]

I don't have firsthand knowledge of how to do this, but I did get to ask a similar question of someone(s) I'm fairly certain had the same thought decades before I did, and possibly before I was born. This is a paraphrasing of what was explained to me when I, in a scissor-hash induced haze, asked how to grow the most ridiculously huge individual plant possible to try to take advantage of plant-count laws. ~
If you start a plant in the fall, inside of a big PVC pipe in a greenhouse with additional lighting, it will stretch towards the light, without growing out at all. Once you get it to be 6-8' tall, you surgically split the stem, from the roots up, but not all the way. Coat every newly exposed surface with rooting hormone, splay that stem out, and bury it in a giant container, like a home-made hot-tub sized thing, all on a huge pallet. Then nurse it back to health without the PVC tube. Once you get it back up to 6-8' tall, you do the same stem-split, but from the top down. This time, after dousing everything with rooting hormone, wrap up all the exposed areas with grafting tape. Keep nursing it back to health until it can be moved outside into the sun. Make sure your forklift is suited to move the monster outside. At some point, you need to build a big trellis system, IIRC. I was shown some pics of plants that seemed to be a solid 20' tall, and round, like a ball. It was certainly the biggest plant I have seen a picture of. I can't recall what he said they pulled from it at the end of the year, but I remember some others with decades of outdoor growing experience estimating 50 to maybe 75% for the claimed yield. I'll see if I can dig up the pics they shared.... This first pic is what the split stems grow out like, but this is a "smaller" plant. Second one is after it's been outside a bit. Not a 30# monster, but it shows what's somewhat reasonably possible.

 

[pipeline]

Whats the definition of a plant? If you plant them close enough it looks like one plant. I'll use Schrew's excuse I buried the stem way down deep....

I've seen several gardens on here with those big 10 lb plants. Lots of water and lots of sunshine. Not too much water though, its easy to overwater cannabis. Would want really good support for covering a field. Wire cage sea of green, but the leaders would have to constantly be cut out. How about a tower of cannabis. Could you get a plant to 100 feet if you secured it to a tower? We are growing little trees. They have strong woody stems. Would love to see a 2 ft caliper cannabis trunk!

 

[CrushnYuba]

Theres a few people in the outdoor forums with 10 footers already.....they will hit 10 plus

That picture was taken about 2 weeks ago. If you look carefully you can see the 10 ft conduit that was used for posts. They were as tall then and taller then That conduit now. They are in smart pots and they don't have the best spacing so they will not get as big as my plants that are in mounds.. But i don't think even my mounds will be 10+. Maybe if u include third cuts and smalls. Stuff that really isn't grade a.

 

[MedResearcher]

Had a handful last year, come really close to 10# with just the initial A cut. Two separate waves, seeds germed April 1st, and April 7th. Plugged around June 7th, and June 14th, was waiting for the starts to sex.

The earlier wave, was no bigger than the second wave of starts. If anything the second wave, used less fertilizer, and seemed more vigorous.

Height is helpful, but it is overrated imo. We have huge mounds in the ground, ever year the mounds get larger, as we add more layers of compost and amendments. If a plant is really going for it, we will add extra layers for it. Metal field fence, wrapped around the plant. Plant is coached and pulled through the fencing. If the middle starts to take off, we pull it through/tie it down to flatten the canopy, clean fan leaves and unneeded sucker branchs. Then a second fence wider, pulled through. Etc.. etc.. Get 4+ cages in diameter, its going to be a huge plant. Could hit 10# without even going much over 6'. Really who likes to work on a ladder, or with their arms in the air.

Last year, did mostly F6's that have a decent amount of Indica in them. This year, we are only doing F1's, and a lot less, so each plant is getting way more attention, and more vigor and stretch. Hoping to break 10# of A cut. Have a couple that have already grown through a third cage, and will need 4-5 cages by the end.


Thinking out of the box, hydroponics might be able to set a record, with the right support, and a very dialed, water cooled, set up. Also I agree parts of the world that have longer seasons, like Australia, can grow really huge sativas. Vegging in a light supplemented green house is interesting, for shits and giggles. Vegging huge plants indoors than bringing them outdoors just sounds like a recipe for waste. I would rather have a 12" fresh start, then a 12' indoor grown tree in Spring.

Even strains like Blue Dream, where the light penetrates the canopy very well. You only get really nice flowers maybe 2' into the canopy. So on a 15' tall plant, you are harvesting 13' of hemp. All that hemp, takes a lot of water and fertilizer. Just like indoor growing, it is all about the square feet of canopy, not the height. Not saying height doesn't contribute to size, a giant round ball has more surface area then a flat square, so height does play its role but is only secondary to width, imo.

I have noticed on really tall plants, entire sides of the plant will be lower quality. For instance the North side of a tree, just isn't the same quality as the rest. A flatter canopy, gives more consistency. You don't have a shaded side.

Many ways to skin a cat though, even more ways to grow weed! Really only my observations, opinions, style. Big tree growing, reminds me of big wave surfing. Its not for everyone, but it is a really neat art. Glad to see some people are still into it, as the industry has shifted towards dep.


Mr^^

 

[caliprop215]

Had a handful last year, come really close to 10# with just the initial A cut. Two separate waves, seeds germed April 1st, and April 7th. Plugged around June 7th, and June 14th, was waiting for the starts to sex.

The earlier wave, was no bigger than the second wave of starts. If anything the second wave, used less fertilizer, and seemed more vigorous.

Height is helpful, but it is overrated imo. We have huge mounds in the ground, ever year the mounds get larger, as we add more layers of compost and amendments. If a plant is really going for it, we will add extra layers for it. Metal field fence, wrapped around the plant. Plant is coached and pulled through the fencing. If the middle starts to take off, we pull it through/tie it down to flatten the canopy, clean fan leaves and unneeded sucker branchs. Then a second fence wider, pulled through. Etc.. etc.. Get 4+ cages in diameter, its going to be a huge plant. Could hit 10# without even going much over 6'. Really who likes to work on a ladder, or with their arms in the air.

Last year, did mostly F6's that have a decent amount of Indica in them. This year, we are only doing F1's, and a lot less, so each plant is getting way more attention, and more vigor and stretch. Hoping to break 10# of A cut. Have a couple that have already grown through a third cage, and will need 4-5 cages by the end.




I have noticed on really tall plants, entire sides of the plant will be lower quality. For instance the North side of a tree, just isn't the same quality as the rest. A flatter canopy, gives more consistency. You don't have a shaded side.

Mr^^

This is exactly what i do. All cages are 4 ft wide besides 3 late ones. All under 3 ft tall....I wont get near 10 lbs a plants but big ones should be around 3 to 5 I believe


Dankwold
F should chime in with some pics.he will hit 10 lbs a plant if not more