Clone size for Outdoor planting

[talktosamson]

I thought I might collect a little info from people as to how big is the largest/smallest/and optimum clone or plant size that you like to put outside. Ive been a grower and reader of the out door forums for a long time and ive seen people put out 6 inch babies and 6 foot monsters...so lets hear it? What do you shoot for and what will you settle for?

 

[talktosamson]

Minimum plant size I will put outside in one of my 200 gallon pots is about a foot tall and in a 1 gallon pot. Anything smaller than this has struggled to adapt to the large outdoor pots even if properly hardened off. I did throw a HDF outside one year that was around 6 inches tall and it finished over 2.5 pounds in the end.

Optimum plant size for me is something in a 2-3 gallon pot with a nice hearty root ball, 2ish feet tall with lots of tops. They seem to love the re-pot in such a large amount of soul and don't struggle in the wind and heat of the day like younger clones do.

 

[GoldCG]

I'd be more than comfortable putting out a 6 inch clone into 200 gallons of soil. Full sun, something like blue dream will easily hit five pounds unless you really fuck up. What really matters is health, when that slips, so do results, consistently.

 

[sdd420]

Like you said a nice root ball is very important, if it isn't then it won't be able to survive the bugs etc and the heat where I am. But a sativa might be where I go smaller if I was worried about fence height etc . FYI I frequently bend to avoid this, tying down the top with twine I keep a 8 foot plant horizontal this ups the yield without topping.

 

[mr.shiva]

Clone size for Outdoor planting

I'm going out with big clones. Playing with fire I know 10lb blue dreams please . I've got a good feeling about my bubba x chemdawgs .

 

[Stank J.P.]

Quick question for the more experienced out there. If said clone was having a little bit of root circling around the bottom of the pot would you gently break apart the roots or plug it in as is? (should that have been two sentences?)... As always thanks guys.

 

[Sinkyone]

Quick question for the more experienced out there. If said clone was having a little bit of root circling around the bottom of the pot would you gently break apart the roots or plug it in as is? (should that have been two sentences?)... As always thanks guys.

Absolutely. Once the roots start to circle, they can from a mat that will actually prevent the roots from spreading out easily in the future.

As for size I usually figure 6" is a minimum, but somewhere around 1-2' is better in my opinion.

GoldCG hit the nail on the head though - the health makes a MUCH bigger difference than clone size. Honestly I have seen little difference at the end of the year as far as yield goes with differences in the original size of the plant when it went out. Last year I planted cuts of the same strain, with some being only 6" tall when they went out, and and some being 2' tall. End yield was the same, the original size made no difference. This year I have a bunch that went out at 3'-4' so I will be curious to see if that much larger of a size increase will actually increase yield (I sort of doubt it will).

It really is how you handle the clones though. I hit 7 and 8 lbs off 6" clones last year, so you can still yield of small clones if they are well taken care of. By the same token I know this idiot who had 6' tall plants at the same time I was planting my little 6" clones and he still only got a 1/2 lb per plant because he neglected his garden so severely for the rest of the season.

 

[talktosamson]

I think full Sun may be the kicker in the equation, with full sun plants I think your qll right it does not matter too much,but at my property bigger us always better. I put my blue magoo out at 2 feet fall by two feet wide and the same with my boost, sometimes bigger. They start flowering mid July, so between lge later plant date up here in Oregon and the shorter season, gotta veg the indicas out real big to eclipse that 3 pound mark I'm always looking at. Last year I only had two boost, planted right next to each other and the one that went out bigger dominates the other in yeild.

 

[BasementGrower]

its tough to get big plants outside unless u can grow in ur yard.. or something .. but ya this guerilla grow season is a mile hike into woods .. the soils not bad at all . so im just going to mix like 5 gallons of my soil mix into each hole.. for the plants thati dont want to be huge.. the rest are going in 30 gallon camo bags. i think . so far we got 80 clones outside. but i bet half get destroyed by animals or bugs. or drought...

 

[Sinkyone]

I think full Sun may be the kicker in the equation, with full sun plants I think your qll right it does not matter too much,but at my property bigger us always better.

Very true! Sunlight is the single biggest factor for yield in my experience.

 

[Hash Man]

Put out the biggest possible plant you can. If she's stretching too much, control it with topping/bending/supercropping. My plants are 7-9 foot tall and about 3-4 ft wide in 15 gallon smart pots. When I put them into their 300 gallon homes, they will blow up. I started them in February, so the 4 month head start will only increase my yields. IME every time you control verticals growth, the main stalk widens out noticably. Do it right and get something like this...

 

[Hash Man]

Quick question for the more experienced out there. If said clone was having a little bit of root circling around the bottom of the pot would you gently break apart the roots or plug it in as is? (should that have been two sentences?)... As always thanks guys.

Gently break up the soil before u plant it. If you are too root bound, you will have issues. Water the plant around the middle and eventually widen the diameter of your spray. If u treat the plant like its still In a pot for a few days (best) to a few weeks (worst) u should be able to get by with minimum shock. Make sure and pack the soil in nice and snug on your transplanted root ball.

 

[vStagger Leev]

These ladies are all in 3 gal pots, and are now hardened off, they were put into a bed with a couple hundred gallons of soil yesterday, and are lovin life! Just as you said Samson, I feel like these are a good size to put outdoors. Though i'm in town, I dont get full sun all day, so these plants probably wont get taller than me Much love man! SL

 

[Veg N Out]

All my stuff went out around 1' tall this year. Just at different times so I'll have different size plants come fall, but that's okay......

 

[talktosamson]

Looking good stagger, what ladies made it into the outside beds this year?

 

[vStagger Leev]

THanks man, 3x Diesel Wreck, and 1 Blue Heron.... I dont have allot of room, but I reckon i'll get some tasty backyard nuggets! SL

 

[Stank J.P.]

Sinky and Hash, thanks for the quick and concise responses. Sharing the knowledge is what makes this site great. Any thoughts on using mykos or some other root stimulant to assist these babes in the transplant phase? Peace.

 

[Hash Man]

Sinky and Hash, thanks for the quick and concise responses. Sharing the knowledge is what makes this site great. Any thoughts on using mykos or some other root stimulant to assist these babes in the transplant phase? Peace.

A little humic, kelp, molasses and great white is what I'm goin with today. I will take some pics and post later in the week. Good luck with your transplant.

Here is a pic from a couple years ago. This year I'm going out much bigger. Hash

 

[talktosamson]

Two very important parts of any transplant I do

My smaller plants 14" Boost that just got planted

Then there are my hogs BCS

 

[Sinkyone]

Mykos is awesome, use it.