Are you struggling to choose the best times to move your marijuana plants outdoors?
It doesn’t matter if you have an indoor grow, condo grow, or you’re just growing your own marijuana plants in your home. Choosing when to move marijuana plants outdoors and understanding the correct moving techniques is vital to ensure that your plants don’t get placed under undue stress, which would have a negative effect on growth and yield.
In the following article, we’re going to take a closer look at the benefits of starting your cannabis plants indoors and then moving them outdoors, when flowering starts outdoors in Ontario, moving plants from indoors to outdoors, moving plants to finish their flowering cycle, and when does flowering start in B.C.
Starting Plants Indoors, then Move Outdoors
There are a lot of advantages to starting your cannabis plants indoors and then moving them outdoors, especially in some areas of Canada where the colder winter months can be quite unpredictable. Below are some of the reasons why you might consider moving your cannabis plants outdoors:
- Give your plants a head start – If you have a shorter than normal growing season, then starting your marijuana plants indoors and then moving them outdoors will give your plant additional vegetation time.
- To trigger flowering – Some growers prefer to start their marijuana plants indoors under an 18/6 light cycle and then move them outdoors to force the plants to flower.
- Additional space – Grow tents can get pretty crowded fast. Moving your marijuana plants outdoors will give the plants more space to grow.
- Better lighting – There isn’t a grow light that’s been invented yet that can beat natural sunlight.
When Does Flowering Start Outdoors In Ontario?
When your marijuana plants flower depends on certain factors which will influence the growth and flowering stages of your plant’s life cycle, in Ontario, most marijuana growers will see their plants begin to flower in July through to August, depending on what stage of life their marijuana plant is at.
It is the fear of dying which triggers marijuana plants into flowering. The longer they believe they have until they die, the less likely they will be to flower.
Some of the factors which can influence when your plant flowers include:
- How much sunlight your plant is receiving – One of the triggers which will get your marijuana plant to begin flowering is changes in how much light they receive outdoors. As the light begins to reduce from 14-12 hours per day, your plant will be naturally triggered into the flowering stage.
- Reduced nutrients – If you’re giving your marijuana plants additional nutrients, reducing these nutrients can trigger them into flowering.
Excessive heat – If your plants are experiencing excessive temperatures above 30. degrees, it can delay flowering.
Moving Plants From Inside To Outside
If you’re planning on moving your plant from indoors to outdoors to take advantage of more vegetative growth, it’s essential that you move them outdoors at the start of June to take advantage of the longest hours of sunlight.
If you move them too soon, it can trigger your plant to flower. As the summer light hours get longer, the plant will stop flowering and then enter the vegetative stage again. This stop-start process can be quite damaging to your plant and can cause it to eventually enter the flowering stage much later than usual.
One thing that you can do to make the transition from indoors to outdoors easier for your plants is to synchronize the light cycles so that your plant is getting the same amount of light indoors as it will receive when you move it outdoors. Don’t ever move your plants outdoors if they are going to receive less than 14 hours of sunlight unless you want to trigger them to begin the flowering stage of their life.
Moving Plants Outside To Finish Flowering
If your goal is to move your plants outdoors to finish flowering, then around the end of June is a great time. This is when the hours of daylight are beginning to shorten. Fewer hours of daylight for your plants will cause them to think that they don’t have long left to live. This is what’s going to naturally trigger them into flowering.
Check the daylight in your area before making any decisions, as you need to ensure that your plant will be in the declining hours of daylight. If you put the plants outdoors too quickly and the daylight starts increasing again, it can cause your plants to enter the vegetative stage, which isn’t great for your plants or your yield.
When Does Flowering Start Outdoors In B.C.?
As summer turns into fall and the natural light falls down to the level of about 12 hours per day, your marijuana plants will enter their natural flowering stage. The end of August through to mid-September is when you’ll start to see the sunlight hours falling to about 12 hours. It’s important to check your local sunlight hours and your plant placement to see how much natural light they are receiving. The last thing that you want to do is put your plants out too soon and have them enter the vegetative stage of their life cycle again, as it can be extremely stressful on your plant and greatly affect your expected yield.
When and How To Move Marijuana Plants Outdoors – Conclusion
Hopefully, now you have a much better idea of the correct way to not only move marijuana plants from indoors to outdoors but also when the best times to move marijuana plants in Ontario and BC is.
As with anything, you have to pay close attention to the weather and be prepared to protect your marijuana plants if there is a sudden change in temperature. The last you want is to see your marijuana plants damaged during an unexpected cold period. If you have any tips or tricks on how you manage to move your marijuana plants, then please don’t hesitate to comment below or contact us directly!