What does Vegetative Stage mean?
In horticulture, the vegetative stage refers to the phase of plant growth that occurs after germination and before flowering, during which the plant develops the majority of its foliage and truly flourishes.
During the vegetative stage, plants are busy carrying out the process of photosynthesis, consequently accumulating and stocking different types of resources like CO2, nutrients, and lighting, that are required for reproduction and flowering. Plants tend to be more fragile in the vegetative stage as opposed to the flowering stage.
More Info On Vegetative Stage
The vegetative stage sees the development of additional leaves and tillers, while encouraging a gradual but noticeable increase in the plant’s height.
During the vegetative stage, plants require all of the nutrients essential to plant growth, but they are especially hungry for nitrogen. Upon finishing the vegetative stage, the nutrient feed should switch to a higher potassium and phosphorus blend to promote huge flowers.
In most cases for outdoor plants, the plant’s vegetative period occurs in late spring and summer. The exact number of days required to reach full maturity varies according to different plants. For example, rice requires between 55 and 85 days to reach peak development.
Plants tend to be quite fragile during the vegetative state. If you’re growing plants indoors, it’s important to ensure that they have at least 18 hours of lighting to encourage them to bloom. Grow lights with bulbs higher in the blue spectrums are highly recommended for indoor plants going through their vegetative periods.
The vegetative stage is often simply referred to as the ‘veg’ stage’ or the ‘growth stage’. It is always followed be the flowering stage, otherwise referred to as the ‘bloom’ stage. Because the plants in each stage require slightly different lighting and nutrient parameters, it’s not uncommon for commercial growers to utilize separate rooms for vegetative and flowing stages.
During the vegetative stage of the cannabis plant’s life, it grows vegetation. It first develops its structure such as a strong root system and stem. Then the plant goes on to grow its abundant foliage. As long as the plant receives ample sunlight it will continue to grow in the vegetative stage.
Over two to three weeks, the plant will go through five or six growth spurts. Its branches will start to extend outward and develop. The cannabis plant can be forced to leave the vegetative stage and enter the flowering phase early by reducing its light exposure.
Once the marijuana plant starts to experience longer periods of darkness, it will put its efforts into flowering instead of vegetative growth.
Some grow room operators have separate rooms for each of the plant’s stages: propagation, vegetative, and flowering. This allows them to have a perpetual grow room, with no downtime in their production.
This definition was written in the context of Cannabis
