Hey everbody!
So I've gone from not having any time on my hands to having too much time on my hands. I spent some time learning a bit more about foxtailing and figured I'd make this a edumacation day for us all.
Sometimes you'll have a case where a plant keeps making more and more new pistils right when the plant seems just about ready to harvest. Often you can tell something is not quite right so first off we have to understand what these pistils are and the difference between normal and abnormal growth.
A pistil is the female cannabis plant sex organ and looks like a hair that protrudes from a calyx on a female flower. They are also known as stigmas. When a pistillate hair comes into contact with pollen from a male cannabis plant, it is then pollinated.
It's normal for pistils to develop throughout the plant but when the plant is only producing new pistils from the top bud sites then it's a sign of a problem. Buds growing in strange shapes can be a sign of heat or light stress. Each new bud or "foxtail" is covered in lots of new sugar leaves because the plant is actually growing brand new buds like towers or mini colas emerging from the old ones. Below is a common fist-shaped foxtail that I pulled from the internet. The Lemon AK I ran recently had this exact shape.
The next example, the bud has been damaged by both too much light and too much heat. Although the rest of the buds on the plant appear almost ready to harvest, this bud closest to the light keeps putting out more and more white pistils as new buds grow on top of the old one. This plant is ready to be harvested.
If your plant is showing signs of foxtailing then look at the older parts of the buds to decide when your plant is ready to harvest. The newest growth will look immature even if the plant is ready.
Can foxtailing be prevented? Yes! Below are some things that can be done to reduce or prevent foxtailing.
- Control the heat. Getting the top canopy a few degrees cooler can make a huge difference in your efforts to stop foxtailing.
- Even if the temperature is okay, move your lights further away. Sometimes bud damage is caused by light burn. Light stress without heat is most common with HPS and LED grow lights that are kept too close.
- Consider giving your plant shorter days to hurry it to finish flowering. By giving plants a 11/13 or 10/14 light schedule, you will encourage your plant to finish flowering sooner.
It is normal for some strains to put out new waves of pistils two or three times during the flowering stage, even without heat or light damage. Sativa chemovars tend to do this the most, though it can happen to many different types. Sometimes the new growth may even look like foxtails, but if it's happening evenly all over the plant chances are it's normal and caused by the strain.
So although this class was quickly thrown together the points are out there and I'm sure many of you have experienced this at one time or another. I'll be sure to react next time since I never really understood what was going on.
Have a great day!
