Heat Stress! Growing cannabis is not as simple as caring for any other houseplant. Even with proper feeding, watering, and lighting, you may still find your weeds looking discolored and deformed, and this is commonly caused by heat stress.
Generally, cannabis is a tough and resilient plant. Many of its varieties originated from harsh regions like the Hindu Kush mountain range and Asian tundras. Despite the plant’s strength, growers need to keep them safe from the damages of overheating.
Keep on reading to learn more about cultivating a healthy yield all year-long.
Identifying Heat Stress
One way to tell that your cannabis plants are suffering from too much heat is when their leaves begin to curl upward. They’ll also look dry and withered. Look for large, brown spots or blemishes that may be accompanied by yellow patches. These unsightly marks are usually along the edges of the fan leaves, which are the areas in direct line of heat. If you are sure that your cannabis plant is not suffering from any other nutritional deficiency, then you can ascertain that the problem is overheating.
During the flowering phase, you can detect heat stress if you notice that new buds are blooming on top of older ones. Growers call this condition as “foxtail.” It’s a plant’s survival mechanism to keep reproducing and generating new seeds.
If you’re growing cannabis plants outdoors, heat stress is typically caused by brutally hot and dry weather. Indoors, it is caused by several reasons. For one, you might be letting the weeds’ tops grow too high to reach the light source. Climate still plays a huge role in your indoor crops. During summer, grow tents can get very warm if you don’t have enough fans and an adequate exhaust system.
Here are three tips to keep your cannabis plants healthy and happy even during summer:
1. Make sure there are enough fans in your grow space
Wherever you grow your cannabis plants—in a closet, tent, or basement—you need to make sure they’re getting a healthy flow of air. The cheapest and most straightforward solution is to place cooling fans. The wind generated by electric fans helps cool the area down and keeps air circulating. It will also ensure that the weeds will develop thicker and stronger stems.
2. Install air conditioning
The best thing about growing your plants indoors is that you have total control over your space’s microclimate. If you live in a hot environment, you may want to consider installing an airconditioning unit in your grow space. Though it’s a more expensive solution, it can save your crops from wilting and dying.
3. Change your lighting
Aside from the wind source, your lighting also dramatically affects your yield. If your weeds start to show signs of heat stress, check how close they are to the light source. You can readjust the position of your lights and keep them farther up. If the plants are still wilting, it may be time to rethink your grow lights. High-Intensity Discharge lights may be too harsh for your sensitive crops. Try switching to LED lights instead, as they’re gentler to your plants, and also much cheaper.
For the new hobbyist, growing cannabis requires a series of trial and error. You’ll gain experience as you go along, so make sure that you spend time getting to know your plants!
If you are looking for RQS, hemp, or CBD seeds to grow, get in touch with Coffee Shop Seeds to see how we can help.
