how can i strengthen the stem?

ive just started my first grow room. im using cfl's, i have 2 lowryder2 and 2 mystery plants. 1 of my baby lowryders has got a very thin stem at the bottom end. the other 3 are fine, but i was wondering what i can do to strengthen her! any tips ppl?

let her grow..you dont wana be adding anything if the stem is small..probably isnt ready for nutes..some plants stems are small this is normal...but if it dosent get bigger and plant starts falling over..you gota pull it

How far are your lights from the tops of the plants?.With cfls you want the light 1-2 inches away,with hid lights you want them as close as you can get them without burning the plants.I put my hand at the top of my plants,and if i cannot hold it there without discomfort,raise it a little till i can.This will keep your plants from stretching,i do not use a fan.OPH

try a small personal/desk fan on them if that doesnt work and it starts falling over just kill it if it cant support then it will not be able to support flowers . Also like the previous post how far is the light? Make sure you get a fan moving the breeze or else even the cfl's will burn your babies. Good Luck

you could bend the stem back and forth to strengthen it too. just be gentle.

fan makes a good strong stem but only a gentle breeze also try supercropping works a treat do a search for the suppercropping there is a few good tutorials on it.

its just a case of squeesing the stem gently not to break the outer layer but to mash the pulp inside the stem just above a node on the plant then bending it so it gets the lill bumps on the side so it just droops then the stems below the bend will turn into strong heads and giving the lower branches along the bent stem more light to grow as strong as the main stalk

i would think twice though for it being a lowryder never grew em yet so dont know if you should suppercrop you could just give it a stick to relax on for a bit and have a loll computer fan modded with a 12v phone charger(the cables are colour coded so tis easy but make shure to wrap em with good tape so they arnt exposed Safety First !) and pin it on the side of the pot with a peg and some more tape

Brick Top said:

If you are growing in soil and the plant is too weak to stand up to the breeze of a fan you can replant the plant deeper, leaving about a half-inch above the soil. The stem that would then be under the soil will push out new roots and if you have adequate lighting when the plant grows it will not have a weak stem again. If you have inadequate lighting you will end up with a thin stem again.

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am i right in saying that you shouldnt repot any higher than where the teardrop leaves are,

think this is why i ended up with stem rot just out the top of the coco on one of my last crops

im actualy havin the same prob...except mines only a few days old but its already 3-4 inches tall nd stem is relli thin..i think its from streching my light isnt powerful enough i think its only a 40 watt cfl

move that light closer or get some more ryeguy!

how old are they? and if theyre really thin then you can put a light fan breeze on them or bend the stem gently. very GENTLY.

Brick Top already told u plant up to leaves & lower or better ur lights.

Like he said the stem burried will grow more roots & if u do not do anything about the lighting u will have the same results.

hydgrow said:

try a small personal/desk fan on them if that doesnt work and it starts falling over just kill it if it cant support then it will not be able to support flowers . Also like the previous post how far is the light? Make sure you get a fan moving the breeze or else even the cfl's will burn your babies. Good Luck

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This is totally false info. SWIM has plants growing now that have scrawny stalks and are almost ready to harvest, and looks like they have about 3-4 ounces per plant. He just ties em to stakes if they become too top heavy. Otherwise use a few fans to strengthen the stalks. Good luck and have fun!

Next grow, you should look into supercropping during veg. I am a huge fan of it and it will triple your stem size. Good luck and good growing

Add some peanut butter and margarine to your nute lineup. That'll thicken them up.

i shake them, by the base usually, and if they arent budding, ill shake the tops a bit too, every morning. the stems will double in thickness, but it slows down hieght growth for a bit

I'm surprised no one has suggested a SCROG grow. If you don't have the air movement and/or proper lighting to keep your plants up, you can either hold the plants up to the bottom of the screen or poke them through the screen allowing the plants to lean against it, thus supporting it. Either way, not only does it add support but can keep your canopy nice and even. When growing with CFL's this can be especially beneficial because it allows you to keep your light 1-2" above ALL of your plants. Sounds like some scrap wood and some cheap 2"x2" mesh fencing could solve all your problems. At least until you can get some proper lighting and air circulation.

I've had a number of problems with weak stems. I think it's from cfls, as the plants I've grown under MH for veg don't have near the weakness in their stems that my others have.

Anyway, this is what I do and it works a treat.


A always have a light breeze blowing on them at all times (this alone has not been enough to make strong stems in my experience).

Next, I take a 12-16" pipe cleaner, and jam it down into the soil beside the stem a few inches. I then wrap the pipe cleaner around the stem in a wide spiral. I leave a gap between the stem and the piple cleaner, so it creates a virtual cage that the stem can grow within. It still gets movement from the fan because it's not actually touching the pipe cleaner, it grows urestricted because it's not tied to anything, and keep the plants perfectly upright while they grow and strenghen.

One they have a little growth under their belts (4 or 5 full nodes), I will pinch the main stem just above the first node. You'll feel a little snap inside the stem. After this, the plants seems to really double up on the stem, making a very significant strengh improvement. I then do this to each and every branch that sprouts off. The results is a nice thick beefy stem, it actually looks like a mini bundle of straws, or multiple stems clustered together. Quite cool to see this take place.