Preflower Help!

gypsygreen said:

Preflowers will come any time after the plant has enetered the veg cycle. This in no way means that your plant is gonna flower soon, this is normal. Perhaps this will help:.View attachment 1616870

But yeah, they will show anytime after the plant has enetered veg cycle, but you could still have another 4-8 weeks of vegging before proper flowering

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Thank you for the cfl information. Also I have the preflowers and thanks for the picture, but they have been there since the plant was about 5 or 6 inches tall , it was a clone from a plant that i grew from a seed and I transplanted it into a 5 gallon bucket and then she died about 4 days later do to the wrong soil; that i transplanted her into it was just regular planting soil and it killed her quick but I wasn't on here to ask back then but i managed to take a clone off her before she died totally from the top of the plant that died last and this is the plant I have now. she is a great strain not sure but a friend gave me the seed from some stuff that she had and my wife smoked it and loved it i think it was some kind of indica, anyway the clone survived and it had already had the preflowers on it but now at about 20 inches tall and about 20 inches wide or round at it biggest width it has a lot more of the preflower parts and the pistols are getting bigger. But I wanted to tell you that I brought the plant outside and have been since the beginning at 6am 1st light and brought her in at 8pm last of the light and I brought her in because of the animals that come around here at night I have a fenced in very big property but I would get some very big animals like raccons and possom etc and I didn't want them Fking with it. So I put it by the back door with the window open but no light and she started to grow just on the main colas like they were stretching and they were growing very fast and the rest of the plant was just getting full of little leaves so she really filled out and stretched out. then i talked to someone on here and they said it was possible that she was starting to flower and I said i want her to grow more and flower much later and he said to make sure the lights were left on at night so that the plant would think it was still outside in the light but like a rainy day even though it was just a 100 watt regular incandescent bulb, it seemed to stop the intence growth of the colas and then the whole plant grew very fast altogether now it is growing evenly and it was only grew really fast for a few days and after the light i started going on here and asking about all the grow lights because as i think you said or someone else said that I should put it on 24/0 if i want her to grow and not flower and someone farmerboi sent me that awesome post about plants and 24/0 or 20/4 light and that is when i found out that i needed a grow bulb so when it gets here from amazon.com a 6500K 105 watts cfl and I put it over the plant is that going to cause any sexual problems like hermiing? or will it be a good thing and cause it to grow better, faster and bigger and then switch it to 12/12 and then she should start budding and then I would only have to have her outside for the 12 hours and maybe i will buy a metal halide or a hps bulb for budding. or just use the sun? I mean is there anything beter than the sun? or will that be fine because those bulbs and ballast are expensive and I don't want to go crazy. it is only for me and my wife I don't need 2 pounds. I also wanted to get another clone off this plant if it is not too late.(If she is going to start flowering it is too late to clone correct?) So If you need pictures let me know !!! and Thank You so much for answering all of these questions along with everyone else. I really do appreciate it. next grow will be that much easier after learning all of this. Thank you to all for the help, BB2112!!!!

here are the picture anyway not really good picts for seeing the preflowering but I will post some better picts but the average look of the plant looks Good, bad or ok or nice? these are about 3 weeks old now so i have to download some new one and close ups!!! thank You, BB2112.!!!

Korner420Garden said:

Referring to regular CFL (cfl stands for Compact Flourescent Lighting) bulbs. I only grow one or two plants at a time and 6500K CFLs are perfect for vegging. I also flower with higher wattage 2700K CFLs, but I get ALOT of popcorn low on the plant come harvest.

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2700K is a higher wattage than 6500K So the bigger the number the less amount of wattage the cfl bulb is? or did you make a mistake because you wrote that you use a higher wattage bulb a 2700K for flowering! Thank You, BB2112!!!!

Brett Brown said:

2700K is a higher wattage than 6500K So the bigger the number the less amount of wattage the cfl bulb is? or did you make a mistake because you wrote that you use a higher wattage bulb a 2700K for flowering! Thank You, BB2112!!!!

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Wattage is the amount of power the light consumes and the number with the K is color temprature (the higher the number the more blue, lower number more red). You can find each color in higher or lower wattage bulbs. Since light power = bigger buds, I use more power in the flowering stage.

Ill post some pics in a moment so you can see the difference for yourself.

These are the two types of bulbs I use. The one im holding on the left is the low wattage 6500K bulb. The one on the right is the higher wattage 2700K.

See how this one shines more blue. Thats the 6500K and offers more of the right spectrum for vigorous growth. I like to mix these with some 5500K bulbs to balance the spectrum.

This one is the 2700K bulb. The red spectrum of this bulb encourages the plant to build and strengthen itself.


You see CFL's being sold just about everywhere now, usually packaged as "bright white" "soft white" and "daylight" and with a big number usually representing the incandesent equivelent wattage. A closer inspection of the packaging will tell you the actual wattage (which is what you should be going by), the color temp (degrees Kelvin), and lumens cast.

Korner420Garden said:

These are the two types of bulbs I use. The one im holding on the left is the low wattage 6500K bulb. The one on the right is the higher wattage 2700K.
View attachment 1619882
See how this one shines more blue. Thats the 6500K and offers more of the right spectrum for vigorous growth. I like to mix these with some 5500K bulbs to balance the spectrum.
View attachment 1619881
This one is the 2700K bulb. The red spectrum of this bulb encourages the plant to build and strengthen itself.
View attachment 1619883

You see CFL's being sold just about everywhere now, usually packaged as "bright white" "soft white" and "daylight" and with a big number usually representing the incandesent equivelent wattage. A closer inspection of the packaging will tell you the actual wattage (which is what you should be going by), the color temp (degrees Kelvin), and lumens cast.

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Awesome post, that was the exact information i was missing I couldn't find it on the sites where i by the bulbs so i just kept asking on here and finally I got a few people to help!!!! Thanks alot, BB2112

Korner420Garden said:

These are the two types of bulbs I use. The one im holding on the left is the low wattage 6500K bulb. The one on the right is the higher wattage 2700K.
View attachment 1619882
See how this one shines more blue. Thats the 6500K and offers more of the right spectrum for vigorous growth. I like to mix these with some 5500K bulbs to balance the spectrum.
View attachment 1619881
This one is the 2700K bulb. The red spectrum of this bulb encourages the plant to build and strengthen itself.
View attachment 1619883
You see CFL's being sold just about everywhere now, usually packaged as "bright white" "soft white" and "daylight" and with a big number usually representing the incandesent equivelent wattage. A closer inspection of the packaging will tell you the actual wattage (which is what you should be going by), the color temp (degrees Kelvin), and lumens cast.

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To make the question as easy as possible what should I look for on the package to get the correct CFL bulb? ovbiously it is a 2700K but what will it say on the package for the redish color and what is the highest wattage I can get or should get for this bulb? All I have been able to find is a 30 watt 2700K but I don't know or it doesn't say on amazon.com what the color shade is! also what light form should I get daylight, soft white etc? Thats why I am a bit confused. Sorry man I just want to get it right, So I am not putting it on the plant and hurting it or wasting my time!!!! Thanks I would really appreciate it. BB2112

P.S I went to Home Depot today and looked at the back of the box and I saw a 2700K but how do I know what the shade is cause I want the redish shaded one correct? or is the 2700K mean that that is the "redish shade"? and the 6500K is the brighter or "blue-ish shade"? cause I saw alot of bulbs and none of them looked like the ones you showed me in those pictures.(then again I couldn't light any of them up) so that I could see the shade it is pretty hard to see when you put one next to the other without any ilumination. I am just not sure when I was at Home Depot what was the correct bulb and I asked the guy that worked there and he didn't know what I was talking about. So I am at a dead end on finding the proper bulb. Thanks, BB2112!

Brett Brown said:

To make the question as easy as possible what should I look for on the package to get the correct CFL bulb? ovbiously it is a 2700K but what will it say on the package for the redish color and what is the highest wattage I can get or should get for this bulb? All I have been able to find is a 30 watt 2700K but I don't know or it doesn't say on amazon.com what the color shade is! also what light form should I get daylight, soft white etc? Thats why I am a bit confused. Sorry man I just want to get it right, So I am not putting it on the plant and hurting it or wasting my time!!!! Thanks I would really appreciate it. BB2112

P.S I went to Home Depot today and looked at the back of the box and I saw a 2700K but how do I know what the shade is cause I want the redish shaded one correct? or is the 2700K mean that that is the "redish shade"? and the 6500K is the brighter or "blue-ish shade"? cause I saw alot of bulbs and none of them looked like the ones you showed me in those pictures.(then again I couldn't light any of them up) so that I could see the shade it is pretty hard to see when you put one next to the other without any ilumination. I am just not sure when I was at Home Depot what was the correct bulb and I asked the guy that worked there and he didn't know what I was talking about. So I am at a dead end on finding the proper bulb. Thanks, BB2112!

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I found an actual 42 watt cfl 2700K (warm light as opposed to daylight, natural light or ETC) Is this the highest watt I am going to find? Also is this the correct bulb to purchase? Please!!!!!! Help me I am not getting any help from Home Depot, Lowes or any hardware store about the redish tint they look at me like yeah whatever dude! aaaahhh! Yeah thats the bulb you want (because he wanted to sell me the bulb, not because he knew what I was saying or cared) and it was like $50.00 Dollars and then I look it up on Amazon.com and it was for that same exact bulb different manufacturer and it was $2.95 and $4.99 shipping so a total of like $8.00. Please let me know i don't want to wait 3 weeks for it and have it be the wrong bulb!!!! Thank You, BB2112.

This is correct...

Brett Brown said:

or is the 2700K mean that that is the "redish shade"? and the 6500K is the brighter or "blue-ish shade"?

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The daylight, warm white, bright white, etc, labels change from company to company. The only way you can be sure is to find the degrees Kelvin (2700K-6500K) on the packaging and see for yourself. You are also correct in that you cant tell what color they are going to be just by looking at them, unless theyre lit up.

Korner420Garden said:

This is correct...


The daylight, warm white, bright white, etc, labels change from company to company. The only way you can be sure is to find the degrees Kelvin (2700K-6500K) on the packaging and see for yourself. You are also correct in that you cant tell what color they are going to be just by looking at them, unless theyre lit up.

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so How will I know what bulb to buy if I don't have a sample lit up in front of me? Is that the only way to find out? Does it say anything on the package to let you know what the shade of the lumins are? Like on the back where it say all the infomation? and is the 42 watt actuall wattage not equivelient ok or is that too high or too low? and it is a 2700 K though and 42 watts! Thanks for the previous. I am sorry if I am being difficult I am Just getting more and more confused after talking to the guy at Home Depot and then the guy at Lowes was even worse. Now what you said makes sense but if I would have know this he may have understood what I was saying
P.S: Does the 2700K mean that it is the red shade or do 2700K's come in all shades and also in full spectrum? Oh wait I just read your letter again and are you saying that the degrees will tell you what shade it is? in Kelvin or K? So what is the lowest to highest degree's in K or kelvin that will be the redish shade? Thanks, BB2112!!!!!

This is the one I use for flowering, the reddish ones. These get pretty warm, so make sure you have good air circulation.


Remember, give it more blueish light for growing and more reddish light for flowering. And it couldnt hurt to mix and match different colored bulbs. Have fun with it, experiment with colors and wattages and see what works best for you.

Brett Brown said:

so How will I know what bulb to buy if I don't have a sample lit up in front of me? Is that the only way to find out? Does it say anything on the package to let you know what the shade of the lumins are? Like on the back where it say all the infomation? and is the 42 watt actuall wattage not equivelient ok or is that too high or too low? and it is a 2700 K though and 42 watts! Thanks for the previous. I am sorry if I am being difficult I am Just getting more and more confused after talking to the guy at Home Depot and then the guy at Lowes was even worse. Now what you said makes sense but if I would have know this he may have understood what I was saying
P.S: Does the 2700K mean that it is the red shade or do 2700K's come in all shades and also in full spectrum? Oh wait I just read your letter again and are you saying that the degrees will tell you what shade it is? in Kelvin or K? So what is the lowest to highest degree's in K or kelvin that will be the redish shade? Thanks, BB2112!!!!!

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The only way to find out the shade when you are buying it is to look on the packaging and find it. the K means kelvin. The color is relative to what you are comparing it to. A 5500k bulb will look blue next to a 2700K bulb, but the same bulb will look red next to a 6500K bulb.
Dunno if this helps...

Korner420Garden said:

The only way to find out the shade when you are buying it is to look on the packaging and find it. the K means kelvin. The color is relative to what you are comparing it to. A 5500k bulb will look blue next to a 2700K bulb, but the same bulb will look red next to a 6500K bulb.
Dunno if this helps...
View attachment 1625895

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Thank you, yes that all will help and now I know exactly which bulb I need to get It was the exact bulb you just showed me but from a different maker same wattage and same and same 2700K and same package. Thank you very, very much that was perfect and that little scale did help now I know what you wee trying to get to. Sometimes it just takes the right word or showing of a scale to get the exact point accross to start thinking in ways you have never had to but You definetley got the point accross with the last note for sure. Excellent! BB2112. What about mixing the 6500K with the 2700K at the same time would that be too much? or is that what you meant? Thanks man, saved me alot of headaches!!! lol

You can mix and match whatever you'd like. You can never go wrong with more light. See what works for you and go with it. During veg, I mix my 6500K with some 5000K. When I'm ready to flower, I keep the 5000K and switch out the 6500K with the bigger 2700K. You'll notice plants with more red light will be shorter with thicker stems. Plants with more blue light will generally be taller and leafier. Flowering with reddish light keeps the nodes of the buds nice and short and dense. Also, make sure to keep those bulbs as close to the plant as you can without burning the leaves.

Thanks, you really helped me out alot, saved me money and time and now I can relax, knowing i have the correct bulbs, Thanks and take it easy, Happy growing!!! BB2112

I wanted to throw a question up for anyone who knows how to answer it, I have a female plant that i started from a clone and she is preflowering and starting to do her stretch well the colas are growing much faster and straight up than the rest of the plant but when i put her under the cfl 6500K bulb she started to slow down and now she is back to growing fast but everything at about the same pace and what i would like an answer to is this: if i wanted to take a clone from this mother plant, it wouldn't be a very good idea correct? because if i did that wouldn't the clone be at the same stage as the mother plant and would start to pre flower and then flower as soon as the mother plant would correct? or when you cut it off for a clone does it start back from the beginning like a new plant and will go back to like a seedling and start the whole cycle over again or would she be dead with one little popcorn bud on her if I was lucky? So should I take a clone from the mother plant at this stage of the mother plant life? near flowering? Thank You, BB2112!!!!!

Korner420Garden said:

You can mix and match whatever you'd like. You can never go wrong with more light. See what works for you and go with it. During veg, I mix my 6500K with some 5000K. When I'm ready to flower, I keep the 5000K and switch out the 6500K with the bigger 2700K. You'll notice plants with more red light will be shorter with thicker stems. Plants with more blue light will generally be taller and leafier. Flowering with reddish light keeps the nodes of the buds nice and short and dense. Also, make sure to keep those bulbs as close to the plant as you can without burning the leaves.

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DAM DUDE, I JUST GOT THE FIRST BULB I BOUGHT AND THAT IS A BIG FRICKEN CFL 6500k. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF THOSE LITTLE CURLY BULB BUT IT IS ABOUT 9 INCHES LONG(WITH BALLAST) AND ABOUT 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER (WITH ABOUT 1/2 INCH DIAMETER TUBING ON THE BULB ITSELF). I DIDN'T KNOW THEY MADE THEM THAT BIG BECAUSE ALL I WAS LOOKING AT WERE THE THE SMALL ONES! THAT IS PROBABLY WHY THE GUYS AT HOME DEPOT AND LOWES WERE LOOKING AT ME LIKE WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT DUDE. ANYWAY IT'S GREAT AND I JUST GOT IT TODAY AND IT IS OVER THE PLANT NOW AND IT LOOKS GREAT LIKE THE BLUE THAT YOU TOLD ME ABOUT. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU AGAIN AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT IT WAS THIS BIG AND THEN I WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. ANYWAY TAKE IT EASY AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, NOW I AM SET FOR AWHILE AND PROBABLY WON'T HAVE MANY QUESTION'S UNTILL JUST BEFORE HARVEST. HAPPY GROWING, BB2112!!!!!!!!! IS THIS BULB WHAT YOU HAVE? (AS FAR AS SIZE)

Sorry "Korner420Garden" About that dude remark because I just realised after closer examination of your pictures of the bulbs that you are not a DUDE unless you get your fingers manicured and nails painted as they are in the picture of you holding the CFL bulbs. I am really sorry for the assumtion and we all know what happens when you assume, Hope you didn't take that personal. Thank You for all the help on the CFL'S you really helped me out alot. BB2112

If anyone could help me out here I wanted to know, On a rainy day or cloudy day would it be better to keep the plant inside under a cfl or outside?

lol yeah, the 150watters are pretty large compared to the lower wattage ones people are used to seeing in house lamp fixtures. For vegging (the first month and a half or so) I use two 26watt 6500K CFL's and add two 26watt 5000k CFL bulbs as the plant gets bigger, which are the wee curly ones. For flowering, I swap the 6500Ks for two 130watt 2700K and keep the two 5000Ks on the undergrowth. The bulb you have is bigger then any of mine, but I'm paranoid about overheating my lil closet. My big bulbs are about 7 inches long and are actually kinda heavy compared to the lil 26watters.

(P.S. If you're anything like me, then you call everyone dude regardless of whether they are a guy or girl. In case you dont, I should point out that i'm a girl )