July 31, 2020
Medicinal plants, like all living things, go through a series of stages as they grow and mature. If you’re interested in cultivating medicinal plants, it’s especially important to understand the changes a plant undergoes during its life cycle, as each stage of growth requires different care.
Different stages call for different amounts of light, nutrients, and water. They also help us decide when to prune and train the plants. Determining a plant’s sex and overall health rely on stages of growth as well.
In this article, we will examine the several key stages of the Indoor Medicinal Plants life cycle.
The first stage of life for a medicinal plant begins with the seed. At this point, your medicinal plant is dormant, patiently waiting for water to bring it to life.
You can observe the quality of the seed by its color and texture. The seed should feel hard and dry, and be light- to dark-brown in color. An undeveloped seed is generally squishy and green or white in color and likely won’t germinate.
To begin growing from a seed, learn more about germination here. This stage can take anywhere between 5-10 days.
Once your seed has popped, it’s ready to be placed in its growing medium. The tap root will drive down while the stem of the seedling will grow upward. Two rounded cotyledon leaves will grow out from the stem as the plant unfolds from the protective casing of the seed. These initial leaves are responsible for taking in sunlight needed for the plant to become healthy and stable.
As the roots develop, you will begin to see the first iconic fan leaves grow, at which point your medicinal plant can be considered a seedling.
Medicinal Plants Seedling stage (2 to 3 weeks)
During the seedling stage, two embryonic leaves will open outward from the stem to receive the sunlight that the baby plant needs to break out of its underground seed casing.
The embryonic leaves will look nothing like the indoor medicinal plants leaves that you’re used to.
The next pair of leaves to grow from the baby plant will be the first to have the classic rounded points that make the indoor medicinal plants leaf stand out from all the rest.
Factors that lead to the healthy growth of Medicinal Plants seedlings
Warm temperature, around 22 – 27º C
Relative humidity: around 65 – 80%.
Low light intensity, blue spectrum preferred
Adequate light distance (hand test)
Light/Photoperiod: 18 hours of light / 6 hours of darkness.
Nutrition: a low dosage of nutrients for start, then increasing
Small pot size: Once germinated, place your seed/seedling in a small pot or cup with drainage for better results
Watering: Water your seedlings with a sprayer to avoid overwatering
pH levels: between 6.5 and 7
Vegetative Stage
Duration: 3 to 8 weeks
Also called the vegetation phase, the vegetative stage marks a significant growth spurt for your seedlings, which you will need to transfer to larger grow pots. Growth occurs rapidly during the vegetative stage, with vertical growth especially pronounced. Can you imagine your plant growing two inches taller in just 24 hours? It could happen!
Your plants will also begin to take on a definitive shape at this stage. For example, a sativa plant will become long and narrow, while an indica will be shorter, bushier, and denser with foliage. The sexual characteristics of your plants will also become apparent and you can differentiate between the males and the females now. By the end of the vegetative stage, female plants will exhibit two white pistils and male plants will grow pollen sacs. Be sure to remove these pollen sacs to avoid contaminating your female plants.
A slightly lower temperature is ideal during this phase. When your plants were seedlings, you maintained a temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit, but now you can adjust to a range of 68 to 77 degrees. Humidity may also vary more, with 50 to 70 percent sufficient. Give your plants ample light: at least 16 hours a day and as many as 24 continuous hours. Finally, keep feeding your medicinal plants with nitrogen-rich fertilizer.
The flowering stage is the final stage of growth for a medicinal plant. Flowering occurs naturally when the plant receives less than 12 hours of light a day as the summer days shorten, or as the indoor light cycle is shortened. It is in this stage that resinous buds develop and your hard work will be realized.
If you need to determine the sex of your plants (to discard the males), they will start showing their sex organs a couple weeks into the flowering stage. It’s imperative to separate the males so they don’t pollenate the flowering females.
There are a number of changes to consider once your plant goes from its vegetative stage to flowering:
How Long Is the Indoor Life Cycle from Start to Finish?
Although the growing times can vary, it typically takes around three months from start to finish. Depending on the method of growing, medicinal plants are typically ready to harvest after three months. The time it takes to grow your plants will also depend on the amount of time the medicinal strain takes to flower.
Some strains flower at 7 – 8 weeks, while others may not flower until 9 – 10 weeks. There are a few strains that may take up to 15 weeks to flower. In general, medicinal plants mature much faster when grown indoors because the environment can be precisely controlled.
Should you choose to grow medicinal plants outdoors, expect the entire process to take around 6 – 9 months before harvesting. The reason for this lengthy period is a lack of control over the light the plants receive.
Having come this far, you can take pride and delight in growing your own high-quality medicinal. Equally as enjoyable will be the various medicinal and recreational benefits at your disposal, courtesy of the marvelous medicinal plant.