can i put a mature indoor plant outdoors?

[catdaddy]

i have a dilemma and wanted to know if i could put a mature indoor plant outdoors without having to acclimate it? the plants are 3'+ and 4-5 months old. thanks in advance.

 

[Oldsam]

Straight answer No.if what I'm feeling is the need to do it fast just put them in the shade leavem for a couple then in the ground

 

[Chobble]

i have a dilemma and wanted to know if i could put a mature indoor plant outdoors without having to acclimate it? the plants are 3'+ and 4-5 months old. thanks in advance.

Yes you can. Its not the best way to do it, but you can. I always like to harden off my babies before putting them outside. Honestly though, unless its getting below 40 degrees at night I dont think it would hurt em.

Chobble

 

[SmokeyPipes]

Yes you can,but it may try and go into flowering right away,since the daylight hours are still under 14 hrs right now!

 

[nebulius]

The purpose of hardening off the lights is to reduce stress. Going from artificial light to natural may shock the plant.
Yes you can do it, but it may cause shock and delay growth.

 

[Chobble]

The purpose of hardening off the lights is to reduce stress. Going from artificial light to natural may shock the plant.
Yes you can do it, but it may cause shock and delay growth.

Hardening off is not for the artificial light actually. That really doesnt have that big of a part in it. Commercial greenhouses generally have a more open area for hardening off, Its where the plant is exposed to outdoor conditions (wind and cool temps) but still protected thus hardening them off.

Hardening off is to prevent stress, but it also depends on the strain. I always harden my Master Kush off but my Strawberry cough just goes outside fine.

 

[El Cerebro]

Can you guys elaborate a little with examples from your gardens? Like, if I took a cut/seedling to around 3ft under a 1k mh, then how long should I hand-hold it outdoors until it's likely ready for full sun? Maybe some smaller examples too, just that's the one most pertinent to me right now :)

I've often wondered if much of this stress comes from abrupt change in vpd?

 

[Blaze]

Usually about 4 days under shade cloth or filtered sun is enough in my experience. It is some what strain dependent though, some are much more light sensitive and will take a few more days. The UV light is what causes the burn - grow lights just do not match the intensity of real sunlight. The size of the plant doesn't really affect how long it takes, small plants will harden off just fine. If the plant's leaves feel soft they aren't ready for full sun yet - they should have a waxy coating. Most strains will flower w/o supplemental lighting this early in the year though, I'd wait another two weeks before putting them outside.

However keep in mind that older, larger plants acclimate much slower and will take longer to take off and start growing outside. A small, fresh clone will get you more yield than an old, large plant at the end of the season. In fact the size of the plant when it goes out has very little impact on the final size and yield at the end of the season from what I have seen.

 

[caregiverken]

Dudes...^^^Blaze knows his stuff ^^^

No way man. I wouldn't put an indoor plant straight out into direct sun light...what ever strain it is...

 

[OctoberDee]

Mine burn immediately and takes weeks for healthy leaves to grow back going from in to out just like that. What Blaze said is spot on

 

[catdaddy]

Usually about 4 days under shade cloth or filtered sun is enough in my experience. It is some what strain dependent though, some are much more light sensitive and will take a few more days. The UV light is what causes the burn - grow lights just do not match the intensity of real sunlight. The size of the plant doesn't really affect how long it takes, small plants will harden off just fine. If the plant's leaves feel soft they aren't ready for full sun yet - they should have a waxy coating. Most strains will flower w/o supplemental lighting this early in the year though, I'd wait another two weeks before putting them outside.

However keep in mind that older, larger plants acclimate much slower and will take longer to take off and start growing outside. A small, fresh clone will get you more yield than an old, large plant at the end of the season. In fact the size of the plant when it goes out has very little impact on the final size and yield at the end of the season from what I have seen.

ok cool. if i was to leave it od under a tree which fully shades it how long each to leave it outside? thanks in advance.

Dudes...^^^Blaze knows his stuff ^^^

No way man. I wouldn't put an indoor plant straight out into direct sun light...what ever strain it is...

hey thanks for the sharing your experience, and i will definitely take you guys advise.

Mine burn immediately and takes weeks for healthy leaves to grow back going from in to out just like that. What Blaze said is spot on

Mine burn immediately and takes weeks for healthy leaves to grow back going from in to out just like that. What Blaze said is spot on

hey thanks for the advise you'll, and i am defintely take heed to it all.

 

[Blaze]

If doing it under a tree with full shade I would probably do a few days in the shade, then a few days in filtered shade or in a spot where they only get intense direct sunlight for part of the day. The idea is to slowly acclimate them to the more intense light. Going straight from full shade to full sun could burn them. Trust me - you don't want to burn them. It can stall them out for days, even weeks if they get burned bad. It's better to take your time and acclimate them slowly..

 

[Bannacis]

Blaze has it right, just do it that way and you will not have a problem.

 

[symbiote420]

I have done this for atleast 15 years, but I'm in MI so it may not apply to places with little to no rainfall, I wait for a nice night and put them straight in the ground before a cloudy and/or rainy day,and if it gets too hot the next day I place a window screen by it to block filter the sun rays a little, never had a prob and they seem to adjust alot faster than any other method I've tried!

 

[caregiverken]

I have wondered about cloudy days...that does seem like a good time to put them out..
.I wasn't sure if they would burn so I always shaded them anyway

 

[Chobble]

I have wondered about cloudy days...that does seem like a good time to put them out..
.I wasn't sure if they would burn so I always shaded them anyway

The sun shouldnt burn your plants generally. Your in a greenhouse most the time though so your okay?

Ill go over basic hardening off for you guys...

"Hardening off" is the practice of taking a seedling/clone outdoors. You are acclimating the plant to the different temperatures outside along with the different wind etc. (Hopefully you have an oscillating fan on your veg room and it makes the babies nice and strong).

Now a commercial garden I work at we have three greenhouses. Seedlings, Teens, Hardening. The last greenhouse has every vent etc open and the fan kicks on to move air around throughout the day.

When I move seedlings/Clones outdoors I like to take them out at night for the first few days then leave them out for about 6-12 hours in the afternoon. All this for about a week. I've never really seen any big difference between hardening off and not though, I'm sure its needed in some instances.

Chobble

 

[Dunge]

I discovered the need for hardening off last spring when I burnt the shit out of almost everything I put out.
It took weeks to recover, but they did.
The burnt leaves were bleach white.
It seemed a tragedy at the time.

 

[Chobble]

I discovered the need for hardening off last spring when I burnt the shit out of almost everything I put out.
It took weeks to recover, but they did.
The burnt leaves were bleach white.
It seemed a tragedy at the time.

^^

Hot days in summer will do that to the babies. Like Ken said a Cloudy day is also a good option. :P

 

[Blaze]

I have wondered about cloudy days...that does seem like a good time to put them out..

It is!

 

[Bannacis]

The sun shouldnt burn your plants generally. Your in a greenhouse most the time though so your okay?

Ill go over basic hardening off for you guys...

"Hardening off" is the practice of taking a seedling/clone outdoors. You are acclimating the plant to the different temperatures outside along with the different wind etc. (Hopefully you have an oscillating fan on your veg room and it makes the babies nice and strong).

Now a commercial garden I work at we have three greenhouses. Seedlings, Teens, Hardening. The last greenhouse has every vent etc open and the fan kicks on to move air around throughout the day.

When I move seedlings/Clones outdoors I like to take them out at night for the first few days then leave them out for about 6-12 hours in the afternoon. All this for about a week. I've never really seen any big difference between hardening off and not though, I'm sure its needed in some instances.

Chobble

catdaddy is going from indoor to outdoor...not from greenhouse.
don't risk the burn, take it slow...