Foxtailing... a desireable trait?

Jimster · Apr 19, 2020

I was looking at some seed advertising and noticed that most of the "Big Bud" type of plants seem to have foxtailing occuring in their pictures. I have had foxtailing happen before and I didn't really notice anything different aside from the shape and slightly less taste. Does anyone else try to do this on purpose? The buds come out nearly as wide as they are long, but are flattened slightly instead of round. I see more and more traits that used to be undesireable that are making their way into the lineup of more and more strains and their progeny. Times have changed but not as much as the plant!
What are your thoughts? Please overlook the "borrowed" pic of foxtailed bud @Izzy1980 ..Thank You!

jaguarlax · Apr 19, 2020

Jimster said:
I was looking at some seed advertising and noticed that most of the "Big Bud" type of plants seem to have foxtailing occuring in their pictures. I have had foxtailing happen before and I didn't really notice anything different aside from the shape and slightly less taste. Does anyone else try to do this on purpose? The buds come out nearly as wide as they are long, but are flattened slightly instead of round. I see more and more traits that used to be undesireable that are making their way into the lineup of more and more strains and their progeny. Times have changed but not as much as the plant!
What are your thoughts? Please overlook the "borrowed" pic of foxtailed bud @Izzy1980 ..Thank You!

I just got finished reading an article talking about it coming from stress and also being undesirable as you mentioned. Before I got into growing Cannabis, and knew what "foxtailing" meant, I always thought the trait looked awesome and got excited when I got a batch that looked like it was foxtailing... I used to get some silver haze that foxtailed like a mf but I always sought it out...just my two cents

Dirtbag · Apr 19, 2020

Undesirable for me or anyone I know. Cash croppers hated it because it slowed down trimming.

We only ever saw it when heat got away on us or the plants grew too close to the lights.

I see it all the time on LED grown pot and it's one of the things that's prevented me from trying any of the newer LED's myself..

Jimster · Apr 19, 2020

Dirtbag said:
Undesirable for me or anyone I know. Cash croppers hated it because it slowed down trimming.

We only ever saw it when heat got away on us or the plants grew too close to the lights.

I see it all the time on LED grown pot and it's one of the things that's prevented me from trying any of the newer LED's myself..

IDK if it is the LEDs that are causing more foxtailing, or something in the genetics that is becoming less recessive.If you look at the overall shape and size of cannabis from the 60s to now, the plants hardly resemble each other. In the 60s and stuff, everything was tall and spear tipped sativa. he Indica, when it arrived, was also considerably taller than it is today. This makes sense for indoor tent growing but sucks if you are trying to grow tall plants from the current strains.
I'm not saying there aren't tall strainsout there, but they are disappearing quickly. I love Train Wreck, but it is difficult to get it more than a few ft tall despite being bushy as hell.

cemchris · Apr 19, 2020

Genetics can cause it. The more sat dom stuff will do it. Happens alot in haze crosses. It happens to me when plants get too tall and close to the light like @Dirtbag said.

For example: vegged a week longer then I liked for this room. This plant does it a little to an extent but as it got closer the more it happened.

Jimster · Apr 19, 2020

cemchris said:
Genetics can cause it. The more sat dom stuff will do it. Happens alot in haze crosses. It happens to me when plants get too tall and close to the light like @Dirtbag said.

For example: vegged a week longer then I liked for this room. This plant does it a little to an extent but as it got closer the more it happened.
View attachment 963711

I have used the beginning of foxtailing as a sign that my plant is finished, and I sometimes get a little green horn, about a 1/2 inch long, growing out of the bud's tip. This is from old landrace strains that don't normally foxtail until the very very end. With foxtailing becoming commonplace, like pistils showing during vegging, it gets a little more difficult to determine when something is truly finished.

Dirtbag · Apr 19, 2020

cemchris said:
Genetics can cause it. The more sat dom stuff will do it. Happens alot in haze crosses. It happens to me when plants get too tall and close to the light like @Dirtbag said.

For example: vegged a week longer then I liked for this room. This plant does it a little to an extent but as it got closer the more it happened.
View attachment 963711

For sure some strains have it to a degree. Our Wedding cake was like your pic. That just is what it is, I have no issues with buds like that.
To me though, undesirable foxtailing is the long spires that shoot way out of the buds all over from heat stress. Like your top in the pic only worse. And it could happen to almost any strain that got too close to the lights for us.

It would also make the half pound bags huge.

growsince79 · Apr 19, 2020

I once had a clone that foxtailed under HPS at the end, but maintained perfect form under MH.

MIMedGrower · Apr 19, 2020

Many of the sativa leaning strains i have foxtail towards the finish. But when i let them keep going they tend to mostly fill out the space created. And push out way more trichomes those last extra weeks.

I do back away crom the hps lamp a couple inches to help keep them from getting out of hand.

More dense indica phenos dont seem to do it at all but also tend to have a flatter fuzzier high in my opinion.

so I guess i love foxtail weed.

goingtoguano · Apr 19, 2020

I often get a lot of fox-tailing. I just let it grow, what else is there to do? What does bother me though is the new pistils that come out of foxtailing. Sometimes, it seems the whole outer-skin of the top buds is new growth/fox-tailing that continues to spit-out new white pistils. I then becomes hard to judge maturity and ripeness.

goingtoguano · Apr 19, 2020

More...
Here is a picture of my last plant that shows better what I am saying. You see the darker area? That is what I think is the original outer area of the bud and is probably pretty ripe but, there is new growth/foxtailing that is definitely not ready. This is like week 10 on a supposed 8-9 week strain. I let it go another couple weeks and it all looked better but it is just weird.

growsince79 · Apr 19, 2020

goingtoguano said:
I often get a lot of fox-tailing. I just let it grow, what else is there to do? What does bother me though is the new pistils that come out of foxtailing. Sometimes, it seems the whole outer-skin of the top buds is new growth/fox-tailing that continues to spit-out new white pistils. I then becomes hard to judge maturity and ripeness.

IMO she's telling you she's done. The little extra weight gained isn't worth it. Not only is trimming a hassle, but the tails just end up turning to shake. Also the inside of the bud is probably getting looser the longer you wait.

revfunk · Apr 19, 2020

IMO if you're seeing foxtail's that aren't genetic, you've messed up along the way. Various forms of stress lead to this kind of growth. Definitely not desirable IMO

cheers!!!

BorealCuring · Apr 19, 2020

I fox tailed 4 strains in one plot, one severely, by feeding high N during flower. Some are pretty as hell and when hand trimmed well are downright gorgeous. But as was mentioned above, in the bag? not so good. And my trimming machine hates it.

dire wolf · Apr 19, 2020

Hey jimster ,my first and pretty much last experience with foxtailing was when me and my dad starting growing togther , i set up a box for him with hids , maybe 20 years ago , it was when we working a lot with soma strains and he came out with the nycd new york city diesel , which we know has nothing to do with the real diesels , my dad was apposed to using any un necessary electricity , because he thoughy the stadium bright 600 hps was going to bankrupt him , so i had the elicent inline fan going all the time and he couldent stand it ( he would shut it off when i left ) kept telling me it wasnt necessary , id put my hand under the 600 and ask him to tell me how his head would feel under it , he kept reading the box temp in the middle at around 90 deg and said with a clip on fan it was fine .... drove me nuts
So the nycd was growing like a monster , but the ones in the center foxtailed like crazy , besides looking ugly as shit , it ( foxtailing) reminds me of all the arguing i did with my dad , so for whatever reason , and im sure the sativa , is from heat stress or at least accelerated by heat stress , i cant stand even looking at them , if a plant foxtails in my garden i toss it , and i got a noob buddy who thinks he discovered a new fascinating trait in cannabis , he actually started breeding for the trait , i want to kill him......

dire wolf · Apr 20, 2020

Ive also grown a lot of hazes and serious seeds kali mist , mostly / all sativa , they grow beautiful and have foxtail as a normal trait, but i found that if i go thru a bunch , like 10plants i always find one or two without the foxtail and a more pleasing spear , fatter overall shape without the braided long tips shooting out...

Dirtbag · Apr 20, 2020

Really if you think about it, the reason equatorial sativas develop foxtails to begin with is because they originate from hot locations. Whereas high mountain indica landrace strains get the intense light, but usually cooler drier environments.

Reminds me of an interview with Arjan of greenhouse seeds with Kyle Kushman where he was talking about how they can take a pure landrace indica plant, and when they breed it to itself, outdoors in the Congo, over several generations of breeding It will adapt and start to grow more like a sativa. Just gave me an interesting perspective on just how much environment dictates so much of how weed expresses itself.

Moshmen · Apr 20, 2020

Dirtbag said:
For sure some strains have it to a degree. Our Wedding cake was like your pic. That just is what it is, I have no issues with buds like that.
To me though, undesirable foxtailing is the long spires that shoot way out of the buds all over from heat stress. Like your top in the pic only worse. And it could happen to almost any strain that got too close to the lights for us.

It would also make the half pound bags huge.

Unfortunately looks like this?

Dirtbag · Apr 20, 2020

Moshmen said:
Unfortunately looks like this?

Yeah, sorry man dont mean to offend but I'd consider that undesirable foxtailing.

Moshmen · Apr 20, 2020

Dirtbag said:
Yeah, sorry man dont mean to offend but I'd consider that undesirable foxtailing.

No offense I know it new lights, I’m on a permanent learning curve rn. Lol just tryin to show what ya don’t want!

Foxtailing... a desireable trait?

Foxtailing... a desireable trait?

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Foxtailing... a desireable trait?

Foxtailing... a desireable trait?

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