Hibernation [poking About The Edges]

[Dunge]

I have long wondered about some plants ability to survive long periods of dark and cold conditions.
Being in interior Alaska, i have an abundance of environment, and I just happen to have some extra clones I wouldn't mind running through the ringer, so here are the first contestants:

Will strive to align images with labels.
Plants were match selected by size.
Half are heading to the garage floor where it's presently 53 deg F at 30% RH.
The other matched half will continue to veg under fluorescence and LED.

Follow along as I attempt to stop and restart vegetative growth.
This is the present garage population.

Thinking of putting a box over them, but not much light gets to them where they sit.
Might push them closer to the garage door for cooler temps, if it looks like they can take it.
Plan to water lightly as needed.

I have more cuttings to play with, and am thinking of splitting off a cold but lighted group.

Anybody care to predict the fate of the chilled ones?

 

[Seamaiden]

I can tell you that not much growth will happen at 53*F, irrespective of light. Don't ask how I know! Kidding, you can ask. :)

They can take it, they just won't grow. I cool my rooms to slow growth when I need a breather.

 

[Medusa]

U shouldn't have to deal with bugs at those temps ....slowly but they will ..my flower drops to that sometimes ...not 50's

 

[SeaF0ur]

2 relevant pdf's... as stated above, the growth will be severely stunted, and some nutrient uptake will likely be disturbed.

SOIL TEMPERATURE AND PLANT GROWTH
Effects of soil temperature on shoot and root growth and nutrient uptake of 5-year-old Norway spruce seedlings

 

[Dunge]

I went nuts with cuttings in a frenzy of excitement following the legalization vote in Alaska.
I also hate throwing away veg from trimming.
Wanted all my friends friends to have cuts.
I'm getting good survival and veg is stuffed and getting worse.
I need for cold storage to work.

 

[mrfxr]

Have not tried it with weed. I have however kept a tropical hibiscus for 15 yr. I cut it back to wood in fall and keep it in the dark storeroom temp 45-50 F. Giving it 1gal. water per month. It produces minimal pale growth all winter. ( about 7 mo.) Then in spring it comes to life outdoors and grows back to 6 ft. Tall again and blooms profusely. It however is a bush. I would be interested to learn the results of your experiment. Ps. my clones are kept on the bottom section of my grow cabinet on the floor. In winter the temp. is down to 60 -65 F. at nite 73-75 days. and they respond quite well. Just sayin'

 

[Dunge]

Week one results are encouraging.
Garage temp is now reading 45 deg F at 33 % RH.
The attached image shows how the basement plant has thrived over the past week while the garage plant seems to have arrested.

Their positions got swapped in the hope that their development will match back up in seven days.
The smaller samples had not achieved enough differentiation to play with.
May need to up pot the little ones to get the growth I need for this trial.

So far so good.
If the garage plant is able to pick back up quickly, this would be very helpful.

 

[Dunge]

Another week, and some data is in.
Cold arrests growth for one week without hurting plants ability to grow when placed back in warmth.
45 deg F 35 % RH

After this photo I left both these larger plants in the garage and shifted focus to the smalls.
In weeks to come I will likely bring one of these back inside to start checking on how long plants can live in the cold and recover so nicely.

These plants continue to be segregated.
Slow growth in the basement sample can be attributed to small cup and EWC/ProMix only low nutrient mix.

The only negative result of putting plants in the garage seems to be a crisping of a few leaves that seem to have been on the way out anyway.
The remaining veg is supple and turgid.

So far, so good.

 

[Dunge]

Three weeks into garage storage experiment.
45 Deg F 37% RH

The original six in 3 inch pots.
Edit mistake in label.
The two six inches.
Snatched a plant back to basement.
On life support.

 

[Dunge]

This is an example of where my photography skills are not up to the task of showing how badly damaged this plant was from 17 days in the garage.

What I hoped would be tip loss is starting to look like a significant loss of photosynthetic capacity.

She's not dead, but hasn't finished showing full damage.

Will try to round up a max/min thermometer.
Concerned about the lows.
I bumped up the thermostat to 54 Deg F (from 50).
Don't expect this to change floor temps over by the garage door.
The original plants not so close to the door don't look to have suffered any damage, but these plants have both been in and out, but no sustained long term garage time.

Still, it's nice to see them look so healthy.

 

[Dunge]

This is not what I'd call "bouncing back".
This is after 48 hours of recovery and she is sinking still.

I was so reassured by that first revival test that I thought maybe this chiller idea might work.
This plant had been in the garage the longest of any, so it is a worst case plant.
But I took action!
Plant functions slow down, transpiration goes to nothing, tissue dries and dies.
I drenched the garage cache with foliar and put a blue tarp over them.
Getting them out for the spraying I couldn't help but see that some are not well.
Losses will already be high.
I'm trying to stop time until 24 February 2015. (90 days after legalization vote certification)
Even if they all die, there is another generation following them into the fray.
This costs me dirt and Rooter plugs and I'll recycle the dirt.
The cloning is fun.

 

[Dunge]

Next day, inside tent:

46 deg F 66 % RH
Much better.
May they livelong enough to flower.

 

[motz]

I would be checking your cement floor temp instead of ambient air temp.
It's not so much ambient you have to worry about down to just above freezing, had plants snowed on before but your root zone heat
needs to be a lot warmer for those to survive.
Have put adult carcasses in a root cellar for the winter though and they came back after hibernating.

 

[Dunge]

The big story at present is that after 8 days of recovery, my girl is starting to look alive.
How much was lost is yet to be seen.
I'm thinking I'll just let the plant take care of pruning for the moment.

What this is telling me is that my initial failure to tent, and thus elevate RH, has not ruined the effort to preserve plants in a suspended state.

The tent is holding the RH up and temps are still cold.
I appreciate the concern about floor temps.
I don't believe the floor temps ever go below freezing, and that's all I aspire to.
A bigger problem is I'm out of space, floor or shelf.

Will put up another tent tomorrow, as I have two trays needing OUT OF MY GARDEN.(voice of God)
They get too tall to fit the shelf, and I hate to bend them too much.

So fresh veg is going into hibernation, and I believe I have arrested the damage being done by low RH.
Back on track for HIBERNATION TO SPRING 2015.
(No way!
He thinks he can stop time?
Not spring.)
OK. Then maybe 24 February, when most everybody will want to grow one as a house plant, if nothing else.

 

[motz]

Any kind of cold on those roots is not good, you better rethink that one?

 

[Desertboy]

Fridging plants is an old trick, grandma's around the world have been doing it for years and it works very well. I've fridged many plants over the years and clones and have found high success rates.

When fridging clones always use ultra sterile conditions to take the clones and store them unrooted in ziplock bags, plants just put it in the fridge.

The worry doing it how you are would be possible frost damage.

The longest I fridged clones for is 12 weeks but you could go longer for sure.

 

[Seamaiden]

Aye, right now I'm trying to let a male plant die. Total darkness, right now it's seriously cold down there, been two weeks. I took a peek and the motherfucker looks like someone's been taking care of him! Sonofabitch.

 

[Dunge]

These poor devils have been in the cooler for about a month.
At floor level, and have clearly taken a beating.
Thus far, moto's warning about the cold floor looks valid as veg further up in the shelves look to be in better shape.

That missing spot is where I got that plant that is recovering nicely after over a week inside.

Will these survive resuscitation?
To bring these two trays in required two to go out.
And yes, they are on the floor.

Gotta do.... well you know the rest.

Reminder: this is an experiment, and is in no way intended to indicate how I normally treat plants.
My veg space is stuffed and at risk of over-grown.

HNY!

 

[motz]

That was motz not moto and you're welcome.
Done this all before just trying to be of some help
Some of those the damage has been done, I'd say at this point "no"

 

[kolah]

From what I have read (and experienced in my own outdoor grows here in the High Rockies) being under 50 F slows down growth tremendously and 30-40's they shut down completely. Being on the cold cement floor is adding to their fate. The big fan leaves get frostbitten first and then the cold damage works it way inward. I've had some mildly frozen ones that recovered back to 100% after picking off the crisp damaged fan leaves. And some others (once thawed out) turn completely to mush (think cooked limp spinach..buds included)

I like your style of experimentation..although a bit ugly it's always good to challenge and observe things. Remember too that some strains will handle cold temps far better than others....and that over time ( years and years) MJ can acclimate to the challenges. Hell, just look at how indicas have evolved...they develop short and squatty towards the ground (using ground heat mass), they stay thick and bushy with lots of leaves ( great insulation and wind blockers), and they finish up early...all things to keep them warm and stay in survival mode. And sativas are just the opposite...as they grow long, lanky with big internodes, and few leaves (to stay cool) and they finish later. Hybrids ( the 50-50) strains may give many folks the best of both worlds though. One thing I know for sure, MJ is the coolest plant to grow in all the world.

Most new outdoor growers make a common mistake of not matching their strains to their region/location and climate.

Good post, thanks.