Why’s my auto so itty-bitty?

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

This Northern Lights auto sprouted May 9th, so this is end of week 4 and I think it’s starting to grow pistils. My question is why is it so small? I’d like to plant another auto, but I’d like to know what to change first.
RQS Northern Lights auto
Sprouted in solo cup
Transplanted into Ocean Forest and moved outside 5/25
Immediately took off growing almost to size it is now in four or five days and then just stopped growing.
I’ve watered with plain well water ph’d to 6.5-7 twice when the soil seemed dry a couple inches down and the pot felt light. (I have a moisture meter coming today.)
Temps have been in low to mid 80s day and 50s at night. Hazy sunshine all day.
Leaves have looked perfectly healthy since the beginning when those lower leaves yellowed a little.
I’ve not been giving any nutes yet.
Data sheet showed plant was supposed to be 4-5 foot and give 6-8 ounces.
Where’d I screw up?

JIMKSI64 · Jun 5, 2025

Based on the stretch the outside light was not enough to grow very fast. You will need your light source to improve. This will be problematic.
Autos need a strong start with lots of light. From reading journals most folks keep them inside until preflower starts and hope for the best. Some folks who live where nature loves pot can just toss em out and water them and boom pot.
There are rules to growing pot and a big one is DLI. There are a few web sites that can give you your DLI average based on your zip code and even the last 4 if you are in an agricultural zone where they put stations up. Look up DLI for your strain and see what are the most advantageous months to launch.

AKM · Jun 5, 2025

Starting in a Solo cup, or any small pot, will stunt autoflowers. Need to start them in permanent pot they will grow in. I've had tons of autos stunt like this, they are still fun to grow and get nice buds.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

JIMKSI64 said:
Based on the stretch the outside light was not enough to grow very fast. You will need your light source to improve. This will be problematic.
Autos need a strong start with lots of light. From reading journals most folks keep them inside until preflower starts and hope for the best. Some folks who live where nature loves pot can just toss em out and water them and boom pot.
There are rules to growing pot and a big one is DLI. There are a few web sites that can give you your DLI average based on your zip code and even the last 4 if you are in an agricultural zone where they put stations up. Look up DLI for your strain and see what are the most advantageous months to launch.

Ah, I looked it up and DLI for here right now is 57-59 and this auto seems to like around 40-45, so I’m way too high. Would getting this plant out of the midday light help any, or will it not make a difference at this point. Also, should I just not bother growing another? How are others growing autos outdoors? I’m in a pretty fertile region so I would have thought I was golden.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

AKM said:
Starting in a Solo cup, or any small pot, will stunt autoflowers. Need to start them in permanent pot they will grow in. I've had tons of autos stunt like this, they are still fun to grow and get nice buds.

I was worried about this but I couldn’t fit the big pot in my tent and outside wasn’t fit for a seedling at all. If I do grow another, I’ll start it outside in the proper pot.

RoadKillSkunkHunt · Jun 5, 2025

Weedly said:
I was worried about this but I couldn’t fit the big pot in my tent and outside wasn’t fit for a seedling at all. If I do grow another, I’ll start it outside in the proper pot.

Many people will tell you not to transplant an auto-flower and to start them in their forever home. However, I've had great success transplanting them from first to final pot by starting them in 1 gallon containers and then switching to its final pot once it's roughly a foot tall.

You can do this if you are experienced transplanting plants and can do so with minimal to no transplant stress. Otherwise, start them in their final pot.

neneboob · Jun 5, 2025

Yeah I've had good luck transplanting autos, but I never wait more than a week or so to get them in their final pot. You wanna get them in as fast as possible to not stunt the roots. If the roots cant keep up on day 30ish when it flips to flower you're gonna have a bad time.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

Will do. But it’s been so nice out that I think I could start them okay in a seed plug in their final pot outside? The other question blowing my mind right now is the DLI issue. I had thought weed plants outside wanted full sun. Is this not true? Or not true for certain strains?

RoadKillSkunkHunt · Jun 5, 2025

Weedly said:
Will do. But it’s been so nice out that I think I could start them okay in a seed plug in their final pot outside? The other question blowing my mind right now is the DLI issue. I had thought weed plants outside wanted full sun. Is this not true? Or not true for certain strains?

If you opt for a "seed plug," I'll suggest either Root Riot Cubes or Rapid Rooters. They are miles in front of peat pellets and such. I start all my seeds in these. I've had better luck using the Root Riot cubes than I have had with the paper towel method.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

RoadKillSkunkHunt said:
If you opt for a "seed plug," I'll suggest either Root Riot Cubes or Rapid Rooters

I’ve been using Rapid Rooters except for the two I have in hydro now when I used some RQS seed plugs that I think was just a clump of stuck together coco. They worked great though. Five plants so far straight into plugs and 100% success rate—knock on wood.

Galgrows · Jun 5, 2025

I learned the hard way too about auto going outdoors too young and needing very warm sunny temps. But i don't grow them in big pots just 3gal. fabric works fine for me. Last summer i did autos outdoors sprouts right into 1gal pots and left them alone. Would of been great but my temps were low early on and got stunted, still had a harvest.

RoadKillSkunkHunt · Jun 5, 2025

Galgrows said:
I learned the hard way too about auto going outdoors too young and needing very warm sunny temps. But i don't grow them in big pots just 3gal. fabric works fine for me. Last summer i did autos outdoors sprouts right into 1gal pots and left them alone. Would of been great but my temps were low early on and got stunted, still had a harvest.

I usually run autos every summer ... just not this summer. However, by starting autos indoors in April and then moving them outside in May gives you time in late May to start more autos which will still finish by the 1st week of September. In my area, it's difficult to finish a photo but autos fit nicely and if you time it right, you can get 2 runs in before fall.

ArtfulCodger · Jun 5, 2025

One possibility, and I don't know if it applies to your situation, is that your plant could have been watered too frequently when it was young. That can stunt, miniaturize, and restrict side branching. Solos are challenging to get the watering right, depending on what media you're running. If you overwater early, you can lose a lot of growth in the veg stage, and with autos you don't get a ton of time to recover.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

Galgrows said:
learned the hard way too about auto going outdoors too young and needing very warm sunny temps.

RoadKillSkunkHunt said:
I usually run autos every summer

So should I be putting these plants in full sunlight right from the get-go even though the DLI will technically be too high? I do have shady spots in my yard. It’ll be in the upper 70s to mid 80s most days from here on out, except rainy days when I can bring them in.

Galgrows · Jun 5, 2025

What do you mean DLI being too high? Man can't we just use the term direct sunlight for 8+hrs and yes 80+ temps. I just place mine under a cover during rain unless the temps drop to 50f or under for days at a time. Once a healthy plant gets established and is growing well it can take abit of rain but not a monsoon.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

ArtfulCodger said:
One possibility, and I don't know if it applies to your situation, is that your plant could have been watered too frequently when it was young. That can stunt, miniaturize, and restrict side branching. Solos are challenging to get the watering right, depending on what media you're running. If you overwater early, you can lose a lot of growth in the veg stage, and with autos you don't get a ton of time to recover.

If anything I underwatered while in the solo cup since I drilled holes in it and it was drying out much faster than I anticipated, which I’m sure could be causing this stunting as well. I wouldn’t say it was root bound on transplanting, but the roots were out to the sides, just not wrapped around it. I thought the transplant had gone great because the plant really took off for a week. Then—kaputz. I’ll know better next plant. Or I’m trying to figure out how to.

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

Galgrows said:
What do you mean DLI being too high?

JIMKSI64 said:
Look up DLI for your strain and see what are the most advantageous months to launch.

Weedly said:
Ah, I looked it up and DLI for here right now is 57-59 and this auto seems to like around 40-45, so I’m way too high.

Is this proper logic?

GNick55 · Jun 5, 2025

Weedly said:
So should I be putting these plants in full sunlight right from the get-go even though the DLI will technically be too high? I do have shady spots in my yard. It’ll be in the upper 70s to mid 80s most days from here on out, except rainy days when I can bring them in.

dli? forget about it,.. useless information

Weedly · Jun 5, 2025

GNick55 said:
dli? forget about it,.. useless information

Certainly. So from seedling outside in full sunlight (8+ hours) would be okay?

GNick55 · Jun 5, 2025

Weedly said:
Certainly. So from seedling outside in full sunlight (8+ hours) would be okay?

yep,. and when growing with an organic medium than there’s no reason to be adding chemicals like ph up/down,.. the soil buffers the ph,..

Why’s my auto so itty-bitty?

Why’s my auto so itty-bitty?

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