APPENDIX D: REGENERATION

Regeneration, colloquially called “re-vegging,” is the process of reverting plants that have ended flowering back to vegetative growth. This is done for two purposes:

1. Saving genetics: If clones have not been taken before flowering initiation, reverting the plant to vegetative growth preserves the genetics.
2. It is often faster, easier, more convenient, and less labor intensive than cloning or starting with seeds.

Regenerated plants pruned of just their buds have complete infrastructures, so they can be fairly sizable without taking a lot of time in vegetative growth.

When a plant is pruned, new leaves and branches usually begin to grow within a few weeks. Growers can do the same thing with their plants. The regeneration process begins at harvest. There is no seed sowing or repotting involved. When harvesting, take the buds but leave at least a few branches with some leaf material and buds on them. The more that is left, the larger the plant will be when it starts growing again. The rest of the plant can be harvested as usual.

It is important that vegetative material is left on the branches because the plant won’t regenerate without it.

Growers who wish to grow single-stem plants should harvest most branches, leaving only a few bud sites on the stem. The plants’ energy will focus on this remaining growth site.

Once the plants are harvested, the lights should be left on continuously until the plants show signs of regeneration. The plants switch to the vegetative cycle and start to grow again in about 10 days. First, a vegetative branch will sprout from an old bud. Then the plants can be kept in the vegetative regimen of 18-24 hours of light daily to serve as clone mothers, or they can be forced to flower when they reach the desired size.

During this period, the new vegetative growth may look different from what would be expected. The leaves will be round and twisted; however, this is normal and can be expected. Those leaves will eventually be removed as the new vegetative growth returns to normal production.

Regenerated plants tend to sprout many branches, which results in a bushy plant with many small buds. To grow larger buds, prune the plants so that there are fewer branches. The plant will put its energy into the remaining branches, resulting in fewer but bigger buds.

Most people practice regeneration only once or twice and then start again with new plants, although a few growers harvest and regenerate repeatedly.

One popular method of using regeneration is by harvesting indoor plants and then placing harvested plants outdoors in the spring or summer. The plant regenerates and produces an autumn harvest. In warmer climates plants can be placed outdoors for a winter or spring harvest and then regenerated for autumn harvest. If plants are forced to flower in spring or early summer using light deprivation, they can be pruned for regeneration, and they will flower again in the autumn.