Photoperiod of Cannabis Plants

A photoperiod is the time cycle of light your cannabis plants go through.

You will find that during the vegetative phase that most professional growers follow a 24/0 photoperiod. This means that they leave their lights on for 24 hours a day. It results in much more vigorous plant growth, thus producing a much more abundant yield.

Other growers tend to opt for an 18/6 photoperiod. This means that the lights are on for 18 hours a day and off for 6. This is a quarter less than a 24/0 period, but it does not cause your plants to produce a comparative quarter less weed. They certainly will not produce as much of a yield as a cannabis plant grown under 24/0 lighting, but it is in no way a comparatively disappointing amount. The advantage of doing this is that your weed growroom requires less monitoring and you spend less money on electricity.

It really comes down to where your priorities lie. A 24/0 photoperiod is going to get you a more bountiful yield, but cost you more in electricity and cause your growroom to get hotter as it will have no cooling down period. This will mean you have to monitor and maintain the growroom a lot more. An 18/6 photoperiod will not require this.

When you plant reaches the end of its vegetative phase, you will turn the photoperiod to 12/12. This triggers a reaction in the plant that causes flowering. This 12/12 photoperiod is maintained until harvest.