# Seedling

> A seedling is a young cannabis plant from emergence of the cotyledons until it has several sets of true leaves, typically the first 2-3 weeks.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seedling.html
- Also written: seedlings, seedling stage, sprout, baby plant
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Supported
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A seedling is the young plant between emergence and the start of vigorous vegetative growth. It begins with two rounded [seed leaves](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cotyledon.md) (cotyledons), then produces [true leaves](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/true-leaves.md) with one, then three, then five [leaflets](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/leaflet.md). Most growers call it a seedling for roughly the first 2-3 weeks, until it has 3-4 nodes and is growing quickly.

## In practice

Seedlings have small roots and little stored water, so they are easy to drown and easy to scorch. Typical targets are gentle light (about 200-400 [µmol/m²/s](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ppfd.md) PPFD), 22-26 °C (72-79 °F), fairly high humidity (about 60-70% [RH](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/relative-humidity.md)) and light watering in a small volume around the stem rather than a full soak of a big pot. Little or no feed is needed for the first week or two in most pre-fertilised mixes; in inert media a weak solution (about 0.4-0.8 [mS/cm](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ms-cm.md)) is common.

The classic beginner fault is [overwatering](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/overwatering.md) a seedling in a large, cold, wet pot.

## Don't confuse with

- **Clone (rooted cutting)**: also small and young, but grown from a cutting, with no [taproot](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/taproot.md) or cotyledons.
- **Stretchy seedling**: a seedling with long, weak stem; usually too little light, not a separate stage.

## Related terms

[Germination](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/germination.md), [Cotyledon](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cotyledon.md), [Damping-off](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/damping-off.md), [Hardening off](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/hardening-off.md), [Veg time](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/veg-time.md)

## Read more

- [Seedling care: the first three weeks](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/germination/seedling-care.md)