# Stretch

> The stretch is the rapid increase in height in the first two to three weeks after switching to flower, when many cultivars grow 1.5 to 3 times taller.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stretch.html
- Also written: flower stretch, flowering stretch, the stretch, bloom stretch, transition stretch
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Established
- 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"

The stretch is the burst of vertical growth that follows the switch to a flowering [photoperiod](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/photoperiod.md). Stems elongate and [internodes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/internode.md) lengthen as the plant builds the framework for its flowers. Most cultivars roughly double in height; narrow-leaflet, long-flowering types can triple, and compact types may add only 50%.

## In practice

Plan for it: flip a plant when it is about half to one-third of the height the space allows below the light. Keep tucking, LST-ing and [supercropping](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/supercropping.md) through the stretch to hold the [canopy level](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md). Large [day-night temperature differences](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dif.md) increase internode length; a cooler day than night (negative DIF) is sometimes used to reduce it.

[Seedling](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/seedling.md) stretch is a different problem: long, weak stems from too little light, not this flowering response.

## Don't confuse with

- **Stretching (seedling)**: a symptom of low light in young plants; see [stretching](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diagnosis/stretching.md).
- **Foxtailing**: spire-like bud growth late in flower.

## Related terms

[Flip](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/flip.md), [Veg time](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/veg-time.md), [Supercropping](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/supercropping.md), [Internode](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/internode.md), [Canopy](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md)

## Read more

- [Stretchy, leggy cannabis: a differential](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/diagnosis/stretching.md)
- [SCROG: screen of green](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/training/scrog.md)