Fan®

Flowering Type: FastraX perennial – first year flowering plants without vernalization. Facultative long day plant. Long days with higher light intensity result in faster flowering.

Flowering Mechanism: Flowering is affected by day length. A day length >13 hours will result in flower initiation. High light intensity and warmer temperatures shorten the total crop time.

Germination: Optimum conditions for seedling development, beginning on the day of sowing until radicle emergence. Expect radicle emergence in 8-12 days.

Cover: Do not cover, light is required for germination. But a light covering with vermiculite prevents the pellets from drying out.

Sowing method: 1 pellet per plug.

Media: pH 5.8-6.2. EC 0.7-1.2.

Temperature: 20-22 °C (68-72 °F) until radicle emergence. Afterwards, ensure 18-20 °C (64-68 °F) during night and day. When the roots reach the bottom of the cell, the temperature can be lowered to 16-18 °C ( 60-64 °F).

Moisture: Begin with a wet (4) for the first days of germination. Then alternate between a wet (4) and a moist (3).

Humidity: 80 % until radicle emergence, then reduce to 70 %. Constantly high humidity is required during this phase. Provide proper ventilation and horizontal airflow to improve oxygen levels in the media.

Light: Grow the plugs at only 10 hours of light in the tray to keep them vegetative. Provide light levels of 2,000-2,500 ft. candles (20,000-25,000 lx) which can be increased to 4,000 ft. candles (40,000 lx) before transplanting.

Fertilizer: Maintain an EC <1.2. Begin fertilizing early to improve seedling quality. Initial feeding should start at 50-100 ppm and gradually work up to 100-175 ppm at this stage.

Plug Bulking and Flower Initiation: Maintain optimal conditions during the vegetative stage from cotyledon expansion to flower initiation.

Growth Regulators: Sprays of B-Nine (daminozide) at 1,500-2,500 ppm are very effective in toning the plants and controling growth during the plug stage.

Media: pH 5.8-6.4. EC 1.1-1.3.

Light: After transplanting, provide 3-4 weeks of short days to get more color at the date of sale and to encourage more compact, well-branched plants. On longer days with >13 hours of light, the plants will initiate flowers.

Temperature: Maintain 16-18 °C ( 60-64 °F) during night and day. Once established in the final container, the temperature can be lowered to 10-15 °C (50-59 °F). Cooler temperatures support the uniformity, stability and compactness of the plants, even if the crop time increases somewhat. An outdoor production is also possible. In winter, a frost-free cultivation indoors at 3-5 °C (38-40 °F) or an outdoor cultivation with a fleece cover is possible. The plants are sensitive to strong frost temperatures.

Moisture: Alternate between moisture levels moist (3) and medium (2). Let plants dry back before re-saturating, but avoid drought stress.

Humidity: 40-60 % humidity is ideal. Providing good ventilation and horizontal airflow will help lower the humidity and dry back the media, providing oxygen to the roots.

Fertilizer: Moderate fertilization levels are required. Feed weekly with 100-200 ppm nitrogen using a complete balanced fertilizer. Avoid high ammonium and high nitrogen levels. Prevent magnesium deficiency by applying magnesium sulphate 1-2 times and in case of iron deficiency apply iron-chelate for 1-2 times.

Growth Regulators: Proper moisture and temperature management reduce the use of growth regulators. Depending on the season of cultivation, regular sprays of paclobutrazol and uniconazole can be applied. „Fan® Scarlet Compact“ grows genetically more compact and requires less to no growth regulators.

Fungicide: Apply fungicides during long periods of low light and high humidity. Sclerotinia could be an issue.

Common Diseases: Phytium, phytophtora, root rot.

Pests: Leafminer, aphids and thrips.

Post Harvest: Fertilize with potassium nitrate at 100 ppm 1-2 weeks prior to shipping.