How to Re-Veg Your Plants: A Hydroponics Guide to Rejuvenating Flowered Crops

Re-Vegging Plants in Hydroponics: How to Rejuvenate Flowered Crops

In this blog, we’re diving into a fascinating and sometimes misunderstood topic in plant science: re-vegging—the process of turning a mature, flowered plant back into its vegetative state.

While humans can’t be reversed to childhood, plants sometimes can. For hydroponic growers working with valuable or rare genetics, re-vegging can save a crop, preserve unique traits, and extend the usefulness of a particularly successful plant.

What Is Re-Vegging?

Re-vegging (short for re-vegetation) is the process of taking a plant that has already flowered and inducing it to return to its juvenile, vegetative state. This is typically done when:

• A plant produces exceptional flowers or traits you’d like to preserve.
• You’ve lost all your clones or mother plants.
• You want to retain specific genetics that can’t be replaced with seeds.
• You are growing a monocarpic herbaceous plant (a non-woody plant that would normally die after it flowers and sets fruit).

How Re-Vegging Works

1. Switch to a Long-Day Photoperiod

Re-vegging relies on changing the light cycle to mimic summer conditions:

• 18+ hours of light per day will encourage vegetative growth.

2. Cut the Plant Back

• Prune back to just a few nodes (growth points) near the base.
• Leave healthy leaves and shoots on the lower part of the plant—this is vital for success.

3. Wait for Juvenile Growth

• New vegetative shoots may appear within 2–4 weeks.
• This process is more successful with smaller plants. Large, mature plants tend to struggle more.

Important Considerations

• Don’t use re-vegged plants as direct mother plants. Cuttings from re-vegged plants tend to root slower and less successfully.
• Instead, use re-vegging to get cuttings, then grow new mother plants from those.
• Avoid aggressive defoliation before flowering if you plan to re-veg. The lower growth is essential for reversion.

Why Not Just Flower Again?

Re-vegging to get a second or third harvest from the same plant is not recommended:

• Takes a long time
• Older plants become more susceptible to disease and root fatigue
• Growing media can degrade
• Second crops tend to be lower in yield and quality

In most cases, you’re better off starting fresh with new seeds or clones.

When Re-Vegging Makes Sense

Watch for These Common Issues

• Pest & Disease Build-up: Old plants and reused media can harbour pathogens.
• Xylem & Phloem Damage: Once damaged, nutrient transport may never fully recover.
• Deformed Growth: Re-vegging often produces odd-looking leaves and shoots at first—don’t panic!

Pro Tip: Preserve Genetics the Right Way

If you’re growing rare or valuable strains (such as specialty hops or other unmentionables common in hydroponics), re-vegging may be your only route to preserve genetics lost due to failed cuttings or mother plant death.

Final Thoughts: Is Re-Vegging Worth It?

It isn’t for everyone. It’s a slow, sometimes frustrating process. But if you’re looking to preserve top-tier genetics or salvage a great plant, it’s a powerful technique to have in your hydroponic toolbox.

Just remember:

• Use long-day lighting (18–24 hours/day)
• Prune carefully, leaving lower nodes
• Don’t expect to reuse the same plant for multiple full cycles

Article by Dr Russell Sharp

If you would like to keep up to date with subjects just like this, you can listen to both our podcasts! Links can be found bellow:

Hydroponics Daily Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/207T7p7fw9sPjINfSjVXW2

Cereal Killers Podcast: https://t.co/eSEbBkTVHl