I honestly wouldn’t stress it becuz he looks good! I’m curious to see if your other GP seeds grow at about the same rate. I got a nutter butter seed rooting to replace my GP I gave to my gm, which is going slow like yours. My main 3 will be repotted this weekend to 3g fabric pots and moved outside full time. You would’ve never guessed the gelato started the same time as the other two.
It’s gonna be a good growing season for you!
Just clipped two big fan leaves from the super silver wasn’t sure how many to do exactly but didn’t want to over stress
I think you may want to consider the air flow dynamics of filling deep pots like these 5ga buckets only 1/2 way. Potentially more problematic than the shading that happens, is you create a micro climate of stale air for both the lower leaves and the roots. It doesn’t necessarily kill a plant, but it’s not ideal either.
That being said, It is a strategy I sometimes utilize, when I’m trying to save space and media. Doing so generally in smaller containers, that I know I will up-pot into the same container w more soil once the roots fill in.
If the plants have a solid root mass, I would up-pot in the same buckets, just adding soil underneath. If the roots have not formed a cohesive mass, as an alternative, you could use a handsaw and cut the top of the bucket off:)
Trimmed up and filled with mothers earth hoping the leaves start reaching for the light angina instead of drooping