Just had a random thought come to mind...with sativa's having a much longer flower time over an indica, can you send them to flower earlier, with the idea that they will continue to veg especially being the flower time is say 3 months vs 2? Can you just flip it to 12/12 on a sativa at say a month veg, have that first out of 3 flower months be used for vegging so to speak, and have it turn out similar strength than a indica that has a total life cycle of 4 months vs 5? I guess a simpler way to put it is keep both the sativa and indica's total life cycle exactly the same, 4 months total regardless of how much time is spent in 12/12 for each. I see so many sativa's that look awesome and I want to try, but the long flowering time really turns me off a little bit.
sativas can have such excellent yields though. maybe try doing a grow of them once. you wouldn't regret it I don't think
I have a Sativa dominant pheno on week 16 of flower right now and I will tell you that it has been worth the wait. In answer to your question, yes, you can absolutely start flowering them earlier, and probably should depending on your own specific grow room situation. J
Starting a sativa sooner will not affect the quality of the bud but it will result in a smaller yield. That veg time is somewhat proportional to final yield. There are some very good sativa/indica strains that finish fast and have sativa effects. chernobyl is one I have grown, it went ten weeks and was killer potent. Twas Ever Thus!