If a strain is described as taking '9 weeks to flower', is that 9 weeks from when you change to 12/12 or 9 weeks from when you first notice flowers? Also, why do some people go 12/12 from seed? Is it to keep the plant small or is there another reason? I ask because I'm about to attempt a micro-grow (PC).
I think it's more accurate if you start counting the 9 weeks when you start to see pre-flowers, not when you switch to 12/12. And people start 12/12 from seed for a bunch of different reason. Most commonly due to space restrain, or if they want faster harvests.
Not necessarily when it shows it sex, just when you start to see white hairs coming out of where your buds are going to grow. Well, i guess that would be the plant showing its sex right? lol whatever. Good luck bro
a 9 week plant means it takes 9 weeks under 12-12 light. preflowers means it is a mature plant. all my clones show preflowers because they were taken of a mature plant and geneticly mature also.
it doesn't really matter, since everyone's environment is different, flower times will vary greatly. personally, the flowering starts when the light goes to 12/12.
I'm with Flight96 on this one, flowering starts when the plant starts flowering. If you flip to 12/12 before the plant is flowering then you shouldn't start the count yet. "Flowering" is a plant life stage, 12/12 is a light cycle. One induces the other but isn't the same thing as the other.
But what he means is the plant won't start to flower as SOON as you flip your lights. It takes those first few days until you start to see those first few pistles come in.
I start counting my flower days when I notice little "buddlets" maybe about the size of a marble or a little smaller. But even within the same strain, you can have many different phenos. best thing to do is use the breeders given flower time as a reference and from that point on, just check the trichs every couple days till its at the point you want to harvest
the plants go into flower as soon as the photoperiod changes. usually (me anyways) the plant already has shown sex, that's why i'm flowering it. but again, it doesn't matter. you don't chop just because 90 days (or whatever) has passed. you chop because the trichomes tell you it's time. it will prob. take longer....
the breeders recomended number of weeks refers to the number of weeks it takes from the switch too 12/12 lighting,the approx yield is the about they get out of a 3x3 space doing a sea of green. they give you the approximate weeks so u can decide when to begin your flush. that way you dont flower to long and get hermies
did you know that You will get the best out of your plant by waiting until it starts pre-flowering before switching to 12/12. then its not the days as some plants say 9 weeks but at 10 weeks the trichs are still clear. THE TRICHS TELL YOU WHEN ITS READY!........NOT THE TIME ON THE PACKET! peace........................................
Plants need a minimum amt. of time from seed/sprout to sex even under 12/12 which I-M-Observation is 3-7 weeks anyway. After that (they sex) and at that point the switch of light to 12/12 will need approx. one week added to the seeds flowering duration to be mature. The need to qualify buds for harvest however always requires the use of microscopic visualization. Just add one week.
its not from when preflowers show because preflowers will show in veg if vegged long enough. The first night of 12/12 the plant turns over to flowering mode. Go from when you switch to 12/12
if you dont flush the tricomes wont amber. they just turn milky. and they stay milky untill the flush. once u start the flush they will turn amber and begin to turn color. i dont flush with plain water or clearex. that is for soil only. in hydro u just need to flush with a 1/4 strength of your normal solution. there shouldnt be much salt buildup issues in hydro. flushing with straight water in hydro removes the smell thats about it. in soil there are build ups that happen aswell as the time released ferts that are in it. that is why clearex was invented.
i gotta tell you, i've never heard any of what you posted before, ever! i don't want to sound like a richard, and don't want to get into a big thing, but i've gotten amber trichs "every" time w/o starting a flush. i grow in coco, which is hydro, and i flush with plain, non- ph'd water, and it works just fine. why would you want to continue feeding (at any strength) during a final flush? can i ask where you got this info. from? i would never use a pre-ferted medium to begin with, but after 3 months (give or take) all of the pre-ferted ferts would/should be long gone anyway. and all of those clearex type solutions were made to make money off of growers who don't know any better....