When do you start counting flower days?

Good question.....

 

Most do from the flip but they shouldn't. Especially as most will take the breeders directions exactly. Flip to 12-12 then chop after 9 weeks, this will most likely always be too early. ive not got many under my belt but I'd start checking trics after 9 weeks like I did my last. Then Wait another week or two or however long for the Amber to appear.

I can't remember where I read but this:

Germination-Seedling-veg-stretch-flower-dry-cure. Different stages.

GL

 

I don't. They'll be done when they're done. The "official" method would be to pay attention to the trichomes, pistils, calyx and over all appearance of your plant. This is something you will learn more and more with experience.

You should never go by breeders times. They will not apply to your grow. Breeders times are notoriously shorter then actual grow times. All breeders times are is the earliest recorded harvest by an expert grower, in an expert setup with deep intimate knowledge of the strain only gained through experience with the strain. Does that sound like you?

For the rest of us it's generally a couple weeks longer

Breeders times and yeilds are nothing to go by. Very little information is given with that data.
What was the lighting situation?
What was the environmental situation?
Hydro, soil or some other medium?
How long was the veg time to obtain the yeilds reported?

There's lots more unanswered infformation that makes going by the breeders time and yeilds pretty much useless information. At best it can give you a rough estimate of rather it's a long or short flowering period but that's about it. Even thc and cbd percentages can very immensely from one grower to the next. Think of the breeders information as best case scenario in a perfect world. I don't know about you but I don't live in the perfect world, I live in the real world

That being said a plant doesn't just instantly flip to flower the day you cut the light hours. It takes time for the plant to adjust into flowering

 

I start one week after I see first popcorn

 

I track mine both ways.
6 weeks of 12/12.
5 weeks of active flowering.
Pistils & trichomes tell the tale of readiness anyway.

 

Some growers start at the flip and some start counting after "transition"
7 to 10 days after switching to 12/12.
Actual flowers don't really start showing until 14 to 21 days after light change.

 

Do you have a journel? Or documenting anywhere?

 

seems 2 weeks after flip flowering starts

 

I'm with @killset on this one. He hit a grand slam with his response. I'm pretty high right now and i may ramble on or get off track. But, oh well.
Usually I have plants in various stages of veg and flower. I have a rough idea of how far along they are. But they are done when they are done. Not when someone says.

How can you have a date picked to harvest weeks away? Please, please, don't go by breeder times. I've had plants flower for 11+wks from when they first started throwing pistils. And these were Supposedly 8 wk strains. I have also harvested the same strains about 9 wks after 12/12 flip. Let the bud structure, pistil growth and trichs be the factor of when to harvest. Choosing a date of 4/6 at this point isn't wise. Your buds may not be ready or could be past prime ripeness.
I have had 2 journals and with those, the first I counted days/wks of flower from when flowering started. My 2nd, I went from when I flipped. But noted in the journal, x days since flip.
Sorry for the ramble lol. I warned ya.

 

Looks to me like a few here are missing the OP's question he asked when do you consider a plant to be in flower to call it in flower after vegging not how long to harvest

 

Didn't miss the question. Answered the question and hit on other points.

 

if your plants have pre-flowers showing (white hairs) you can start counting the days when you change the cycle to 12/12. if your plants are not showing sex yet, you start counting when you see the first white hairs appear. but this will not be an exact science, they will be done when they are done regardless of what the breeder says. i have found very few strains that are actually 8 week strains, most are more like 9 or 10wk. i am growing a 10pack of original bubblegum right now and all will be done at different times from the looks of them. each plant is different.