# Amber Trichomes - Do They Exist?



## tiredofbuyingit (Sep 24, 2008)

Hi Everybody,

This is my first grow. It's an indica strain my friends brother has been growing from clones since the 80's, and they decided to breed it with another strain of indica. After the 3rd breeeding I got seeds and am now almost 10 weeks into flowering under a 600watt hps. One of the plants I harvested after about 8 weeks because it wasn't using water anymore. The smoke was OK, but the trichs were pretty clear, so more of a head buzz than anything. The original strain was always complete at 8 weeks. I now have almost all milky trichs, but none have turned amber. Some of them have lost the heads too. I've been checking daily under a 80x microscope. 

Has anyone gone longer than 10 weeks flowering an indica? 

If the trichs are all milky will this give me more of the couch lock buzz, or do I need to wait until I see amber first? 

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## mbpdavies (Sep 24, 2008)

That seems quite strange, was the photoperiod interupted late on in flowering? If the timer had gone bad for a day this would have stalled the flowering and may be the reason why the buds are no longer maturing. If not then I have no idea why it's taking so long. Indicas are usually a bit less than sativa dominant strains, around 8 weeks maximum.


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## tiredofbuyingit (Sep 24, 2008)

The light has been constant, but maybe some gaps between the flowering and veg rooms have caused some issues. I've read that some indicas take about 10 weeks. Has anyone had any that take that long?


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## CaNNaBiZNeSS (Sep 25, 2008)

yea mine took a shit load of time like 9 weeks and they had about 1/20 amber to milk trich ratio, and my shit is the PERFECT high, i dont like gettin amber trichomes in an already couchlocky strain, a deep double indi cross? damn your gonna BLACKOUT if you smoke likea gram if you wait till teh trichs are amber, but thats what alot of ppl want you know? anyways id like to get a clone of the original plant from teh 80s, any old strain to me is 10x better than the shit you can buy from banks today unless those banks are such ass FD and have the 70s stabilized haze pure genes


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 1, 2008)

ok, so it's been 10 weeks 5 days or 75 days. One of the plants has a few of the trichs turning amber on some of the larger leaves, but only the smaller trichs. Almost all of the others are milky. 

When I view the trichs from an above view some of the heads look amber, but haven't seen any from the side view because they're too small and I can't balance the leaf on it's side while viewing. If I harvest when they are just turning amber will I still get the couchlock buzz?

When I harvested a couple of the plants early they dried out to where the stems snapped and the outsides were crispy in about 4 days. At this time they smell like hay. I had them in a 70 degree room with low humidity. After putting them in jars and opening them a couple times a the hay smell was still there . When I break a bud open the smell is pretty good. Does anyone know where I'm going wrong?

Thanks to everyone.


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 2, 2008)

Any thoughts from anybody would be awesome. I'm a noob and scared of f'ing this up.


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## joebuck (Oct 2, 2008)

I'm with ya there - my first two plants I harvested still smell a little hay-like in the jars and they never really "sweated". I'm thinking they dried too fast while hanging but I couldn't slow them down any more (I even went and got a humidifier!). I am waiting to harvest my other ones - they aren't ready, but I'm hoping to find out if I am doing the harvest/cure right first. (It's my first grow too...at this point, f*cking things up would seriously bum me out!)


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## brodietheconeking (Oct 2, 2008)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> This is my first grow. It's an indica strain my friends brother has been growing from clones since the 80's, and they decided to breed it with another strain of indica. After the 3rd breeeding I got seeds and am now almost 10 weeks into flowering under a 600watt hps. One of the plants I harvested after about 8 weeks because it wasn't using water anymore. The smoke was OK, but the trichs were pretty clear, so more of a head buzz than anything. The original strain was always complete at 8 weeks. I now have almost all milky trichs, but none have turned amber. Some of them have lost the heads too. I've been checking daily under a 80x microscope.
> 
> ...


im currently flowering 1 and its in its 7-8th week and mine are all white nearly look


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## FootballFirst (Oct 2, 2008)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> .... One of the plants I harvested after about 8 weeks because it wasn't using water anymore.


What do you mean by this?


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## Thundercat (Oct 2, 2008)

10 weeks seems really long for an indica! I thought about 8 was max for indicas, and 10-12 for some sativas. It may have to do with the cross breeding. Has any one else grown these seeds that you got from this guy? Are they having the same results? What happened with the first 2 breedings that you mentioned, did those plants take longer then usual?


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 2, 2008)

football - What I meant is after watering the pots stayed wet for over a week. I thought maybe they were dying and went ahead an harvested. I now know I should have just waited it out.

Thundercat - it's a long story, but I am the only one to grow from these seeds. I'm not sure how the first 2 breedings went, but I'll ask tomorrow.


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## tikitikitravi (Oct 2, 2008)

i got some skunkweed seeds untouched from the 70's and 80's along with some anonymous seeds from the same era my dad used to grow out then saved when he stopped.


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## bonze309 (Oct 2, 2008)

Well I think a lot of people get confused. When do you start keeping track of the week when it shows preflowers or when bud start forming. There is about 3 or 4 weeks that could be taken off. So then that would put you at 8 or 9 weeks. My first one smells like that but its very good to smoke. But the others I left out made a big diffrance so if you can leave them out for cough lock. Good luck keep me up to date plz


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 2, 2008)

bonze - they showed sex about 4 days into flowering and had visible buds within a little over a week.


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## FootballFirst (Oct 2, 2008)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> football - What I meant is after watering the pots stayed wet for over a week. I thought maybe they were dying and went ahead an harvested. I now know I should have just waited it out.


I see. damn 10 letter minimum


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## Thundercat (Oct 2, 2008)

Well tired, my honest opinion...if you are the only one to grow out these seeds, then your the first to encounter the long bloom issue. I personally think that whoever bread them (and i'm not saying its his fault) ended up with a bad cross breed! The odds of getting a successfull cross breed even with excellant parents, is usually low from everything that i've read. I havn't tryed any breeding yet myself, but I would *really* like to*. *So I've been doing alot of research on it. I'd find out how the other two breedings went, if they flowered them out, and how long it took. Frankly with the very long bloom time, and the "hay" smell, it may just not be a good cross. All you can do now, is wait it out, and see what you get in the end!


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## smoke and coke (Oct 5, 2008)

im doing some bagseed for my first grow, and most are indica dominant and a couple of sativa dominant. im on like week 10 since i turned light to 12/12. mostly trichs are milky and most of my leaves are turning yellow and falling off. i cant find an amber trich anywhere.1 more week or sooner i hope. i also have a couple for the last week and a half just dont need any water. im growing in soil and the pots feel just as heavy as the last time i watered. i know there getting close.


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## Thundercat (Oct 5, 2008)

I waited till I had about 30%-40% amber, and that was right about 8-9 weeks for mine. It was definitely a better night time smoke! Next time I am going to aim for maybe 10% amber, and try to get more of the THC up high, be a bit more functional. Or maybe harvest the tops at about 10% and let the lower buds get up to like 40-50% and make them my bed time buds!!!


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## SpruceZeus (Oct 6, 2008)

Wait it out, you'll be glad you did. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but all this talk about harvesting early for a more cerebral high is nonsense, ask around, you'll see. If you want that high you need to smoke a strain that provides it, sativa. 
There is a perfect window of time in which to harvest your plants, wait until they are ready and you will be happy. Ideally you want to harvest when the trics are standing straight up and 50-75% amber as that is when they are at their peak thc content. During drying they will continue to mature and "break down." 
About the hay smell, keep doing what you're doing, it takes a while before your bud is "cured" I recommend a minimum of 3 weeks carefully monitored jar time, but some people insist on at least a couple months. Trust me, take your time, dont smoke it all up before it gets a chance to ripen.
Anyhow, i wish you good luck and happy growing..
I'd love to see some pictures!!!


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

NO ONE out there recommends 50-75%. I'm not tryin to start a fight either, but you said it yourself. The buds continue to mature while they are drying. Every thing I have ever read, on this site, in HIGHTIMES, and all over the internet, all recommend 20-30%. Also you stating that the "more cerebral high" is nonsense, also contradicts what hundreds of "EXPERTS" have to say on the subject. The point isn't to harvest early, its to harvest at the beginning of the harvest window. Ofcourse you want to harvest when your THC is at its peak, but if you harvest at the begining of the window, you will be harvesting before the other chemicals in the plant are at their peaks. It is those other chemicals, that provide the strong sedetive effects ie. couch lock. Its also been my experiance that the buds will smell before and after curing, it may change the smell a bit, but that isn't what creates the smell. LIke I said, not tryin to fight, and I know I don't have as much physical exp as some people on here, but I am continually trying to accurately educate myself to improve my knowledge and my grows!!


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

Obviously growing sativas will provide a more UP high, and that is the best way to acheive that!


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## Kludge (Oct 6, 2008)

So to clarify; amber means the THC is breaking down into other cannabinoids, cloudy means it's full of THC goodness. The reason people wait till they see amber is to make sure they get all of the different types of cannabinoids available. Does that sound about right?


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

I don't believe that the THC turns into the other chemicals, but rather the plants develops them. But amber is a sign that the trichomes a starting to break down. The plants reach their peak THC when all the trichomes are milky. In my experience, this didn't happen until about 10% had also started to turn amber! The longer you let them go the higher levels of other cannabinoids, the plant produces, which then adds to the couch lock effect!


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

***But amber is a sign that the trichomes a starting to break down.***

Perhaps mature would be a better term for me to use then break down at this point in the harvest window.


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## Kludge (Oct 6, 2008)

Thundercat said:


> I don't believe that the THC turns into the other chemicals, but rather the plants develops them.


THC breaks down into CBN when it oxidizes.

Cannabinol (CBN) is the primary product of THC degradation, and there is usually little of it in a fresh plant. CBN content increases as THC degrades in storage, and with exposure to light and air. It is only mildly psychoactive. 
- Wikipedia

I wasn't really asking the question; I was just trying to convey information and not sound like a smarty pants.


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

I wasn't trying to sound like a "smarty pants, thats y I added, "the believe" thank you for the correction on the exact chemical change. I never claimed to be an expert I just read alot, and obviously miss understood that.


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## Kludge (Oct 6, 2008)

Thundercat said:


> I wasn't trying to sound like a &quot;smarty pants, thats y I added, &quot;the believe&quot; thank you for the correction on the exact chemical change. I never claimed to be an expert I just read alot, and obviously miss understood that.


Wasn't saying you were, was saying I was trying not to...


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 6, 2008)

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm starting to see more amber trichs on one of the plants. I'm a couple days into week 12 now. Damn! what a long flowering period. The last plant I chopped down and jarred finally got rid of the hay smell and although doesn't smell like the supa-dank, it is pretty good. Gave some out to a couple friends and all of them say I'm real close to getting it right. 

I read an article by Fdd2blk, actually it was the harvest tutorial. He states that the knows when the buds "look ready". I finally understand what he's talking about now. He says that the smaller leaves curl up from the ends and the sides, which the one plant that has amber trichs is doing. This plant is also getting a little darker tint on the leaves, which is a result of the trichs being amber too. He also stated this in the tutorial. 

This site has been awesome to me. Just wanna say thanks to everyone.


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## Thundercat (Oct 6, 2008)

Its all kool kludge! 

So tired, I was wondering when I read thread earlier, have you flushed/or are you, flushing these plants?


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## Kludge (Oct 7, 2008)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> I read an article by Fdd2blk, actually it was the harvest tutorial. He states that the knows when the buds &quot;look ready&quot;. I finally understand what he's talking about now. He says that the smaller leaves curl up from the ends and the sides, which the one plant that has amber trichs is doing. This plant is also getting a little darker tint on the leaves, which is a result of the trichs being amber too. He also stated this in the tutorial.


Yeah, I saw that in the latest plant I just harvested. Freaked me out at first because I've never had the patience to wait till the plants were actually ready but now that I have I can see what he's talking about. My leaves are actually turning a little purple on the drying buds and that looks totally bad ass.


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## tiredofbuyingit (Oct 7, 2008)

Just harvested the one plant that miraculously pollunated itself. I still haven't found the male flower on any of the plants. This one was about 5 oz's wet weight. I started flushing these about week 7 thinking that they would be done in 8 weeks. Almost all the large fan leaves have turned yellow and fallen off. They are in need of nutes, but too late now. I've attached some pics of the main cola I just chopped and a couple of the plants in my grow room.


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## Kludge (Oct 8, 2008)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> Just harvested the one plant that miraculously pollunated itself. I still haven't found the male flower on any of the plants.


If you've ever had a male plant around it can happen. I left one outside my house for too long and I managed to bring in some pollen from it before I could get it moved.


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## Gamberro (Apr 16, 2011)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> Just harvested the one plant that miraculously pollunated itself. I still haven't found the male flower on any of the plants. This one was about 5 oz's wet weight. I started flushing these about week 7 thinking that they would be done in 8 weeks. Almost all the large fan leaves have turned yellow and fallen off. They are in need of nutes, but too late now. I've attached some pics of the main cola I just chopped and a couple of the plants in my grow room.


Stressful conditions will cause the plant to produce hermie seeds. I had that happen to one of my giants right now, it's really too bad  surprised your plant still managed to bush out so much.


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## Equinox117 (Dec 10, 2012)

about 70% for indica & 30% for sativa.. any grower knows that


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## reyesplants (May 31, 2013)

I got white hairs but the lil shroom things aren't turning color is that normal or should I harvest since the hairs on my plant r curling to the nuggs and turning browner on some top colas any help would b usfull


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## Dannysayo (Jun 2, 2013)

Do u have pics? I wouldn't think about harvesting yet ESP unless u got 90%orange hairs at least. How are ur trichs?


reyesplants said:


> I got white hairs but the lil shroom things aren't turning color is that normal or should I harvest since the hairs on my plant r curling to the nuggs and turning browner on some top colas any help would b usfull


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## schuylaar (Jun 4, 2013)

tiredofbuyingit said:


> Hi Everybody,
> 
> This is my first grow. It's an indica strain my friends brother has been growing from clones since the 80's, and they decided to breed it with another strain of indica. After the 3rd breeeding I got seeds and am now almost 10 weeks into flowering under a 600watt hps. One of the plants I harvested after about 8 weeks because it wasn't using water anymore. The smoke was OK, but the trichs were pretty clear, so more of a head buzz than anything. The original strain was always complete at 8 weeks. I now have almost all milky trichs, but none have turned amber. Some of them have lost the heads too. I've been checking daily under a 80x microscope.
> 
> ...


I go longer flowering indica sometimes 11-12 weeks not unusual especially if its hybrid saliva. I like field of golden mushrooms on my indica hybrid.

amber is maturing and disintegration of THC..it's also the fire..some will tell u cloudy..but if you are growing indica for the narcotic feel, you want what I described above..

All my friends in their 20s like this that have tried mine and request more.IMO

FOR NEW GROWERS ONLY
when you think it's ready give it another week..


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## Herb Man (Jun 5, 2013)

mbpdavies said:


> That seems quite strange, was the photoperiod interupted late on in flowering? If the timer had gone bad for a day this would have stalled the flowering and may be the reason why the buds are no longer maturing. If not then I have no idea why it's taking so long. Indicas are usually a bit less than sativa dominant strains, around 8 weeks maximum.


Not so. I've just harvested some indica's that went 10 weeks in flowering, with bearly any amber. 

Amber seems to take a long time to come.


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## Gamberro (Jun 5, 2013)

Yeah, both hairs and trichomes are just educated guesses based on common strain characteristics, they definitely don't apply universally. I had this one phenotype of I think AK-47 that I tried to get to go amber and it just would not budge, I think it was like fourteen weeks that I finally gave up and chopped it.

Also I rather doubt that the timer malfunctioning for a day would make that much of a difference, I had to go mobile with one crop and they had a lot of light stress and still did alright.


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## qwizoking (Jun 5, 2013)

what kinda question is that of course all plants will go amber, i have a landrace right now at 20 weeks thats just turning


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## MYOB (Jun 7, 2013)

The reason you wait for amber trichomes is because it is a good indicator that the plant has maxed out its production and there will be the highest concentration of stalked trichomes with fat, round, cloudy heads. 

You dont want amber trichomes, they are useful to determine when the plant is loaded with cloudy trichomes. 

That is my understanding anyway. 

I also havent seen many strains truly finish in 8 weeks. Its usually more like 9 or 10 regardless of what the breeder says.


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## Reklaw (Jun 7, 2013)

just looked on my ladys today... and was LIKE WAAAAAA .... got a few amber trics in them .. time to harvest


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