Do you count flowering from 12/12 switch or when you see pistil hairs?

Alright,
I know this thread is half a year old but this is so stupid I have to chime in.
You count flowering time from the the day you flip to 12-12.
Why? Because if not then there is absolutely no reason to count at all. The whole point of counting flower period is so that you or the next person to grow it might have an idea of how long it takes to flower a strain. If you ignore a period of time that can range from one week to 3 weeks in the first part of flower then saying a strain takes 6 weeks or 8 weeks or 10 weeks is pointless because you don't know how long the first part of flower was.
Do I harvest according to a set date? No, obviously you harvest when the plant is ready but it is valuable to have a actual time period estimated for your flower cycle. Any grower who has their shit together at all wants to know when things will finish flowering so the next round can be exactly where you want it to be when you are pulling down the last round.
I have found that if you know what you are doing then the flower times listed for many companies are not too far off from how long it actually takes to finish a round and I am not doing hydro here. I also veg plants until they are mature so that might have something to do with it.

Take mr nices skunk 1for instance. It lists flowering time at 9 weeks. Now growing from seed there will always be variations and I'm sure there are the random seed here and there that take a lot longer to finish but if it takes 10 or 14 days for it to start 'flowering' and it takes you 11 weeks from flipping to 12 12 to finish a strain like that indoors then you are doing something seriously wrong.

trumpy said:

Alright,
I know this thread is half a year old

Click to expand...

4 years *


I don't see how people can stand by saying they count from when they switch the lights!
as mentioned it takes 1-2 weeks normally for hairs to flow after making the switch. If your plants are showing sex already without switching then they are mature and more then ready to be flowered, they arn't blooming yet...

Well to me its important. I have posted here that my plants are on or near 5 weeks of flowering (had a set back so posted pics).
So in my head im worried that theyr a bit small or underdeveloped. Which is fine by me I don't mind the extra time.

But my concern is if they ripen according to the time given - say 8 weeks, then really I only have 3 weeks left to gain weight and 2 of those will be flushing. So if most people or pro growers and seed companies go by the signs of sex then I am only 3 weeks in flower and panic is over they have 5 weeks to gain with 3 weeks of being able to do something about it. That's an answer I was hoping to get here lol anyways some pics here - you decide?? I changed the lights 5 weeks ago and had a week of plant sickness at the same time so I've made allowances for that. thanks

When you switch the lights, you induce flowering... so what if you can't see it for 10 days, it's still happening...

and it started when you switched...longer dark time, sex hormones rise, etc.

pink isn't well said:

Well to me its important. I have posted here that my plants are on or near 5 weeks of flowering (had a set back so posted pics).
So in my head im worried that theyr a bit small or underdeveloped. Which is fine by me I don't mind the extra time.

But my concern is if they ripen according to the time given - say 8 weeks, then really I only have 3 weeks left to gain weight and 2 of those will be flushing. So if most people or pro growers and seed companies go by the signs of sex then I am only 3 weeks in flower and panic is over they have 5 weeks to gain with 3 weeks of being able to do something about it. That's an answer I was hoping to get here lol anyways some pics here - you decide?? I changed the lights 5 weeks ago and had a week of plant sickness at the same time so I've made allowances for that. thanks

Click to expand...

looks like week 4 of 9 look good

Plant mature? I count when i flip.

Plant not mature? I count 7 days back after i see pistill growth at the tops.
If anything my harvest usually come out a week early maybe two weeks if im on 11/13, if i were to count when i see buds forming thats almost 3 weeks early! The reason why i only use harvest time as a guide.

If im not mistaken, cannabis contains many different proteins and hormones that is dependent on how much light it gets or how much darkness it gets. There are two types of phytochrome's released from the photoreceptors, one that gets destroyed by light (flowering hormone, not sure if florigen is the proper term here) when the plant is in darkness, it produces "flowering hormones", when the light cycle gets short enough, not enough flowering hormones get killed off by light, thus inducing flowering. When you have enough light, the other phytochrome(veg) becomes dominent again.

pink isn't well said:

Well to me its important. I have posted here that my plants are on or near 5 weeks of flowering (had a set back so posted pics).
So in my head im worried that theyr a bit small or underdeveloped. Which is fine by me I don't mind the extra time.

But my concern is if they ripen according to the time given - say 8 weeks, then really I only have 3 weeks left to gain weight and 2 of those will be flushing. So if most people or pro growers and seed companies go by the signs of sex then I am only 3 weeks in flower and panic is over they have 5 weeks to gain with 3 weeks of being able to do something about it. That's an answer I was hoping to get here lol anyways some pics here - you decide?? I changed the lights 5 weeks ago and had a week of plant sickness at the same time so I've made allowances for that. thanks

Click to expand...

Too much emphasis on numbers... You can see when they're done. And a plant doesn't ripen equally from top to bottom either.

Also, it's a matter of personal preference as to when to cut them. Some harvest the tops first, the bottom of the plant some days later. Some prefer a little early, some prefer a little late...it's what you like...not just a firm number.

Just because the breeder says 65-70 days doesn't mean that's etched in stone. There's your preferences, there's variables in every plant, there's different phenos (especially with feminized seeds), etc.

Experiment and figure it out...everybody's different just like every plant is different.

Terry385 said:

looks like week 4 of 9 look good

Click to expand...

Awesome, i think you'r right, in hindsight. I gave them a super trim last night.. will add pics, weekly..

i agree with @SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808 said:

Plant mature? I count when i flip.

Plant not mature? I count 7 days back after i see pistill growth at the tops.
If anything my harvest usually come out a week early maybe two weeks if im on 11/13, if i were to count when i see buds forming thats almost 3 weeks early! The reason why i only use harvest time as a guide.

If im not mistaken, cannabis contains many different proteins and hormones that is dependent on how much light it gets or how much darkness it gets. There are two types of phytochrome's released from the photoreceptors, one that gets destroyed by light (flowering hormone, not sure if florigen is the proper term here) when the plant is in darkness, it produces "flowering hormones", when the light cycle gets short enough, not enough flowering hormones get killed off by light, thus inducing flowering. When you have enough light, the other phytochrome(veg) becomes dominent again.

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for reply;
plants wasn't mature when I flipped. they were 5-6 weeks old. been in Veg mode about 2 weeks, (germination/seedling stage 3 weeks) little green V at the node.

had calmag problem for about a week or two at flip.

Flowers started to show after about 2 weeks after a trim a flush and decent feed.

I'm gonna take a week off like you said

cheers guys

mazand1982 said:

flowering begins from the day you switch the lights to 12/12...case closed....who the fuck would count from when u see pistels???.... your already 2-3 weeks into flowering when you see pistels... so whats it called when you switch the lights to 12/12?....pre-flower stage??? LOL...when you take into account how long a plants flowering stage is you should include every aspect; the stretch, how long it takes to show signs, how long till harvest, everything... i had an LA CHEESE last grow that showed signs of sex the day after i went 12/12 but flowered as long as the blue venom and other strains...i guess its up to the grower when you consider flowering to start but if your having a conversation about flowering and you start talking about flowering the day you seen pistels ur gonna sound like a full on rookie...

Click to expand...

It's called the transition stage

NoGutsGrower said:

Regardless of when you start counting the days you wont miss the "last spurt" if you go by the trics. So why does it really matter when you start counting? Counting days (imo) is just so the individual grower can keep track of their grow and everyone is going to do it different.

Click to expand...

You're right about that but it matters so you know what nutrient schedule to follow

One method is the same every time and one method is subjective. Why use a subjective method? I learned a long time ago that some people just like to make life hard on themselves. Peace and carry on.

Maryjane123 said:

I was wondering how do you count the flowering days.

Do you count from 12/12 switch from 18/6

Or

Do you start counting flowering days when you first see pistils?

I always have started counting the flowering period from when I see the first pistils, however I recently have seen a few people counting flowering period from when they switch from 18/6 to 12/12.

see I figured if I switch from 18/6 to 12/12 then it takes a further 10 days for the plant to show sex and I counted them days as the flowering period,that means I could harvest 10 days early as I counted them 10 days as flowering perid, just when the plant will put its weight on in the last 2 weeks.

I hope that makes sense.

Please Feel free to contribute to the thread & leave comments.

Peace
Mj

Click to expand...

I start from the very first signs of pre-flower and just use my week one nutrient mix all the way up until then and for the week it starts that's why a lot of people say oh that's train said eight weeks on the website and it took 10 or 11 weeks to flower oh but if they had started counting from the first flowers it would've been eight or nine weeks strain. But everyone does it they're own way. But again growing conditions can also change the amount of time it's flowered optimum conditions can get it done earlier bad conditions can make it take longer but regardless if you go by the trichomes and pistols you'll always harvest at the right time I just keep it with the week one nutrients and I start my week to nutrients one week after The first pre flower show I've been doing it for years and it's always worked great because if you start your week two and week three nutrients before the plants actually flowering you can burn it or you're giving it the nutrients at the wrong time in the cycle

I don't count the first week of switch.

Soon as sex is confirmed by pistols is when I consider it to be in flower.

Everybody is doing their own thing..... The problem is: when a seed company says 6-8 week flowering time, do they count the "transition period"? I asked my seed company; and they said the day you switch to 12/12 is the first day of flowering. The only way to know for sure is to ask your seed provider because everyone is different.

If starting the count down on the day the lights are switched to 12/12 is correct then all of my strains need two to three more weeks than advertised.

I start counting at the first sight of flowering and always have to go over by a week or so.

Flower stage is like this:
Pre-flower stage (1-2 weeks) DO NOT COUNT THIS TIME. Fllower start after ons switches to 12/12 then when you see bud development starting THEN start your "flower time" count down
Flower stage (2-4 mo's ( 2 being the norm ((60 days))
early flower stage weeks 1-2
middle flower stage weeks 3-4
Late flower stage weeks 5-6

Flush then Harvest !!!

harris hawk said:

Flush then Harvest !!!

Click to expand...

You had me till this!

mean.green said:

The only way to know for sure is to ask your seed provider because everyone is different.

Click to expand...

ButchyBoy said:

If starting the count down on the day the lights are switched to 12/12 is correct then all of my strains need two to three more weeks than advertised.

I start counting at the first sight of flowering and always have to go over by a week or so.

Click to expand...

Ask your seed company bro, it's the only way to know for sure. I called them earlier today to make sure before I posted my earlier comment. They told my my strains will take anywhere from 60-90 days from the flip, to get amber trichomes.