When do you really start counting weeks for flowering before or after they show sex?

Do you start counting the week after they show sex in 12/12 or do you count that week it took to show there sex also??

this is reallu to the individual but personally i begin my count from the day i switch, the flowering times you get for plants is just an approximation so doing a daily/weekly countdown is just a rough guide, the plant will be ready to chop when its ready. sum people check trichomes with a 'scope, others wait on the hairs going amber/brown and receading, sum just go by smell and stickiness to the touch, its mainly down to choice and experience.

Breeders count from the start of 12 / 12.

I write down the date I started flowering as the first day I switched flowering, but when they tell you the flowering time is 8 weeks then you start couting down the 8 weeks after they show flower...I kinda grow my plants weird because i flower them til they show sex, and then switch them back to veg for a few weeks, and then back to flower when I feel like it...that way when they are in flower the second time I can start counting from that day, because they have been "showing" sex for weeks...and it tends to make a bigger plant with less veg time...so either way it is just how I do things...So I technically keep showing sex and making buds totally seperate for all intents and purposes.

Flowering is a process, not a timer setting or checks on a calendar.

Your plant will tell you everything you need to know.

Wet

PJ Diaz said:

Breeders count from the start of 12 / 12.

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over the years, i read a few threads about when breeders count and all of them started counting from when they show sex.

out of habit, i count from when i switch to 12/12 but i usually subtract 7 days if i have the time and space. i hate cutting them just because it's day 70 or whatever, and i try not to, but sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

i find most of the breeders estimates for when they are done is when there are still a lot of clear trichs. i like to cut when they are mostly cloudy.

"Flowering" starts when the plants actually show flowers, not when the lights go to 12/12. Most european breeders flower times are from flower formation, not 12/12. I don't know if american breeders do the same. What wetdog says is true though, your plants are done when they're done, not based on a clock -- and even that 'done' time depends on your goals for high and yield. A lot of people count down the weeks and chop at x weeks from 12/12 too early.

fatboyOGOF said:

over the years, i read a few threads about when breeders count and all of them started counting from when they show sex.

out of habit, i count from when i switch to 12/12 but i usually subtract 7 days if i have the time and space. i hate cutting them just because it's day 70 or whatever, and i try not to, but sometimes a man's got to do what a man's got to do.

i find most of the breeders estimates for when they are done is when there are still a lot of clear trichs. i like to cut when they are mostly cloudy.

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This makes no sense at all because mj will show sex while in veg state.

you can do whut ever you want a plant will not show pre untill mature an mature not until alternating branching

sum put plants into flower at 12/12 this fools and stresses plants into fake early maturity and then starts to flower

I have emails from breeders confirming start counting from 12 / 12. You have to count that because some strains take longer to show flowers after the switch than others, so it must be used in the final determination. Keep in mind this is for indoor only. Outdoor is totally different. There is simply a harvest date range. Of course they're done when they're done, buy you do gotta plan ahead as well.

I count from the day I send the plant into flower. Today is March 31, 2012 in Cali. 11:19am. If I send my plant to flower right now then next sat at this time would be a week. Just like your birthday mate! However the time though because plants all have their specific peak time, also every grower has their desired effect. Meaning whether they want a couch high or a cerebral head high, or even a combo of the two.

thanks for all the replies pretty 50/50 here! im gonna count from the day they showd sex for a rough idea, but yes will make sure my tri's are amber and cloudy to fullfill high!

withoutAchance said:

This makes no sense at all because mj will show sex while in veg state.

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lol

very few of my genetics show sex before i flip them into flower at 2 months of veg or so.

i'm not going to search for info again. i've already done it, and most of the old school (you know, the ones who don't make rip off F2s and sell them like gold) breeders, when they say a plant is ready at about 60 days, count from when the plants show sex, which for me is typically 7 to 10 days.

don't mind me, i don't know shit.

I'm with Dura and PJ I count from the day I flip, breeders recommendation are great source to go by ( you rarely will end on their estimated end day ) I do use their time frame. If a plant finishes in 55-60 days, I'll start checking trichomes around day 45/50 and start flushing around day 45. If that plant ends up being one that finishes in 55 days (assuming I took a cutting) I will know that the next run I will start flushing on day 41 (I flush for 14 days) and I will still start checking trichs on day 50, to be safe always go by trichomes to judge harvest time.

i just went 2012/2012 on my Mayan calendar

DQ Blizzard said:

I'm with Dura and PJ I count from the day I flip, breeders recommendation are great source to go by ( you rarely will end on their estimated end day ) I do use their time frame. If a plant finishes in 55-60 days, I'll start checking trichomes around day 45/50 and start flushing around day 45. If that plant ends up being one that finishes in 55 days (assuming I took a cutting) I will know that the next run I will start flushing on day 41 (I flush for 14 days) and I will still start checking trichs on day 50, to be safe always go by trichomes to judge harvest time.

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You rarely finish by the breeder's stated time because it's from the start of flowers -- ie if it says 55-60 days it's really 62-80 days of 12/12. I'm sure different breeders probably some go one way and some the other, but all the bigger breeders i've heard from from europe definitely go from flower onset and if you read some of their descriptions it will actually say so. Most of the strains we breed from copy the times for flower to their descriptions -- think about it -- ak47, white widow, blueberry, white rhino, white russian, etc all these old school strains that started out in europe before they came over to the US still use the same quoted flower time, but if the european breeders who originally made them say it's from flower and the person who got it from there and is selling crosses says the same time why would it be from 12/12 now? Sure, sometimes a plant will be done enough at those days from 12/12 but like you said, most often than not they need the extra 1-2 weeks just like you would based on if you started the 'flowering' time from actual appearance of flowers. Appearance of flowers is not the same thing as preflowers. Plants show PREflowers in veg, not FLOWERS. Your plant is flowering when budsites have formed with many pistils coming out of the budsites (7-14 days after switching to 12/12 usually). Preflowers are not budsites -- if you check your buds at the end of flower those same preflowers will still be there and will not have formed buds.

If what you say is true and some breeders do start from the first show of flowers, that's fucking retarded! I need to plan my crops based on photo periods. When you grow from seed I understand that the quoted times for breeders are somewhat less important in planning, due to variation in phenotypes, ect.. However, when you are working with clones and want to plan your grows, you pretty much have to count from 12/12. For example, lets say that I have two clone strains that both are ripe 50 days after showing their first flower, but one strain takes 5 days to show flowers after the 12/12 switch, but the other one takes 14 days. Am I supposed to separately remember how long each strain takes to show flowers, and plan my grows that way? No, of course not. In the case mentioned, one strain is a 55 day strain, and the other is a 64 day strain. That way I can plan on when I need to have new plants ready to move into the flower tent from the veg tent. If I didn't count the time before it showed the first flower, I would have no way to plan very well.

One more thing, here's a quote from Subcool of TGA genetics from an email conversation:

I am not sure why people dont get thisflowering starts the day the lights go 12/12 not on some observational guess on the growers part


Sub

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Some folks wait until flowering is noticable to begin "the countdown", others start the day they switch to 12/12, some go by the percentage of stigmas that have changed colors, and others solely go by what the trichomes look like, either clear, milky, or amber to gauge when to harvest... I just wait until the plant looks ready via the last two methods I listed.... Which is usually anywhere from 8 weeks to 12 weeks, on some longer flowering equitorial sativas... Most indicas I grow seem to finish quicker than 10 or 12 weeks, usually around 8, probably due to the shorter growing seasons they would be accustomed to grow in in their original places of origin...

I agree with you, this is what I follow I grow on a perpetual cycle so yes I to have to plan, I know my 55 day finish Dynamite will allow me to move a couple more in the flower room in 55 day, on the flip side I know my SSH is going to take 73 days.

I don't mean any disrespect but I don't jock Sub nor see him as this great grow god, so sorry using him as a reference falls flat. Sub built a brand but he ain't why TGA does so well, Dioxide knows 10 times more than Sub and the rest of TGA are some smart dudes. Met Ray back in November (check on December/Jan Weed World) super chill, super knowledgable about his dank oh and he created the cover strain on the Weed World, Oregon Diesel. TGA genetics are good don't get me wrong, it's just silly how grown men jock Sub!!

PJ Diaz said:

If what you say is true and some breeders do start from the first show of flowers, that's fucking retarded! I need to plan my crops based on photo periods. When you grow from seed I understand that the quoted times for breeders are somewhat less important in planning, due to variation in phenotypes, ect.. However, when you are working with clones and want to plan your grows, you pretty much have to count from 12/12. For example, lets say that I have two clone strains that both are ripe 50 days after showing their first flower, but one strain takes 5 days to show flowers after the 12/12 switch, but the other one takes 14 days. Am I supposed to separately remember how long each strain takes to show flowers, and plan my grows that way? No, of course not. In the case mentioned, one strain is a 55 day strain, and the other is a 64 day strain. That way I can plan on when I need to have new plants ready to move into the flower tent from the veg tent. If I didn't count the time before it showed the first flower, I would have no way to plan very well.

One more thing, here's a quote from Subcool of TGA genetics from an email conversation:

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I'm not any kind of sub fanboy or anything. He just happens to be a very accessable breeder. I'm sure his word on flowering time does represent TGA as a whole.