When should I switch to Flowering?

When is the earliest, yet "best" time, to switch my plants into Flowering? What I have heard is that once all the branches have sets of leaves with "5" or more leave bunches, to switch it to a 36 hour dark period, then switch it to 12/12. Once each set of leaves gets the "5 leaf palm", do I switch to flowering?

Please post any, and all advice on when to switch into flowering.

EDIT: Here are some pictures of the plants at about week 5ish. Note however, I am not asking if i can put into flowering now, i just want to know when I SHOULD put them into. These are just updated pics. The big one is about 8 inches (bottom of stem is at the bottoms of the cups), the smallest one is about 5.2 inches, and the 2nd biggest is about 6.5 inches.

I waited until all of my plants were about a foot tall, keeping in mind that they will double or triple in size. If you already see pre-flowers, you can switch at any time. Depends on how long you want to veg. I did the 36 hours of darkness technique and I think it was a good move.

Well is there a certain leaf structure that is suggested before switching to flower?

Post some pics if you can. Easier for people to judge your plant's progress. How many weeks into your grow are you and how tall are your plants on average?

not really, you can flower at any time. BUT the longer you veg the more you yield and fatter the buds.

EDIT: New pictures updated first post. please re-read first post.

I am highly interested in some answers here

420Matt said:

I am highly interested in some answers here

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Not yet. Id wait til they double in size but thats just my opinion. I have one thats 3x the size of that and Im not flowering yet. I like to veg til the stalk gets hella fat.

Well I planned on waiting til it got around 1.3 feet or so before I forced flowering. I dont wan't them to get too tall. I need the plants to concentrate on budding, not growing. If they dont grow the "5 leaves" in the next 2 weeks, would it be ok to put it into flowering even if they have only 3 leaves per branch?

Basically you just need to focus on your plant becoming strong and full right now. They look a little weak (and kinda stretched), *no pun intended promise* thats how babies look. You may want to consider moving the lights closer. If the light is closer, the plant isnt going to try to stretch up to reach the light and will focus more on getting fuller/stronger.