i generally wait till its in full veg and showing preflowers, meaning is matureing any time after then..but you can do it at any stage really..
as for size once in bud theyll only ever double to tripple in size.... ya just gotta get to know your strain/s
also its hard for me to say cos i dont know your climates and what not im ozzir and i we can do this all year round axcept for some summers at the wrong time.... and its a relatively small gap if that helpss.
to Rakuencallisto
are you just trying to start themm and put them outside to veg or just put them out too bud.
if you want it to go outside and veg more before budding my advise would be to start it in less light and put it out when the daylight sorta matches the kit then it would have no problems with light change really.... you ant to put it somewhere itle get sufficient light once you put it outdoors. is that what you mean
and yes a younger plant wil have more chance of continueing to veg it wont have become too accostomed to the schedule or the easy going life style to keep vegging and survive
but if done correctly the differance beetween younger vs older doesnt matter...
the basics behind starting a plant indoor to be set up for outdoor is exactly that..
your starting it in as close to the environment your going to be putting it in. and its best to aim for the weather at the starts of the season cos thats where youll be putting it
. in doig this when you putt it outside itle continue to veg and as the days get longer thats al its gonna do is veg and get bigger till the day has less light and a cooler atmosphere really
the basis behind starting indoor ad finishing outdoor...
this works because your taing it out of its usual light schedule and it gets less hours of light each day and more than likely a cooler environment which helps. (its mainly the light dropping back tho). this makes the plant think its time to bud and will start the change. the only real worry is when the daylight hours outside start getting too close to that of a kit or rise too fast meaning you planted them outside at that one time ya shouda waited
ie comming up to whatever your logest days are
it works cos the plant gets less light when taken from the kit. and as long the light change is significant enough youll get bud. and because of its nurcherd childhood and what not it seems to combine the best points of indoor and outdoor weed.
also whats more is once the light has been chaned and it starts budding the amont of days to mature doesnt change too much.
hope this helps...