8 weeks of veg and still not mature! Need to flower soon , space is limited HELP!!!!!

this is my first grow and ive been vegging one plant for about 8 weeks under 6, 27W CFL's(6500k) and 4, 42W (2700k). Its getting really big but still doesnt have alternate nodes and my closet is limited.

Ive read that if you flower before your plant is mature with alternate nodes then it hurts the yeild and puts stress on the plant.

I just want to know if its okay to just start flowering right away even without the alternate nodes?

thanks to anyone who replies.

Flower them! Don't wait any more. Once they flower, they're going to stretch and you might have to LST them to get them to fit your space. (LST= Low Stress Training, ie tie the banches and main stems to promote horizontal growth) Good luck

thanks for the reply Dorian, i was just wondering if i take your advise and start flowering right away will it force my plant to become sexually mature and produce alternate nodes. thanks again for the info.

your plant is usually mature at the 4th ish node. I would flower now. Dont wait go to 12/12

8 weeks of veg is a long veg for cfl setup, you're going to get a monster out of that
generally, you can start flowering whenever you want, some do 12/12 right from seed
any stress created from premature flowering will be well exceeded by trying to deal with a plant that is getting too large for your grow setup

thanks for the info guys im gunna go strait into flowering today =D

In reality you can flower whenever you want. I don't think it adds any stress whatsoever--people grow 12/12 from seed all the time. What's most important is not growing a plant that is too big for your setup...flower those girls whenever you feel ready!

Cannabis plant maturity is based mostly on photoperiod and not growth time. A plant grown with a 18/6 lighting schedule may start to alternate nodes at 4-6 weeks, but could go months or an indefinite amount of time with opposing nodes. Once you switch the lighting period to 12/12, the nodes will begin to alternate shortly thereafter, if they haven't already. Think of it like this, opposing nodes = Vegetative stage, alternate nodes = preflower/flowering stage.

You should go 12/12 immediately, especially with CFLs. Another option is to cut back the plant (top it) and then let it veg for another two weeks, then flower it, this way you'll get more bushy growth, rather than tree like growth. Either way, your plant is more than ready for flowering.

thanks for all the advise everyone. I just switched my timer too 12/12 so t-minus 50 or 60 days about until smokadge =D. Also i considered highpsi's advise and decided to tie it down.Now all the bud sites are directly under my lights, thanks again to everyone for all the posts