flowering time

i put 4 plants to 12 / 12 light cycle on dec 6 , ive seen different opinions on when you start your flowering calender the day you flip the lights or when you first see buds ??? this is my first grow and would appreciate any feedback ...thanks

I start the day i flip

I switched to 12/12 @ 6 dec 2012 too. After 14 days my plants were -really- looking like they are flowering.
So I rather to think that I'm 3 weeks into flowering this round and not into 5. Sometimes it takes a week , sometimes more.
Transition time doesn't count imo.

No right or wrong answer here. I start from the day I see the first pistil.

To start when showing buds is too late. I think around a week after the switch is perfect. I usually water with growth nutrients the day I switch for one last boost then water with bloom next time.

My flower time is exactly that...once my girls move to a 12 hr cycle anf the light changes to hps. Unless you are running autos, pistils in veg do not count(there not flowers) and their light cycle is still 18 hrs.

These plants will grow in veg forever but change the light cycle and flowers pop up. Its the 12 hr cycle that dictates when flower starts.

Who cares. It's when flowering finishes that's important.
However, if you work with the same strain for a few grows, get your temps, pH and ec etc exactly the same each time, I can see the point. If you can though, you are way ahead of me.

I start when i see first pistils shooting out....