when does flower actually start?

420texan710

420texan710

Member
When does flower actually start after switching to 12/12? I normally wait until I see hair and then start counting but this time around my plants are showing hair at 3-4 days of flower so I'm worried it might be too soon to start counting.
 
superbak3d

superbak3d

Well-Known Member
For me personally, flowering starts when flowers begin to develop. Usually a week after flipping 12/12

However, it doesn't matter when you count, or counting at all for that matter. You don't harvest based on days in flower, you harvest when the trichs tell you to do so.
 
$bkbbudz$

$bkbbudz$

Well-Known Member
WHOA! Calm down man! As bak3d said it is all about the triches. What concerns me is that if you are so anal retentive (sorry no insult intended) about counting flowering days...you may love your plants to death!. Get a decent magnifier...I got a 200X-800x on E-bay for under $20.00 with shipping.
 
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
superbak3d said:
For me personally, flowering starts when flowers begin to develop. Usually a week after flipping 12/12

However, it doesn't matter when you count, or counting at all for that matter. You don't harvest based on days in flower, you harvest when the trichs tell you to do so.
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I'm on board with this method. I count the same way.

I don't count to know when my plants are going to be finished though, I do it more for a reference for myself as to how long particular strains take in my setup. Or to compare against breeders times for seed testing. Thy tend to like it when you keep track of shit like that lol.


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lawlrus

lawlrus

Well-Known Member
I count the start of flowering as when clusters of calyxes with pistils begin to form. Typically 7-10 days from the "flip" ime.
 
ZaraBeth420

ZaraBeth420

Well-Known Member
I count days beginning on the day of 12/12 flip. But I use the day count only as an indicator of when I should begin examining trichomes under a microscope. The visual appearance of trichomes indicates optimum harvest time; not a day count.
 
superbak3d

superbak3d

Well-Known Member
ZaraBeth420 said:
I count days beginning on the day of 12/12 flip. But I use the day count only as an indicator of when I should begin examining trichomes under a microscope. The visual appearance of trichomes indicates optimum harvest time; not a day count.
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The first part is generally why a lot of new growers chop early. They count from the day they flip 12/12 and will chop on day 60 regardless of the trichs because the breeder stated 55-60 day flower time.

But if someone does want to count days, it's usually best to not count the first week of 12/12 because the plant is going through a transition and isn't actually flowering.
 
ZaraBeth420

ZaraBeth420

Well-Known Member
I also count days beginning on the day of flip to 12/12 because my liquid nutes direct me to mix ratios based upon the day of flower cycle.

For example, my Advanced Nutrients feeding schedule calls for the addition of B-52 beginning at week 3 of the flower cycle. So if I count days beginning a week after the flip to 12/12, then I'm waiting 4 weeks to begin B-52. And that's not what the nute manufacturer intended.

But I agree that no one should harvest blindly based upon the breeder's recommended harvest day.
 
lawlrus

lawlrus

Well-Known Member
ZaraBeth420 said:
I also count days beginning on the day of flip to 12/12 because my liquid nutes direct me to mix ratios based upon the day of flower cycle.

For example, my Advanced Nutrients feeding schedule calls for the addition of B-52 beginning at week 3 of the flower cycle. So if I count days beginning a week after the flip to 12/12, then I'm waiting 4 weeks to begin B-52. And that's not what the nute manufacturer intended.

But I agree that no one should harvest blindly based upon the breeder's recommended harvest day.
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That doesn't make any sense though. If the manufacturer tells you to start using something at week 3 of the "flower cycle" then they are telling you to begin using it at week 3 of flowering, not week 3 since you switched to 12/12 based on the language they are using. In the interest of being accurate they should specify if they are in fact referring to 3 weeks from the flip versus 3 weeks of actual flowering.
 
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Bbcchance

Bbcchance

Well-Known Member
I count from the day I switched the lights, but I do this because I keep noted on how fast the actual flowering starts based on how long I vegged a particular strain, and how long that strain took to finish based on veg cycle length, never to use as a guide when to chop, harvest when they are ripe, not when your calender says to
 
ZaraBeth420

ZaraBeth420

Well-Known Member
lawlrus said:
That doesn't make any sense though. If the manufacturer tells you to start using something at week 3 of the "flower cycle" then they are telling you to begin using it at week 3 of flowering, not week 3 since you switched to 12/12 based on the language they are using. In the interest of being accurate they should specify if they are in fact referring to 3 weeks from the flip versus 3 weeks of actual flowering.
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It does make sense. I called Advanced Nutrients and asked them. They said their nute directions are written to count flowering on day 1 of flip to 12/12.

So there, smarty pants.
 
lawlrus

lawlrus

Well-Known Member
ZaraBeth420 said:
It does make sense. I called Advanced Nutrients and asked them. They said their nute directions are written to count flowering on day 1 of flip to 12/12.

So there, smarty pants.
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I'm not talking smack to you, I know that's the standard used by many in the industry, from breeders to nutrient companies. I'm just saying that they should specify that if they are interested in using accurate language on their labeling. Flowering and day 1 of flip are simply not the same thing.
 
kiwipaulie

kiwipaulie

Well-Known Member
Alienwidow said:
The day 12/12 starts is day one of flower. Why would a breeder count from the day flowers start to form? Could be different from grow to grow with co2, hydro vs soil, cfls vs hps.....
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This is exactly right and if you have a pretty good setup with the right temps etc you should finish within the time frames. If not it will just drag on for a little longer.
 
researching

researching

Well-Known Member
Subjective.... but I count from 12/12 because that is what initiates the flowering cycle. That's why it's called putting them in flower, or flipping them to 12/12 fiThat being said as mentioned I look for the trichs. I used to count weeks, and I still do for feeding mostly, but its easy to tell when a plant is finishing by the look of it.
 
lawlrus

lawlrus

Well-Known Member
Alienwidow said:
The day 12/12 starts is day one of flower. Why would a breeder count from the day flowers start to form? Could be different from grow to grow with co2, hydro vs soil, cfls vs hps.....
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I'm arguing semantics at this point. It's not really worth the discussion.
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
lawlrus said:
I'm arguing semantics at this point. It's not really worth the discussion.
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I wasnt responding to your quote at all. I read the thread topic question and just posted the right answer. The intended discussion was when flowering starts, not when the plant is done or ripe.
 
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