When to switch from MH to HPS

Should I switch lights before I see flowers or when I see flowers?

Anyone have an idea?

it doesn't really make a difference

Well isn't MH better for vegging and HPS better for flowering?

DesertSativa said:

Should I switch lights before I see flowers or when I see flowers?

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When you switch to 12/12 lighting schedule, switch to your HPS light.
You can force flowering by switching to 12/12, and red spectrum (HPS) lights.
Keep in mind, your plants will double, and sometimes triple or even quadruple in size during flowering.
I always forced flowering when my plants are all 8"-12" tall. They finish close to 30".

I am growing autos right now, so should I switch shen I see flowers or before to jump start it into flowering?

DesertSativa said:

I am growing autos right now, so should I switch shen I see flowers or before to jump start it into flowering?

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The autos will flower on their own regardless of light schedule, and light spectrum.
I have never grown autos before, so my info is based on what the companies advertise, and what people say that have grown them.
I am kind of interested in Ministry of Cannabis' 2 different autos, I might try them someday...
Personally, what I would do if I had both MH and HPS, and tried growing autos, do exactly what you said, and switch the lights when they
show flowers. I would do everything on a 16 on and 8 off schedule, from the beginning. Or whatever the company recommends (if they
recommend anything at all).

i use a 250w hps (eye hortilux) and a 250w cmh (philips)
at same time for flowere i throw in a uvb

but truf of the matter if you want to be tchnical about it the firsrt 1/3 of flower better under mh or cmh- -to rduce stretch
middle 1/3 under hps-- will give you rock hard buds
and last 1/3 better served under mh or cmh-- for best final and fattening stage of bud

me i just use whole spectrum for all spinning and rotating pot position --all lights all the time

good luck
1Luv

it does make a differance.

MH is a high Blue light source. Blue is more suited to Veg. HPS is a high Red light sourxe, the Red spectrum is very beneficial to the bloom (bud, flowering) stage. alot of guys run a small amount of MH during Bloom. so you ll see guys using 1000w hps and a 400 or 600w MH. the MH helps get dence flowers i understand.

im new here and new to growing MMJ, but have read like a fiend for 2 months, and this is what my take on it is.

so i would MH for Veg, and then when your ready to start blooming, go to the HPS and cut your lighting hrs to 12/12 (12 on, 12 off).

in Veg, i run 18/6 though you can go as low as say 14/10, and stay in veg state. others run 24/0 in veg state..

with that said, im running a 400w Philips CMH also. i have one for veg right now, and getting a 2nd this weekend coming to use for my bloom area as well.

Timmahh said:

it does make a differance.

MH is a high Blue light source. Blue is more suited to Veg. HPS is a high Red light sourxe, the Red spectrum is very beneficial to the bloom (bud, flowering) stage. alot of guys run a small amount of MH during Bloom. so you ll see guys using 1000w hps and a 400 or 600w MH. the MH helps get dence flowers i understand.

im new here and new to growing MMJ, but have read like a fiend for 2 months, and this is what my take on it is.

so i would MH for Veg, and then when your ready to start blooming, go to the HPS and cut your lighting hrs to 12/12 (12 on, 12 off).

in Veg, i run 18/6 though you can go as low as say 14/10, and stay in veg state. others run 24/0 in veg state..

with that said, im running a 400w Philips CMH also. i have one for veg right now, and getting a 2nd this weekend coming to use for my bloom area as well.

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You are correct. (I'm not sure if I'd go as short as 14 on / 10 off for veg, but until I try it or see it done, I can't say anything bad about it.)
He's growing autoflowering strains though. Generally those are a cross of fast flowering Indicas, and Ruderalis. Ruderalis flowers regardless
of time of year, light schedule, light spectrum or type of nutes, and is generally used to make hemp products. But when crossed with regular
strains, it eliminates the need for vegetating. They are in flowering stage as soon as they take root, because of the Ruderalis genetics.

When I did, (and still do) my T5 grows, I use 1 blue spectrum per every 3 reds for veg. My plants stay fairly bushy, especially for a Sativa
dominant breed. So if he used both his MH and his HPS at the same time, he will get the best results, but because they are autos, the only
reason he is getting better results, is because it is more light. When I get more space/time/money, I want to experiment with some autos.

Well I only have one light, so I can't run both at the same time, just one or the other.

DesertSativa said:

Well I only have one light, so I can't run both at the same time, just one or the other.

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I'd switch them when they start to show flower then.

Thanks for all the help!

I stick with my MH for at least the first 2 weeks of flower. As I understand the chloroplasts in the flowers absorb more of the red spectrum while the pigments in the leaves absorb more of the blue - as long as there are no flowers you might as well run the blue. Running MH the first 2 weeks should keep down some of the initial flowering stretch as well.

Gastanker said:

I stick with my MH for at least the first 2 weeks of flower. As I understand the chloroplasts in the flowers absorb more of the red spectrum while the pigments in the leaves absorb more of the blue - as long as there are no flowers you might as well run the blue. Running MH the first 2 weeks should keep down some of the initial flowering stretch as well.

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Cool, thanks for the answer. I want to keep my plants as short as possible so I guess I will try leaving the MH on for the first few weeks of flowering.