er0senin - you are correct and that is good advise especially ignoring a breeders proposed flowering times I have grown many an "eight week strain" and I have yet to have a single plant finish even within a week of that
shawryboy - The greatest single piece of advise I can offer in reguards to flowering time is that it is different for everyone. Forget what the breeder says and forget what everyone else tells you they do. The plant is ready only when its ready for you. We all like somthing different, some like an uppy heady high and may take it at only 8 or 9 weeks, while others prefer heavy couchlock and a sleepy feeling and may like it best at 11 or even 12 weeks. Whenever i start a new strain i always take small weekly samples from the plant from the 8th or so week of 12/12 until it's what i'm looking for personally (and I like a heavy body type buzz thats why ive never had anything finish in less than 10 weeks) and no one can tell you what you prefer but yourself. If it helps ill put it like this no one can tell you that you like vodka more than whisky anymore than you want someone to decide how rare or well done you like your steak to be cooked. It's simply a personal prefrence thing that only you can decide and yes when growing from seed different pheno types can vary by weeks of flowering time to reach the same ripeness. Thats why most of us keep the phenos we like with the traits we prefer and clone them then you can dial them in over time and then when you start a new grow you will know what it needs as far as nutrients water and lighting needs at various points in the grow and you can "perfect it" so to speak. And then after the first run with a particular strain I know it, and then when I change the photoperiod to 12/12 I know the exact day and usually the exact hour i will harvest that plant. Not to mention you'll have a greater understanding of the needs of that particular plant and what it lacks or can take as far as what nutrients and amounts to give it, maximum light intensity it can handle before bleaching occures, amount of water it will consume at various stages, temperature it thrives best in, ect. And thats how you "dial it in" to get the best yield from the plant as well as learn when it is at peak ripeness for your own likeing. I hope this helped a little. Good luck and happy growing