When does flowering begin?

I've searched everywhere from forums to forums, all of them are confusing because everyone has different tips.

So my question is, when does flowering begin?

Is it when I switch the light cycle to 12/12

or

When my plants start to show bud sites?



Do I start feeding my plants micro nutrients when I switch my light cycle or when they start showing signs of bud sites?

Thanks in advance!

Flowering begins when switching to 12/12. The first couple weeks the plant will stretch in height alot then comes the buds. When
switching you also change from grow to bloom fertilizer. Some switch a week or 2 after 12 12. It is the 12 hours that induce flowering.
As a new grower i would recommend single part nutrients something like floranova. Keeping it simple is best.

When you switch to 12/12 day/night cycle (photoperiod) a hormonal imbalance in the plant occurs and the plant starts to produce pistils or balls.

(Shhh smart ass growers who are gonna say "but plants can show their sex in veg" yes I know but stfu plz)


Flowering begins when you switch to 12/12, though you may not see obvious signs of flowering for 1week+ after switching.

i dont count days. useless really. plants done when its done.

as far as nutes, i cant tell you exactly what to do, as it will be the same as counting. you will get different answers.
but I personally fed veg nutes for the first week of 12/12 in lower dosages, then slowly introduce them to flower nutes.

now i just use "super soil" or "amended soil" for that one prick. and done deal with any of it.

Flowering begins when you switch to 12/12 but i dont start counting how far in it is til i start seeing bud sites forming.

My first two grows I started to count days when I went to 12/12 and it was taking about 10 days longer than what the breeder said. So this time I started counting from when buds started to show and it looks like I'm 10 days off they are going to be done sooner so I think you just have to learn to look at the buds and not the calendar.

Wet said:

I've searched everywhere from forums to forums, all of them are confusing because everyone has different tips. So my question is, when does flowering begin? Is it when I switch the light cycle to 12/12 or When my plants start to show bud sites?

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Jimmyjonestoo said:

Flowering begins when you switch to 12/12 but i dont start counting how far in it is til i start seeing bud sites forming.

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I track both numbers on my calendar. Because when you ask questions, some ask when you flipped 12/12, others ask when the flowers first started to appear. It's easy to record and it's good info for future grows. Anyway, that's what I do. I also record my feeds and watering. I keep a printed calendar from Word in a vinyl cover in the grow to remind me to update. See it down there?

prosperian said:

I track both numbers on my calendar. Because when you ask questions, some ask when you flipped 12/12, others ask when the flowers first started to appear. It's easy to record and it's good info for future grows. Anyway, that's what I do. I also record my feeds and watering. I keep a printed calendar from Word in a vinyl cover in the grow to remind me to update. See it down there?

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I do the same.

I too keep track of both numbers. When I was out side it was hard to tell when they were stretching, because the damn things grew so fast anyway, I didn't count it as flowering until I saw bud sites. Now under Fox Farms nutrients I actually start flower feeding some nutrients a week before they go into 12/12. As far as when I start counting flower time until harvest; it's after bud sites appear. Example: my AK-47 was put into flower on 12/22/12, with an average of 60 days flowering time. I consider this plant at the end of week 6 of flowering, because it did not show bud sites for almost two weeks into its 12/12 cycle. I checked the trichs. and they are just starting to show signs of cloudiness and this would seem about right for the beginning of its 7 week of flowering. I am new this season to indoor growing and the Ak-47 will be my first mature harvest, (nutrient killed a mystery plant), but does this sound right to you guys?

Wet said:

So my question is, when does flowering begin?
When my plants start to show bud sites?

Click to expand...

You answered your own question. Flowering begins when your plant starts producing pistils under a 12/12 light cycle. Usually 4-7 days after being in a 12/12 light cycle.
it's one thing to put a plant to flower, and a whole other thing to say your plant has begun to flower.
To much nitrogen will cause a plant not to flower. Ie. So you put a plant in flower. It takes 2 weeks for the plant to show signs that it has begun to flower. You don't count the two weeks it took it to flower. It's allways a good idea to keep track of when you put your plant to flower, and to keep track of when that plant started to show signs of flowering.
Many flowering plants use a photoreceptor protein, such as phytochrome or cryptochrome to sense seasonal changes in night length, or photoperiod, which they take as signals to flower.

I had a similar thought... When you flip to 12/12, the plant goes through a massive Veg BOOOOM for couple weeks... Would it be beneficial to leave the 5000k+ bulbs in there for the next week or two for the veg stretch since its still veging instead of producing the bud..?

I don't start counting til I see white hairs...even then its really trivial/doesn't matter....I mean really what's a few days gonna matter....honestly the only reason I keep track anymore is for riu purposes so I can show the age of my plants....I just figure my buds will tell me when they're done days don't matter.

bigbull52 said:

I had a similar thought... When you flip to 12/12, the plant goes through a massive Veg BOOOOM for couple weeks... Would it be beneficial to leave the 5000k+ bulbs in there for the next week or two for the veg stretch since its still veging instead of producing the bud..?

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Mix ur spectrum bull...80/20 red to blue when flowering....same ratio when vegging but visa versa ....trust me

thatboyis1uvakind said:

Mix ur spectrum bull...80/20 red to blue when flowering....same ratio when vegging but visa versa ....trust me

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I know that, thats how my lights are set up (Veg) My question is, for those two weeks when you flip to flowering, the plant continues to veg and stretch. While its doing that massive VEG, dont you think it would be beneficial for it to have the VEG light going on?

I thought about it the other day. It makes sense, doesnt it?

View attachment 2534144actually this is my veg set up at the moment...just left it that way from flowering last grow...more red than blue...my autos flowering and my fem skunk 47 is throwing pistils everywhere under these lights on a 24 hour cycle... bottom line is they're loving the lightView attachment 2534139View attachment 2534142here's everything under my lights right now...the same set up pictured above except I've added a 65watt and 55watt cfl to the edge pointing in for extra....my plants aren't two inches away and they tight as hell....so there ur answer on spectrum

Its not that serious man...just mix em equally if ur worried abt it and leave em like that always....ull still do fine....

CNN said:

You answered your own question. Flowering begins when your plant starts producing pistils under a 12/12 light cycle. Usually 4-7 days after being in a 12/12 light cycle.
it's one thing to put a plant to flower, and a whole other thing to say your plant has begun to flower.
To much nitrogen will cause a plant not to flower. Ie. So you put a plant in flower. It takes 2 weeks for the plant to show signs that it has begun to flower. You don't count the two weeks it took it to flower. It's allways a good idea to keep track of when you put your plant to flower, and to keep track of when that plant started to show signs of flowering.
Many flowering plants use a photoreceptor protein, such as phytochrome or cryptochrome to sense seasonal changes in night length, or photoperiod, which they take as signals to flower.

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Is it bmeat #2 ?

ArCaned said:

Is it bmeat #2 ?

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What's a bmeat?
if you got a problem with what I'm saying. I'm all ears for an educated response.
if not move along.

I promise u guys are putting waaaayyyyy too much thought into this....I mix my spectrum and leave it that way through both cycles...works awesome....shit man I don't even use a timer...I have one but its in the cabinet...my light share never turned off or on at the exact same time...some nights they get 10 hrs of darkness... some nights 13 hours...some nights 9.....its never exactly 12/12does it look like it matters?

thatboyis1uvakind said:

Its not that serious man...just mix em equally if ur worried abt it and leave em like that always....ull still do fine....

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Im not worried about it, its not hard to put 4/1 lights... The question was would it be beneficial.

but ok.