When Flowering starts

[TVR]

Ok so here's the latest on my plant -- recall this is my first grow -- and need some advice on next steps. the plant is about 12 weeks out from germination, starting to get bushy, and about 2-1/2' tall. I did my first topping about two weeks ago, and it's recovering nicely. I'm doing 18/6 on the lighting, and understand that I need to go 12/12 for flowering. but how do I know when? does the plant decide, or do I? still learning but having fun

[Rwise]

Your choice as to when you flip anytime past 3 weeks is good, and can even be grown at 12/12s for a really short bush.

[NotAFarmer]

Those leaves are looking healthy for your first grow, good work! She's looking a bit long in the branches (lots of space between nodes) which generally indicates she wants some more light. Are you using a weak light?

To answer the actual question, it sounds like you're growing a photoperiod plant, which means it's entirely up to you when you want to flip. I had one that I kept in veg for more than a couple of months because the first couple months I had some serious problems which stunted her pretty bad. Once I got all the kinks worked out and she got nice and big I flipped her and she finished strong. Things you should keep in mind when deciding when to flip: 1. Does she look healthy now? If not, you might want to correct the problems first as she's going to be more susceptible to problems during flower. 2. Do you have a enough room for her to keep growing after you flip to flower? They tend to take off and grow quickly during the first couple weeks of flower, so you don't want to run out of space in your grow room. 3. Is she big enough for your liking? Again, she's gonna grow more, but you may want a bigger plant so it might not hurt to keep her in veg longer. It's totally up to you at this point, experiment see what you like, learn and do something different the next time.

Happy growing!

[TVR]

thx both -- really helpful as always here! I feel like it's really filling out and getting bushy and I assume that's a good thing heading in to flowering so I think I want to let it go for a bit more. and yes lights are cheap! may add more for more room to your points above about expanding during flowering. I've seen it suggested that you should top again?

[SoOrbudgal]

The choice is yours. You say you want to go longer on veg gotta know your grow space.

[golfnrl]

The plants will start to stretch around a week after you make the switch. The stretch can last around 2-3 weeks. They can grow 2-3 times their height at the start of flower. It's easy to run out of space.

In case you haven't already read this https://www.growweedeasy.com/flowering-stretch

[TVR]

hi folks and back on this -- read the attached and all the advice. I've got a concern now about the "flowering stretch" and think I need to take action now. I'm afraid I'm already past the half-way mark on available height (i'm in the basement), and think i need to adjust before flipping to flowering. Can I just cut them down to the height I need? I reads somewhere that you can just "hedge cut" or something like that, and they will recover. but if let's say I cut down to the height I need to allow for the stretch, how long should I give to recover before flowering? and can I cut too much so that there are no longer growth tips? always learning but still hoping for a nice harvest even if first time

[golfnrl]

I would not cut the plants if they get too tall, super crop instead. It works.

https://www.growweedeasy.com/?s=super+cropping