HeyabbyGrowBox
Anyone Can Grow
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- Mar 24, 2023
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Hi everyone,
I've seen lots of questions about timeline of the flowering stage. Here I'd like to share what I know, breaking it down week by week. Will try to cover all the aspects involved; feel free to add if I've missed anything:
The flowering or “Bloom” stage of cannabis is the period of growth where the plant will focus its energy on producing flowers or “buds”. Most strains flowering time is between8-10 weeks, although there can be variance in time for different strains. The lighting schedule will change to 12 hours of light, and 12 hours of darkness, this is necessary to trigger the flowering of the plant.
· Wk 1 - 3/4
In the first few weeks of the flowering stage (stretch: week 1 - 3or4) you should expect the plant to stretch vertically, and nearly double in size! During this time canopy and branch management become crucial, as you do not want the plant to grow too close to the light. This is a perfect time to administer “lollipopping”, a pruning/defoliation technique in which most of the lower and weak growth is removed from the plant. Plants only have a certain amount of energy to use throughout their life, so you want the plant to focus its energy on growing large top buds or “colas”, rather than caring for the weak/smaller branches and bud sites. Ideally all lollipopping, trimming, and pruning should be completed by the end of week4 of flowering. In early flowering the plant will demand more Phosphorus (P), than it will it will Nitrogen (N), or Potassium (K). Phosphorus helps the plant develop flower/bud sites.
·Wk 4 - 8
During mid flowering (bulk: wk 4-8) you will notice the buds start to fill out, and produce many “stigmas” or white hairs. Often times these hairs will be wrongful referred to as “pistils”. This is a good time to reduce any stress that may be put on the plant; keeping the water, light, nutrient, and environmental conditions within the proper range will greatly aide the plant in adding size onto the flowers (bulk). Therefore, as previously mentioned, it’s best to try and not prune or trim the plant, unless absolutely necessary for air movement and light penetration. Let the plant focus on bulking its flowers, instead of trying to repair or recuperate from stress. As the flowering stages continues, you may notice the sites that were previous growing hairs, or now turning into actual buds. It may appear that they aren’t getting bigger in size, but instead they are filling out and adding weight! You will notice the buds become thicker and more full in the coming weeks, as well as having adding on much more trichomes that may make the flowers looks “frosty”.
· After wk8
Once the plant has its flowers sites fully grown, it will change its nutritional needs; it will now need more Potassium, that Phosphorus, and more phosphorus than nitrogen. This change of nutritional needs helps the plants final flower development, referred to as “ripening”. The flowers will ripen and swell in the final weeks of flowering. Many growers will administer a flushing of the plant, to finish it off. Flushing is the process of giving your plant only fresh water, and letting it use all the available nutrients within the plant tissue. “How do you tell if your plant is ready to be flushed?”- Keeping a close eye on the trichomes is sure way to identify how far long the plant is, you may need a jewelers loop or magnification device to properly view them. The trichomes will change opacity, and color as the plant matures. The trichome head will start off clear, and as it progresses they will turn milky or opaque (this is good time to start the flush). Finally, towards the end of life, the trichomes will turn amber. This change to amber is the conversion of THC to CBD/CBn, and will change the psychoactive properties of the plant. Simply put, the more amber trichomes the plant has-the more sedative the affect becomes. If flushing is done properly, you will notice some yellowing or discoloration of the leaves; this is a sign that all the available nutrients within the plant tissue are spent, and your plant is near end of life. Flushing is said to help the overall quality and enjoyability of the final product! However, it is a somewhat controversial process that many hydroponic growers don’t feel is necessary. Once your plant has been flushed, it is ready to be harvested and hung for drying!
I've seen lots of questions about timeline of the flowering stage. Here I'd like to share what I know, breaking it down week by week. Will try to cover all the aspects involved; feel free to add if I've missed anything:
The flowering or “Bloom” stage of cannabis is the period of growth where the plant will focus its energy on producing flowers or “buds”. Most strains flowering time is between8-10 weeks, although there can be variance in time for different strains. The lighting schedule will change to 12 hours of light, and 12 hours of darkness, this is necessary to trigger the flowering of the plant.
· Wk 1 - 3/4
In the first few weeks of the flowering stage (stretch: week 1 - 3or4) you should expect the plant to stretch vertically, and nearly double in size! During this time canopy and branch management become crucial, as you do not want the plant to grow too close to the light. This is a perfect time to administer “lollipopping”, a pruning/defoliation technique in which most of the lower and weak growth is removed from the plant. Plants only have a certain amount of energy to use throughout their life, so you want the plant to focus its energy on growing large top buds or “colas”, rather than caring for the weak/smaller branches and bud sites. Ideally all lollipopping, trimming, and pruning should be completed by the end of week4 of flowering. In early flowering the plant will demand more Phosphorus (P), than it will it will Nitrogen (N), or Potassium (K). Phosphorus helps the plant develop flower/bud sites.
·Wk 4 - 8
During mid flowering (bulk: wk 4-8) you will notice the buds start to fill out, and produce many “stigmas” or white hairs. Often times these hairs will be wrongful referred to as “pistils”. This is a good time to reduce any stress that may be put on the plant; keeping the water, light, nutrient, and environmental conditions within the proper range will greatly aide the plant in adding size onto the flowers (bulk). Therefore, as previously mentioned, it’s best to try and not prune or trim the plant, unless absolutely necessary for air movement and light penetration. Let the plant focus on bulking its flowers, instead of trying to repair or recuperate from stress. As the flowering stages continues, you may notice the sites that were previous growing hairs, or now turning into actual buds. It may appear that they aren’t getting bigger in size, but instead they are filling out and adding weight! You will notice the buds become thicker and more full in the coming weeks, as well as having adding on much more trichomes that may make the flowers looks “frosty”.
· After wk8
Once the plant has its flowers sites fully grown, it will change its nutritional needs; it will now need more Potassium, that Phosphorus, and more phosphorus than nitrogen. This change of nutritional needs helps the plants final flower development, referred to as “ripening”. The flowers will ripen and swell in the final weeks of flowering. Many growers will administer a flushing of the plant, to finish it off. Flushing is the process of giving your plant only fresh water, and letting it use all the available nutrients within the plant tissue. “How do you tell if your plant is ready to be flushed?”- Keeping a close eye on the trichomes is sure way to identify how far long the plant is, you may need a jewelers loop or magnification device to properly view them. The trichomes will change opacity, and color as the plant matures. The trichome head will start off clear, and as it progresses they will turn milky or opaque (this is good time to start the flush). Finally, towards the end of life, the trichomes will turn amber. This change to amber is the conversion of THC to CBD/CBn, and will change the psychoactive properties of the plant. Simply put, the more amber trichomes the plant has-the more sedative the affect becomes. If flushing is done properly, you will notice some yellowing or discoloration of the leaves; this is a sign that all the available nutrients within the plant tissue are spent, and your plant is near end of life. Flushing is said to help the overall quality and enjoyability of the final product! However, it is a somewhat controversial process that many hydroponic growers don’t feel is necessary. Once your plant has been flushed, it is ready to be harvested and hung for drying!