When thinking about how many weeks to flower cannabis plants, it is a must to take an in-depth look at the growth patterns of these amazing creatures.
Most importantly, the time needed to see the delicious buds fatten and ripen will depend on a number of factors.
These factors include the strain you choose to cultivate, as well as the conditions you provide for your green princesses to flourish.
The fastest flowering cannabis varieties are those grown from autoflowering seeds, along with hydroponically grown weed.
When it comes to both indoor and outdoor cannabis plants, such as Sativa, Indica, and hybrid types, it typically takes anything between 8-9 weeks on an average for your green beauties to flower.
Let’s find out more about what you can expect during the crucial weeks of flowering, how you can speed up the process, and how to take the best care of your cannababes.
How Many Weeks to Flower Cannabis: A Beginner-Friendly Guide
When I was just starting to grow my own green medication, I remember how I felt like falling down the rabbit hole with all the numerous marijuana-related terms and gigs.
It was almost as if I was studying for a second Master’s degree, and at times, admittedly, it was hard to escape the confusion.
And so below, you will find everything you need to know about the flowering phase of your emerald princesses, explained simply.
#1 – Switching to 12/12 Darkness-Light Photoperiod (7-20 days)
The flowering stage begins with the transition to a controlled access to light, transmuted equally within the 24-hour ratio.
The vegetative phase usually lasts for 3-4 weeks.
You can count those weeks from the moment you have seen your seedlings sprouting.
As a rule of thumbs, marijuana plants can spend double or triple the average time in vegetation, as long as you don’t trigger the formation of buds by the amount of light vs. dark in your grow room.
That means once your green babies have gone through the main stages of vegetation, it is up to you to activate the flowering if you are growing your weed indoors.
In the case of outdoor marijuana growing, Mother Nature will trigger this process for you.
From the moment you switch to a controlled 50/50 access to light and darkness, it can take between 1 to 3 weeks before you can actually notice the first buds forming.
During this period, your plants are still very vigorous and not that finicky about the growing conditions. Any issues are easy to handle at this phase when your cannabeauties are still acting cool.
If you have been growing your weed from regular seeds, this is also the time when you will be able to tell their sex and separate males from females.
Withautoflowering cannabis strains, though, there is no need to worry about controlling the access to light and dark to trigger the process of flowering. Just as the name suggests, these marijuana varieties have automated this task.
As soon as autos exit the 3rd week of vegetation, the flowering begins and that’s why most of these strains are notorious for being early finishers.
Autoflowering cannabis plants can be ready to harvest within as little as just 8 weeks in total.
As briefly mentioned above, hydroponic growing is another alternative if you are looking for ways to harvest your crops faster.
With this in mind, the time hydro marijuana varieties will spend in any of the time frames listed here, can be lessened in half.
For example, instead of 1-3 weeks in the 12-12 light-darkness period, hydro weed can jump to the second phase of buds becoming visible for an average of a single week or so.
#2 –Baby Buds Become Visible (7 Days)
Finally, you can see the perky, fizzy hairs, covering the still tiny buds-to-be! These sticking outwards hairs are also known as pistils.
Just below those notorious pistils, the buds of your plants are in the process of formation.
During this period, your cannabeauties will start to show their character so make sure you treat them like little princesses and don’t leave your grow room or garden unattended.
You don’t want any problems right now.
#3 – Buds are Becoming Juicier (7-14days)
About a week after the pistils have become clearly visible and clumped together, the buds will gain more and more strength.
The most amazing part of this stage of flowering is that you will see the buds becoming fatter and yummier day after day.
The smell will also envelop the entire growing space, so it is good to be prepared in the case you need odor control.
#4 – The Buds are Ripening, Harvest is Just around the Corner (about 7 days)
Ah, it’s sure one of the most satisfying moments for us, marijuana growers, to start seeing the pistils turning brown.
Smells like the harvesting point is so near, you can almost taste the fruits of your efforts during the last months.
But even though you are just THAT close to the final flush, it is not a good time to mess things up right now.
Treat your emerald beauties like real superstars but still, avoid overdoing the whole thing. Don’t be afraid if you notice some leaves yellowing, as well.
A few leaves turning yellow is okay since the plants are starting to focus their entire energy into nothing else but the buds.
From now on, we can pretty much say that the flowering is about to over, with just one week left for the final flush.
And so in a nutshell, the question is not how many weeks to flower cannabis you will need but how much are you willing to give to help your green princesses flourish.
Choose your strains and growing methods wisely, and you will be ready to enjoy maximized yields and a happy marijuana growing journey.
