Flowering

What happens here

Triggered by the shift to 12 hours of light / 12 hours of uninterrupted darkness, the plant redirects energy from leaf growth into bud production. It typically moves through a stretch phase, then bud formation, then a final ripening period.

Key tasks

1. 1Protect the dark period — any light leak during the 12 hours of darkness can stress the plant or cause it to revert
2. 2Shift feeding toward phosphorus and potassium, easing off nitrogen as flowering progresses
3. 3Watch trichomes (the small resin glands on buds) in the final weeks — they're the most reliable harvest-timing signal, more so than calendar dates alone

What to watch for

• Light leaks during dark hours are the single most common cause of stress and hermaphroditism at this stage
• Nutrient burn is easy to mistake for normal late-flowering leaf yellowing — check if it's isolated to leaf tips (burn) vs. spreading evenly (normal senescence)