Cannabis Flowering Stages Week by Week (with Pictures) - Detailed Guide (2023)

FAQs

What should week 3 of flowering look like? ›

Week 3. Your cannabis plants have still not entirely stopped growing and will now be about 50% bigger than what they were just three weeks earlier. Although still stretching a bit, the stretch will now gradually slow down and soon come to a complete halt.

During week 2, the first white pistils will grow on the female cannabis plants. These fine, wispy white hairs develop at the locations where the big fan leaves meet the main stem. These white hairs are what later become the buds of the plant, called colas.

Your buds in Week 7 will be noticeably frostier, as the plants begin to finish out. These plants are beginning to look smokable! Seriously, at this point, you will want to rip off a nug and go smoke! That is how appealing your plants begin to look as you get into Week 7.

The buds aren't really big, but they're starting to produce a lot of resin. The buds have to get hard and heavy over the next weeks. They won't get much larger in size, but will become heavier and of better quality.

You can remove fan leaves during flowering in much the same way you do during veg. Prune away large leaves that are overshadowing bud sites, as well as dead or dying fan leaves. One thing to keep in mind is that you should prune in intervals, giving at least a couple weeks between each session.

Usually, growers trim the fan leaves weeks before harvest, which is a period that leads to senescence, a phase in the plant cycle when the larger leaves start fading away. It is safe to start removing these dying leaves and continue until harvest.

The Final 2 Weeks Of Flowering. If you grow strains with an average flowering time, the majority of bud development will occur by the 6th week of bloom. In the last two weeks, the buds will mostly be ripening and not really growing much more in size.

Weeks 1-3 – Transition

Also known as the flowering stretch—you'll notice a sudden increase in growth over these three weeks. Your plant needs to be big and strong enough to support the buds that'll be growing over the next few weeks—it can double or even triple in size.

Generally, you want to water every 2 or 3 days during Flower and you want to water enough that 10-20% of water comes out from the pot as runoff. You can check your soil moisture by sticking a finger in the pot: if the soil is dry a couple inches down, then it is time to water again.

Around week 8 of the flowering stage, buds will start fattening quickly. Likewise, you'll see that trichomes and pistils are maturing and changing colors. Usually, when trichomes turn from transparent to a milky / white-ish color (and maybe 5-10% of them turn amber), your plant is ready for harvesting.

What week Do buds stop getting bigger? ›

Plants begin to elongate, or stretch about 5 days after entering flower, and stop growing taller after about 3 weeks. The early flowering stage is really a hyper vegetative period.

The telltale sign of harvest-ready weed is when the hairs of the plant, or pistils, have fully darkened and curled in. If your buds are looking thick and dense, but there are still some straight white pistils, it's not time yet. However, opinions on harvest time vary.

Small buds, about the size of a marble or smaller, are appropriately called “Smalls” and are considered lower quality than larger nugs. Large and smalls can both come from the same harvest and the same plants but will get filtered out in the packaging process.

Whether wet or dry trimming, check drying buds or branches after two days by bending a branch or stem—if the stem snaps, that means buds are fully dry. If they don't snap, leave them and check the next day.

You will know that your plant is ready to be harvested when the colors of the pistils on cola buds turn from white to reddish orange and the trichome heads turn from transparent to milky to opaque and finally amber. The amber color indicates a higher CBD to THC cannabinoid ratio in its resin.

To some degree, more light translates to fatter buds and higher yields (you'll need to pay attention to the distance between your grow light and plants or your plant may suffer from light burn). Increasing light intensity is the most effective way to fatten up buds.

It is absolutely OK to trim these leaves off your plant once they begin to pale and yellow – especially the bigger leaves which are older. These leaves are not producing enough energy for the plant to justify hanging around. In fact, they are likely using more energy than they are producing in photosynthesis.

The nutrient requirements will change dramatically when the plants enter the flowering stage, and this may be a little hard for new growers. You can feed your plants 1-2 times every week, gradually increasing the nutrients, but at the same time pay attention to your plants' reactions after each feeding.

We recommend defoliating vegging plants just before you switch them to bloom: Start by removing big, hand-sized fan leaves first. These tend to overshadow almost anything below them, making it hard for light to properly penetrate your plant's canopy.

Watering during the flowering period

During the pre-flowering and early flowering stage, the plants don't require additional watering. However, once the plants enter the peak flowering stage, the buds start sucking the soil dry. The buds are filled with water; it's logical that more watering is required.

Can I defoliate in week 2 of flower? ›

With the explosive vertical growth, these plants also bush out with fan leaves galore. The sheer amount of foliage can make it difficult to work with. These plants must be defoliated during the flowering stage to achieve the best outcome. The best time to start is either at the end of Week 2 or during Week 3.

Magnesium is important for healthy cannabis plants because it helps with light absorption to produce more flowers or buds. Iron and manganese are also useful in helping cannabis plants produce chlorophyll so they'll have more energy to grow bigger buds.

When do Trichomes appear? Trichomes become more prominent during the third or fourth week of the flowering stage of your plants. At this phase, you should have already started inducing the needed nutrients that your plants need to improve trichome production and effectiveness.

Overwatering during flowering

During the bloom period, some leaves might fall off the plant, and you'll need to prevent them from remaining inside the pot, as if they mix with soil and moisture, they could rot and give way to harmful fungi, which can contaminate the roots and attack the plant's metabolism.

For soil growers, plants can be fed once every second or third watering. If plants are fed with every watering then nutrient buildup and lockup becomes a problem causing stunted growth, “crows foot” (curling downwards of the leaves), leaf burn, deficiency symptoms, burnt and damaged root system and decreased yields.

The best way to tell if your plants need water is to stick your finger about an inch into the potting mix—if it feels dry, break out the watering can. If you detect dampness, check back again in a day or two. For smaller houseplants, you can also pick up the whole container.

So there are three different times we recommend defoliating during Flower: Right before you switch to 12/12. Once between the beginning of Flower and the 3-week mark. 3 weeks after beginning flower is the last time you'll want to defoliate.

A bud hardener is an additive you can use at the end of the flower cycle to tighten up your flowers and pack on weight. They are typically used in the final 3 weeks or so of the grow cycle and contain a mix of macronutrients, micronutrients, minerals, essential oils, etc.

How do you make buds swell up outside? ›

By providing the right amount of light and keeping the lights the right distance away from your plants, you'll keep your grow happy, resulting in the desired bigger buds. If growing outdoors, make sure your pots or trenches are spaced far enough apart so that the sides of the plants can receive full sun.

At week 4 of the flowering stage, your cannabis plants will likely have stopped growing altogether and are now spending all their energy on growing buds. There will still be white hairs sticking out from the buds, but the buds themselves will become bigger and fatter with each day.

12 or more hours of darkness is the biological trigger for photoperiod cannabis to bloom. Outdoors, as the nights grow longer incrementally from the summer solstice onward, some strains can even begin flowering when receiving 14 hours of sunlight.

It is in Week 5 that the buds really begin to fill out. Even more growth will occur in Week 6 and beyond. If you recall the vegetative look and feel of the first three weeks, Week 4 represented a distinct shift away from veg and into flower. Week 5 takes that shift and kicks it up a notch.

At the absolute minimum, you should wait until 50% of the trichomes are cloudy and 50% of the hairs have changed color. Again — do not harvest if fewer than 50% of the trichomes have turned milky. And do not harvest if fewer than 50% of the pistils have turned brown/orange.

To ensure optimal THC levels, you should wait until at least 60-70 percent of your pistils have turned an amber color before you begin harvesting. This should give you the highest levels of THC. If you leave it past this point, your THC levels will start to degrade with exposure to oxygen, heat, and light.

You should flush your cannabis plants when they are almost within the harvest window. Your plants should be almost ready to harvest but can still stay on the plant for a bit longer. This will result in the highest quality bud. Your plant should have clear trichomes with a few that have turned milky.

Cannabis plants need water and nutrients to grow and develop big, healthy flowers. Drought, overwatering, and over/underfeeding can all affect your plant's ability to develop big, dense, and heavy flowers.

In Testing For Truth Part 1 article, we found that the position of a bud on the plant does matter- buds near the top tend to be higher in potency than those near the bottom. That means growers need to be aware of this, and possibly adjust their lighting, plant spacing, etc. to reduce variation.

💭 Airy, loose buds are caused by either high temperature during their growth period, lack of light or lack of nutrients. INDOORS: High temperature in the garden space or just near the light causes the buds to grow airy and lanky.

Do buds need darkness to dry? ›

The Room Must Be Dark

The ideal drying room must be dark, as light can damage the THC in your buds. While it does not hurt to have a light source inside to check on the progress of your buds, you should keep it off most of the time, and block all other passages of light that can enter the room.

Remove entire branches from your plants, trim the sugar leaves, and hang them upside down. In a bigger drying space, you can use a fan to keep air moving freely. Racks also work well when you need to dry large quantities of bud. Trim your flowers well, spread them out evenly, and place a hygrometer on each shelf.

Dry & cure your buds in jars – In addition to improving taste, smell and potency, drying and curing your buds the right way will cause them to “tighten up” a bit.

1. Examine its appearance. Vibrant colors and dense buds coated with white trichomes are evidence of great care that went into cultivation and preparing your cannabis for consumption. High quality cannabis showcases bright colors, ranging from reds and oranges to purples and blues.

Under magnification from a jewelers loupe, the bulbous tips of these trichomes will appear clear while still developing, but will begin to turn amber or milky as they reach and pass full maturity. This milky or amber is color is what shows you the cannabinoids have reached full maturity and have begun to degrade.

Late flowering

In the second part of the flowering phase the humidity level must be reduced to 40-50%. In the two to three final weeks it's preferable for this figure to be closer to 40%.

Weeks 4-6: Buds Fatten Up

At this stage of cannabis flowering, your buds are getting bigger. They'll still have all the white pistils sticking out, but you'll be able to see the buds getting bigger every day.

One Last Defoliation at Flowering Week 3 – Now that you're three weeks into the flowering stage, do another major removal of just about all the fan leaves. Make sure to especially take any big leaves with long stems, or leaves that are covering bud sites! Again, avoid removing or damaging any developing buds!

Weeks 1-3 – Transition

Also known as the flowering stretch—you'll notice a sudden increase in growth over these three weeks. Your plant needs to be big and strong enough to support the buds that'll be growing over the next few weeks—it can double or even triple in size.

Ideal indoor relative humidity levels can range from 70% in the seedling stage to as low as 30% during the flowering stages. That's why it's important to deliver a wide range of indoor humidity throughout the growing process.

Is 55% humidity too high for flower? ›

Flower Room Humidity and Temperature

The ideal cannabis flowering humidity is between 40% to 60%. During flower, lowering your relative humidity level can help prevent mold and mildew from forming.

The best humidity to store cannabis is ideally between 55% and 65%, but as long as there is a Boveda inside the container, the outside environment will play a secondary role. While Boveda is effective at removing excess cannabis moisture, growers should still dry buds using their traditional methods.

To some degree, more light translates to fatter buds and higher yields (you'll need to pay attention to the distance between your grow light and plants or your plant may suffer from light burn). Increasing light intensity is the most effective way to fatten up buds.

The bigger the leaf area, the bigger your buds will be. Nitrogen is the nutrient needed most for this green growth. When plants reach their mature size and begin flowering, they need more phosphorus, the nutrient most essential for budding.

Once the initial hormonal changes from the onset of bloom have finished your cannabis plant should stop stretching. Usually, some 2-3 weeks after bloom began.

Removing these fan leaves opens up light and produces better air exchange to the lower canopy. Healthy leaves at the bottom of the canopy should be kept to trap valuable light from being lost and wasted. The more quality light a flowering site receives, the larger it will grow and the faster it will mature.

The nutrient requirements will change dramatically when the plants enter the flowering stage, and this may be a little hard for new growers. You can feed your plants 1-2 times every week, gradually increasing the nutrients, but at the same time pay attention to your plants' reactions after each feeding.

Watering during the flowering period

During the pre-flowering and early flowering stage, the plants don't require additional watering. However, once the plants enter the peak flowering stage, the buds start sucking the soil dry. The buds are filled with water; it's logical that more watering is required.