Marijuana Flowering Stage: A Week-by-Week Guide

Even if you are a beginner in growing cannabis or doing it before, it is good to know what you are expecting during the marijuana growing stage. The marijuana plant has different traits during the different periods of the life cycle. It includes its germination, vegetative stage, and marijuana flowering stage. However, most home cannabis cultivators consider the finishing of the flowering period as the most exciting part. It’s because your cannabis plant finally reveals the quality and the amount of the harvest due to all your hard work. 

The cannabis during its flowering stage has definite levels of unwanted darkness provided to the marijuana plants. When your plants are now ready for the flowering stage, you may now give your marijuana plants at least 10 to 12 hours of darkness. This may not alter them from the vegetative stage and begin their flowering process. 

The standard flowering period will usually last for 7 to 9 weeks, but some Sativa hybrid could take any more extended week. Just make sure to do some research on your cannabis ‘ certain flowering period before you begin your plant.

In this post, you’ll learn how to grow cannabis during the marijuana flowering stage.

Weekly Guide of Marijuana Flowering Stage

1) First to Third Week (Transition and Flowering Stretch Stage)

During the first weeks of the marijuana flowering stage, your plants will be in their transition stage. Imagine that the winter season is not far away, that it will soon carry a big filled bud, and then your plant will now proliferate. Some cannabis strains have almost double the height during this period. 

Due to the rapid growth of your plant, this early flowering stage is also called the stretching stage. While the plant is placed in some overtime to obtain its size and height, it still grows many new leaves that commonly grow at the top of its colas. Your marijuana plant is now busy growing its green stuff, such as leaves and stems, so it can now become sturdy and stronger.

2) Second Week

During the second week of the flowering stage, you can now see its first white pistils that grow in your cannabis plants. These white pistils will develop in different locations where the big fan-like foliage meets the lead stem. These excellent hairs will soon become buds. However, if your plants are male, they cannot grow any hairs but, instead, grow into small-sized pollen sacs. 

You may grow regular and non-feminized plants that you do not know the gender of. This is the time that you can sex your plants to isolate the female plants from the male. The male plant cannot grow buds, but it still pollinates your males that make it grow seed. This part is something that you may not want to occur.

When it begins to flower and shows the first signs of growing buds, you may now check the nutrients schedule to feed your plant. It is expected during the second week where you need to increase the flowering nutrients to help your cannabis plants to reach their maximum yields.

3) Third Week

The marijuana plant is still not fully stopped from growing, and it will now be 50 percent bigger compared to what they were during the first three weeks. Even though it is still stretching more, the stretch will now moderately slow, and it will soon entirely stop. The plants where you earlier saw some growing hairs will now see the first signs of growing real buds; this is currently developing. There are still not many resinous trichomes on your plants that means the smell is not too strong yet.

The flowering stage, where the plant begins to spend more energy on its growing flowers, is very analytical. Just make sure that you gave the appropriate nutrients and always check the labels that are recommended dosages. 

As your cannabis plants become more dainty, you may also check for the possible shortage that could present in different ways, such as changing colors, loss of leaves or the leaves may become color yellow. You can also check the signs that you may overfeed your plants that may show up during this time. The nutrient burn will possibly show when the end part of the foliage may change its color. If this occurs, you may now slow down on feeding.

4) Fourth Week

During the fourth week of the flowering stage, your marijuana plants will now stop growing altogether and now spend all their energy to grow their buds. However, there are still white hairs that show out from the cannabis buds, but such buds will now become more prominent and more extensive up to the following day. Having more and bigger buds that grow, your cannabis plants will now develop more trichomes that make it smell more perceptible.

5) Fifth Week

You can now observe that your plants’ buds may become thicker during this week of the flowering stage. You can also notice the new buds that grow in new places, such as the main part of the colas. During your buds become more abundant, your plant will increase its weight every day. 

It is an excellent sign that your plants are now in their flowering period. During this part, your plant will have a very intense smell, so make sure that you install good ventilation, especially if the place you grow your cannabis is indoors or in an area that does not allow for legal cannabis cultivation. 

Few of your cannabis plants have white pistils before that may now turn into brownish or dark colors. Check the trichomes of your plant, and you may notice some spots of becoming filmy. Your plant’s signs will now be nearly harvested when its trichomes become milky white and its hair becomes darker in color.

6) Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Week (Before Harvest or the Late Flowering Phase)

Not all kinds of hybrid cannabis plants need the same number of days and time for their flowering stage, but many cannabis varieties will be ready to harvest during the last three remaining weeks. However, there are still some cannabis strains that are not yet ready to gather during the eighth week.

Conclusion

The marijuana flowering stage is when the plants grow their scented and smokable buds. This stage is considered an essential part of your marijuana plant life cycle. Many things may happen during the flowering stage, so you have to learn how to take care of your plants every week.