Looks like the group that was interested in the question asked above is divided between '
keeping the soil moist' and '
letting the soil dry out before adding more water'.
I became curious and knew that going from wet to dry before watering again is the recommended way to build up a good root mass during the vegetating stage as explained many times in the thread called The Proper Way to Water a Potted Plant by
@Emilya Green .
That curiousity meant I spent two afternoons (I really did not want to do any chores anyway) reading through the 56 pages currently in that thread to see what was being said about the
wet & dry cycle for plants already in flower. The first link is to message #69 which is an Addendum specifically about watering a flowering Marijuana plant in a pot of soil. While the idea of letting the soil dry out before adding water works while in the vegetating stage there is an important change to the method once the plant is in the flowering stage and the stretch is finishing.
As the stretch is ending the grower should start to add water before the soil has completely dried out; preferably while still moist but not necessarily still wet. Some loss of moisture is acceptable but totally dry or almost dry is not recommended and certainly not waiting till the plant is in full wilt. Keep in mind that the "wet to dry back to wet" during the vegetating stage works because the plant will grow roots outwards searching for water. My thoughts at this point is that after 2 or 3 weeks into flower the plant no long produces as many hormones promoting root growth so fewer new roots. If any roots are damaged or killed during a dry stage that went to far then it is unlikely that the plant will replace all or even most of them.
Each link listed after the Addendum (the first link) goes into more detail
why there is a recommended change in the watering method as explained or described by Emilya. Also note that after reading the message found in each link the next several messages will often go into more detail as members ask specific questions and Emilya replies. So each link below might actually involve as many as 5 messages. (Three of the links have a notation which means something to me so they stay but the link itself is still valid.) While each link shows the same line it actually goes to a different message in that important thread.
I eliminated as many casual references to the wet dry cycle in the vegetating stage as possible and tried to stick to just the ideas behind how often and when to water a flowering plant. Also, tried to eliminate every time someone asked "where is the Addendum" which I noticed was starting to get on Emilya's nerves.
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
Drought Stress as an Enhancer in link below
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
Seaweed Extracts in link below
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant
Takes Experience in link below
The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant