Young flower/bud to harvest?

[Damien102]

Hi all... First time grow/grower here. My plants are flowering now, looking like popcorn buds. I looked in the thread "Budding & Flowering" and didn't really see a direct answer to my question which is. How long typically does it take for an auto from an actual budling to a puffed up almost ready to cut bud?
A second question. I planted 2 (same strain) seeds, same tent, same watering cycle and one seemed to be getting along faster than the other. Then just before pre-flower the slower/smaller one exploded and overtook the bigger one in size and budding. Is this normal/OK or is something wrong with the previously bigger one?

Picture is of a bud that started pre-flowering (just started growing hairs) 3 weeks ago. Shouldn't it be bulkier/more mature after 3 weeks They are about 1/2 inch wide)?

 

[HashGirl]

Hi all... First time grow/grower here. My plants are flowering now, looking like popcorn buds. I looked in the thread "Budding & Flowering" and didn't really see a direct answer to my question which is. How long typically does it take for an auto from an actual budling to a puffed up almost ready to cut bud?

Hello Damien and welcome to 420 Magazine. I track all my grows and I have the average length of time for autos for flowering is 58 days.

A second question. I planted 2 (same strain) seeds, same tent, same watering cycle and one seemed to be getting along faster than the other. Then just before pre-flower the slower/smaller one exploded and overtook the bigger one in size and budding. Is this normal/OK or is something wrong with the previously bigger one?

This is normal. Even same strain seeds will have differences in how the plant grows, kinda like people. The only way you could maybe get them growing together identically is by using clones but since I've never actually grown clones, I can't really say.

Picture is of a bud that started pre-flowering (just started growing hairs) 3 weeks ago. Shouldn't it be bulkier/more mature after 3 weeks They are about 1/2 inch wide)?

They look good to me. Here's my Blueberry Auto, 22 days into flowering:

 

[SmokingWings]

Then just before pre-flower the slower/smaller one exploded and overtook the bigger one in size and budding. Is this normal/OK or is something wrong with the previously bigger one?

Most of the time it is because the roots on the smaller plant had a growth spurt and this caused the growth in the portion above the soil line to grow faster.

The way I see it, the younger the plants, and it does not matter much if from seed or a cutting, the more likely it is to grow at what seems like a random rate. As the plants get older they start to grow at about the same rate and some of the slower growing ones catch up and might even get larger.

This is the "however" part. If the plants were growing at the same rate and always looked healthy and then you, as the gardener, notice that one or more of that group slow down it is time to figure out why. Sometimes it is nothing and sometimes insects, a root problem, or something else.

 

[Phytoplankton]

I’ve had autos take as little as 8 weeks and as much as 14 weeks. Had the same strain, side by side, same everything, one was in flower 9 weeks, the other 12. The plants will “speak to you” when they’re ready. (Swollen buds, Orange pistils, mix of cloudy and amber trichromes)

 

[Sativa1970]

The 2 seeds are sisters not twins. Even twins are very different from each other. Clones are genetic identical copies but they are taken from separate branches on one plant. No two branches on one plant are identical. The different growth rates are normal.

The flowers will only have subtle changes as they mature over the first weeks. Most of the bulk is added only in the last 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[SmokingWings]

The 2 seeds are sisters not twins. Even twins are very different from each other.

Yes unless two seeds were to start to form in the same calyx. Yes again, twins can look and grow differently.

Clones are genetic identical copies but they are taken from separate branches on one plant. No two branches on one plant are identical. The different growth rates are normal.

Even being genetically identical does not mean that they will grow exactly the same, or even close to the same. Even in the same soil each clone can have its own unique root system and this can influence how it grows for example. Though it would be nice if they did grow more like one another making our lives a bit easier.

Clones are genetic identical copies but they are taken from separate branches on one plant.

One time while trimming and training I felt that a branch did not fit in with what I wanted to plant to look like several weeks down the road. I removed the branch and cut it into 4 pieces. Each piece grew roots but in the end they grew differently from each other for the usual reasons.

Another time I had two cuttings taken from the same mother plant minutes apart end up looking very different by the time they were mid way through flowering. Every stage was done the same day. If I transplanted they went into the same size pot filled with the same soil. Watered together, nutrients added at the same time as examples. By the mid point one of them had the leaf shape associated with Sativa and the other looked like an Indica. I took photos and either deleted them or moved them somewhere, maybe a flash drive.

 

[Sativa1970]

I run 2 or 3 perpetual grows at a time. Each strain for a couple years. Just harvested 2 DWC Jamaican clones. One stretched into a 6 foot tall by 3 foot Christmas tree and the other was a flat top 4x4 foot hedge. The Christmas tree shape had fewer colas, most of them further from the light, but it had the better harvest...?? Ya never know.

 

[SmokingWings]

I run 2 or 3 perpetual grows at a time.

I have been on the same grow since the end of 2017. One long perpetual. Various strains come and go but the grow is always going. Since the early summer of '17 there has been at least one Marijuana plant growing somewhere in the house or on the patio.

Not going to count the houseplants but those could be considered a different perpetual if it down to it.

 

[Vegan4life]

I have some autos going right now, supposed to be 56 -63 days from sprout to harvest. I am now on day 95 and I still may be a couple of more weeks until I harvest... It will be worth the wait...

 

[SmokingWings]

I have some autos going right now, supposed to be 56 -63 days from sprout to harvest. I am now on day 95 and I still may be a couple of more weeks until I harvest... It will be worth the wait...

What strain?

 

[Vegan4life]

What strain?

Fastbuds Strawberry pie, Tastebudz Critical banana smoothie and Tastebudz Orange cookies. Real nice dense buds, I lost the tops of a couple of buds due to bud rot, no biggie, harvest will still be great...

 

[Sativa1970]

supposed to be 56 -63 days from sprout to harvest. I am now on day 95 and I still may be a couple of more weeks until I harvest

That is another valid point for Damien since he is new to growing. Seed banks bend the truth on grow times. They don't count germination and seedling time. They often start flowing at the fourth node. They don't count the time switching veg to flower. Then they use the fastest results for the earliest they can get after many grows dialed in.

My Lambs bread seeds were supposedly a 77-84 day grow. Knew that was a lie. I am on clone generation 20 something. From 6 inch tall rooted clone, in hydro, to harvest, is still closer to 100 days. I harvest early to avoid the couch lock.