Can I Make Buds Mature Faster By Switching From 12/12 to 10/14?

Last updated Mar 11, 2024

by Nebula Haze

Many growers prefer to get a faster cannabis harvest, especially if all other things are equal! The longest part of a cannabis plant’s life is typically the time spent flowering/making buds. So speeding up the flowering stage is a sureproof way to get to harvest more quickly.

A shorter flowering stage can result in a faster cannabis harvest. Or choose all auto-flowering strains (learn more about cannabis autos) like these plants, which are typically ready to harvest just 2-3 months from germination!

A shorter flowering stage can result in a faster cannabis harvest.

But what affects the length of the cannabis flowering stage? For auto-flowering strains, which automatically make cannabis buds on their own, the time is almost purely determined by genetics. There isn’t much you can do to “speed up” an autoflowering cannabis strains. However, most cannabis strains are “photoperiod” strains, which means they need short days (or more specifically long nights) in order to start flowering and make buds. Therefore, most indoor cannabis growers must give their plants 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light each day to initiate budding, and continue with that 12/12 light schedule until it’s time to harvest. A 12-hour night is long enough to force almost any photoperiod cannabis plant to enter the flowering stage and finish maturing in a reasonable amount of time.

Learn more about cannabis light schedules and how they affect budding.

However some cannabis plants, especially Sativa and Haze strains which originate near the equator, can take 3+ months to finish flowering if they’re kept on a 12/12 light schedule. Yes, their buds can sometimes take that long before they are mature and ready to harvest.

Check out the example below. Sativa and Haze strains often get really tall and can take months in the flowering stage before buds are mature. These colas from a Malawi Gold (Chamba) plant are already huge and have been flowering for almost two months. But they still aren’t showing signs of stopping. This strain can take 4+ months to finish flowering if kept on a 12/12 schedule. Way too long!

Example of a Sativa based plant that takes forever to finish flowering under a 12/12 light schedule

If you’re growing a long-flowering photoperiod cannabis plant indoors, and want to “hurry it along” one of the best things you can do is reduce the light period so your plant is getting longer nights. For example, you could give your plants 13 or 14 hours of darkness each day (11/13 or 10/14 schedule) to hasten the plant. It “thinks” winter is coming and finishes up in less time.

Give cannabis plants longer nights to get buds to mature faster!

The downside to this technique is you will reduce your yields. That’s because you’re reducing the amount of light/energy received by the plant in two ways. First, you’re giving your cannabis plants fewer hours each day. So it’s kind of like they’re losing a meal each day. Second, your plant will be done budding sooner, so you’ll lose the weeks of budding it could have had, which would have also added to the final weight of your buds.

When Do I Harvest Cannabis Plants?

Because of the potentially reduced yields, it’s recommended to wait until the plant has been flowering for at least 8 weeks before you initiate longer nights. That gives your marijuana buds enough time to fully form before the plant gets reduced light each day.

What if buds keeps making more and more new pistils?

Example of fist-shaped bud putting out tons and tons of new white pistils as a result of heat damage

 


 

Jump to….

When to Harvest For Highest Potency

How to Get to Harvest Faster

Why are my cannabis buds taking so long to mature?

What to Expect Week-By-Week During the Flowering Stage

For Cannabis Problems & Symptoms…

 


 

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