white widow flowering time outside?

[sudsandbuds]

so i started 2 white widow seeds this spring and i was wondering if any of you fellow green thumbs would have any knowledge of this strain outside. i thought i saw some pre flowers on them a cpl weeks ago but have not noticed any new signs.

Thanks!

 

[Strainhunter]

It would help if you could post who the breeder is.

"White Widow" is a fairly wide spread name and often has been "diluted" with all sorts of genetics.
Hence the breeder would be great.

 

[sudsandbuds]

hmm. i suppose it would be...but no idea on the breeder. i wouldnt even have a guess

 

[Strainhunter]

Then your questions is impossible to answer with accuracy.

The more your WW is leaning towards the Indica side the quicker it will finish.
However flowering will start by photo period and that one depends on your geographical location.

So just give it some time and be patient young grasshopper!

 

[sudsandbuds]

i guess i what i was really asking is how long it takes before i see preflowers to determine sex. but it is more of indica

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

sudnsbuds, ive grown Ghouse, Mr.Nice, Joeys Original and Dutch passion. Dutch passions was very different than the other 3. It was far less vigorous for one thing and in fact i wouldnt recommend it for outdoors anytime. Its not very tough.

The other 3 had 2 pheno's. 1 tall green pheno, christmas tree shape that finished by the end of sept. The other pheno was shorter, branchier, a tiny bit more potent and it finishes mid Oct.

But the real answer to your question is that WW triggers into flowering at 14.4 hrs of daylenght. 2 weeks after that daylength occurs at your lattitude, you will see flowers begining to form. Use this tool to determine the date 14.4 is reached at your lattitude.

http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html

 

[sudsandbuds]

D.S. Toker, much respect and gratitude. I am pretty sure i have one of those pheno's as it is extremely hearty and i know it was grown outside in my region last yr....was extremely impressed. I'm hoping for the best with these...girls....

Thanks again!

btw...i am only so sure of the strain bc it came from a local grower who also did sour Diesel amongst other respected strains.

 

[sudsandbuds]

Also, that website is really cool, thanks for that as well.

 

[zymos]

Hey D.S. Toker-
just curious where the 14.4 hr.s figure came from, and if there is a table or something that includes other strains.

14.4 hrs is the exact hours of daylight at my latitude on the summer solstice!

 

[Strainhunter]

No matter which genetics have been used for YOUR WW...and no matter the length of day light required for triggering flowering...your plants will NOT FLOWER before reaching sexual maturity.

Now that last part (sexual maturity) is determined by the genetical mix used.

 

[sudsandbuds]

yea i got that. all i was looking for was the time period in which i will find the sex of them....that was the original object of my question. sorry if it was misinterpreted

 

[Strainhunter]

yea i got that.

....

That was not pointed @ you but @ the previous 14.4 hour post.

If WW plants are too small (not sexually mature) they won't flower no matter what the hours of daylight are.

What size they can start flowering @ if the hours are right depends on the genetic mix used in the breeding.

 

[jay-toker]

.

 

[Strainhunter]

How do you explain micro growers planting 12/12 from seed and having the plant flower 2-4 weeks after on average or even sooner?
.....

I already did, just read again.

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

Hey D.S. Toker-
just curious where the 14.4 hr.s figure came from, and if there is a table or something that includes other strains.

14.4 hrs is the exact hours of daylight at my latitude on the summer solstice!

It came from my notes zymos. Over the years ive experimented a bit when it comes to spring clones and revegging and that experience combined with the fact that ive grown well over 100 strains has given me some insight into the flowering aspects of hybrid cannabis.

Most hybrid, indica containing Cannabis will begin to flower near the 14.25 - 14.5 hrs of light. Above 14.5, most plants will veg. Below that and most will trigger flowering. If you have plants indoor under lights, you can measure it by keeping lights under 14. 45 minutes of light - they wont flower. Reduce the lights by 15-30 minutes and the plants will flower evey time.

Outdoors you can do the math yourself. At my lattitude, i see flowers for most plants around the 1st of August. Since i know that it takes approx. 2 weeks from the time light is cut back enough that flowering is inititated until one sees actual flowers begin to form, you automatically know that the daylength that triggered the flowering actually occured 2 weeks ago. MId july at my lat is 14.3-4.

You can also determine approx. finish date by adding the flowering time to the numbers. My plants trigger mid july. I see flowers forming Aug 1. My strain is a 60 day flowerer. Aug 1+ 60 days = October 1. Drought, cloudiness, heat and other aspects can effect it a little, but generally thats the math.

I wish instead of breeders providing a finish date with the seeds, they would give us the light trigger number. This plant will flower under so many hours/minutes of light. That way we could go straight to the daylight tool and know when they will flower and finish at our lat.

 

[Big Eggy]

It came from my notes zymos. Over the years ive experimented a bit when it comes to spring clones and revegging and that experience combined with the fact that ive grown well over 100 strains has given me some insight into the flowering aspects of hybrid cannabis.

Most hybrid, indica containing Cannabis will begin to flower near the 14.25 - 14.5 hrs of light. Above 14.5, most plants will veg. Below that and most will trigger flowering. If you have plants indoor under lights, you can measure it by keeping lights under 14. 45 minutes of light - they wont flower. Reduce the lights by 15-30 minutes and the plants will flower evey time.

Outdoors you can do the math yourself. At my lattitude, i see flowers for most plants around the 1st of August. Since i know that it takes approx. 2 weeks from the time light is cut back enough that flowering is inititated until one sees actual flowers begin to form, you automatically know that the daylength that triggered the flowering actually occured 2 weeks ago. MId july at my lat is 14.3-4.

You can also determine approx. finish date by adding the flowering time to the numbers. My plants trigger mid july. I see flowers forming Aug 1. My strain is a 60 day flowerer. Aug 1+ 60 days = October 1. Drought, cloudiness, heat and other aspects can effect it a little, but generally thats the math.

I wish instead of breeders providing a finish date with the seeds, they would give us the light trigger number. This plant will flower under so many hours/minutes of light. That way we could go straight to the daylight tool and know when they will flower and finish at our lat.

Hi DS Toker,

Thanks for the link thats a great tool!

I have a question.. using your maths my FMS Widow should be ready on the 9th November (It was a 70day strain indoors). I know that i'm pushing the boundarys for a OD grow in @ 52Deg N and will probably have to cut early.

In the Middle of October at my Lat i will have 10 daylight hours will this speed up the flowering process because of the increased dark period?

Eggy

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

Hi DS Toker,

Thanks for the link thats a great tool!

I have a question.. using your maths my FMS Widow should be ready on the 9th November (It was a 70day strain indoors). I know that i'm pushing the boundarys for a OD grow in @ 52Deg N and will probably have to cut early.

In the Middle of October at my Lat i will have 10 daylight hours will this speed up the flowering process because of the increased dark period?

Eggy

Eggy, at 52n, 14.4 hits mid august, so in my mind you should be close to a harvest date by mid Oct. Of course heat, moisture, # of cloudy days, and other factors can effect that, but generally by the end of Oct, you should be curing in my book.

" i will have 10 daylight hours will this speed up the flowering process because of the increased dark period?"

I wish the answer to this was yes, but its not. NO. In fact Eggy, ive been studying this issue for a few years now and ive come to some realizations. I am 38ish and climate wise, i can grow until early Nov. My first frost is Oct 15.

But over time i noticed that even though the weather was in the upper 60's 70's, i wasnt really gaining any real growth. Bud measurements taken on Oct 5th, were really no different when taken on Oct 25. Yes, the buds looked darker and a bit harder, but not one bit bigger really - No additional growth to speak of in nearly 3 weeks. I found the same results on multiple strains, but it does appear that strains that are a bit late for my area - 10 week stains perfomed even worse than shorter flowering indica's. WHY no additional development????


Ive concluded after some time that the reason im not experiencing additional growth is 2 fold.

1. The sun in Oct is so much lower in the southern sky than it is in August. Even if i got 14 hrs of daylight, its weak light that will hardly even cast a good shadow.

2. Add to that weakend level of sunlight, the fact that the day is now only 11 hrs long and its my view that 11 hrs of weak lighting just isnt enough to result in significant additional growth to any degree.

My growing is most productive when i grow strains that are done by the 2nd week of october, so ive moved to early maturing, fast flowering indica's that will be done by then. Its just my opinion, but i think all northern growers would benefit from the same.

For your lattitude, Brenda's skunk, Early Grizzly, Rox and other strains that are finished by mid sept would serve you well in my mind.

Good luck with the widow. Even picked early it should be good.

 

[Big Eggy]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed answer..

I knew at the start of the season that i wasn't using the most ideal strains but money was tight and this is what i had in the fridge.
Have had a shit summer so far but my plants a looking healthy so fingers crossed we have a good Autumn.

Thanks again! and sorry for the Hijack OP.

Eggy