Once they start turning amber . . .

When the trichs start turning amber, how rapidly does it progress? Same pace as clear to cloudy? I'm so eager to harvest, but don't want to do it too soon. I just saw a couple this morning. I've been aiming for a week into July (about two and a half weeks); does that sound reasonable?

You are talking about crystals by looking through a microscope, and not pistils (hairs) turning orange/red/brown?
If you are seeing amber headed crystals through a microscope I would say a week to a week and 1/2 at most.

althor said:

You are talking about crystals by looking through a microscope, and not pistils (hairs) turning orange/red/brown?
If you are seeing amber headed crystals through a microscope I would say a week to a week and 1/2 at most.

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this is right any longer you may miss peak harvest time keep a close eye on it

if your THC trics are turning amber she is done, Harvest her, remember a plant can revert and begin to decrease In THC if left growing to long..Good luck!

Well, I only saw one or two, but I'm glad to hear all this. In the past, I've harvested way too early, and I don't want to make the same mistake again. I'll be watching very closely, you can bet.

PeaceGrow said:

if your THC trics are turning amber she is done, Harvest her, remember a plant can revert and begin to decrease In THC if left growing to long..Good luck!

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This is very true, studies have been done that show amber colored resin glands are simply degraded. If you want to harvest at peak potency, you should do so when you have a majority of fully formed clear cap resin glands. Fully formed clear glands have higher levels of THC than cloudy or amber. Keep in mind that the resin glands closer to you light source will degrade faster. So the top buds may be ready sooner than lower ones. If your growing indoors and you see amber, you should start thinking about taking that bud very soon. Good luck with your grow man!

You want the highest possible percentage of cloudy trichomes. In order to get this, the crystals that began forming around week 3 in flower have past their peak and are turning amber. Week 6-7 is when you will see the highest production of trichomes and those are what you want at their peak THC (on an 8-9 week strain).

I noticed that the triches on the leaves turn amber MUCH earlier than on the actual buds.