When to flower for 2' 9" of vertical space?

Ok I have some seedlings popping up in my grow box. I want to know when I should flower them. I have about 2' 9" or so of height inside my grow box. I was thinking around 7-8" since they double or triple in size during flowering. If it were to triple in size from 8" that would put it at about 32" or 2' 8" just shy of my vertical space. Am I right, does this sound good?

Will the plant be too small to flower at 7-8"?

What can I expect each plant to yield if I go through with this?

Right now I have 6 seeds planted in 4.5" pots. 3 have sprouted so far under 24 hr light.

I was thinking of keeping them on 24hr light for 2 weeks, then switching to 18/6 for possibly a week or so until it I decide when to flower.

Should I focus on just the main cola and trim everything else?

I have about 3 sq ft in my box as well and I will be using CFL's for veg and flower.

Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure I do it right. Thanks in advance!

BTT

Will the plant be too small to flower at 7-8"?

No, the plant will be fine ... and end up around 2' tall.

What can I expect each plant to yield if I go through with this?

It will depend upon your light strength, strain and your skill. I'd guess in that space you are using a 250 watt or less. So, in that case, about a half-ounce per plant would be about right.

Should I focus on just the main cola and trim everything else?

Try to prune the plant into six main branches including the main cola. Think of a six place candleabra.

I have about 3 sq ft in my box as well and I will be using CFL's for veg and flower.

Another option for next time would be to grow four plants per square feet in a Sea of Green style. That would be 12 plants, all trimmed into one main cola. You'd have to begin the flowering cycle when they are at about six inches or so. Hope for 1/4 ounce per plant. The idea is to end up with 12 fat spikes, each yielding 1/4 - 1/2 ounce.

Vi

Awesome, thank you for your input! I was actually researching the SOG method and it might be something I try next time. I still have about 15 seeds left. I just want to get the most out of my plant without running out of space. I think I might start a few more seeds, then when my biggest hits 8" I will switch over to flowering. My oldest is 3 days from when it sprouted so not too far spread out in age. Plus I have to factor in the chance of males as well....

Also, will the 4.5" pots they are in now be sufficient enough for 8" tall and to go into flowering? Then once I determine sex, put the females into something bigger and get rid of the males.

BTT

why start more seeds? If you have females just pull some clones and save yourself the time of finding the sex

i agree with above

I'm no pro at this... but I don't think you can flower an 8" tall seedling. It has to be mature enough.. can somebody that knows more back me up on this?

by the way btt,
3 x 8" = 24" = 2'

yes, you can flower at 8 in. it will be fine...

BTT, did you harvest your previous grow yet???

No, not yet.

They will be 6 weeks into 12/12 on thursday.

Thank you BTT for starting this thread and for not getting angry on me for using it for a stupid question. (To give you my answer to your 8'' question - yes, you may get them to 12/12 without fear.)
Today is a week since i've turned my plants to 12/12. In the beginning there were like 16 plants. 6 of them turned out to be males, 1 hermi and 9 females. Got rid of the 7 enemies. How long will you guys think it will take before i can harvest? Don;t ask me about the strains because once again i was stupid enough to buy a mix from Nirvana which pretty much left me with no ideea which one is which. I'm a soil grower, pH normal, nutrients at full power, a 250W HPS and 2 fluo of 32W each for giving them some white spectrum, a total space of 4'long x 2' width x 3' high with all the light coming from above. Notice that i've been able to establish their sexes in less than 7 days of 12/12.