Do trichomes always turn amber?

Here's a new one for me: I've got a plant who's trichomes are staying clear, but it's clearly passing on soon. I usually see some yellowing of fan leaves, and trim them off more and more toward the end. But this is ridiculous! Trics are clear on the lead buds and the bottom, but there are hardly any old leaves left.
What do you think? Should I harvest, or give it a few more weeks?

You'll need to supply pics to find out if ready to harvest.

And yes, eventually all the trics turn amber and then brown, but that can be after the plant is already dead too.

Ok, that confirms a suspician I've had: The color change is the result of oxidation of the crystals that have already formed, not a change in what's been recently formed. So the popular idea that you should wait until there's a percentage of amber trichomes has little to do with their rate of formation, or health of the plant.
Bottom line: Watch the plant(s) overall health for when to harvest, so I should hack now.
Any other opinions?
Thanks, vh13

What your saying makes sense, if your pretty sure that its not putting anymore growth into the buds then its time to chop it.
Could it be that you starved it of nitrogen and thats why its dying before finish?

its the degradation of the thc. clear is immature, cloudy=mature, amber is degraded

mysunnyboy said:

its the degradation of the thc. clear is immature, cloudy=mature, amber is degraded

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This is correct. Too many think amber is a desired state for trichs, it isn't. It is like brinkmanship - wait till some go amber and then you theoretically have max thc. But I doubt that works. Amber means degraded thc, you don't want 25% of that do you? I just look for trichs to go uniformly cloudy. Even then you will see some clear ones because they are continuing to form.

Decisions of when to harvest are going to be more complicated now, if the trichome clear/amber/cloudy isn't a good indicator. I did starve the poor girl of nitrogen a bit, using just flowering nutrients in a bubble system. A week or so ago I added some vegitative nutrient in, and she sucked it right up. At least that was my guess, since the solution dropped from 500ppm to 400ppm over 7 days, without much pH change. (When my flowering nutes get taken up, pH drops a full count).
She's still taking up nutrients, and there isn't any browning on the buds. I just have a feeling that this is the end. And everything is already frosty, anyway :>)

Thanks for all the help!

keep on looking at your plants of a strain you've never grown before or have any experience with to determine its ripeness fellas...I'll keep on sampling bud to see how shes doing

Not to say that a combination of trichome state, swollen calyxes, browning pistils, etc are not good indicators of ripeness...I just prefer to check the state that the plant is in by smoking it

Professor MJ, had said something about the best way to tell ripeness is by checking the sugar level of the plant. Id have to find the thread again, and im just having my morning coffee, so I might get to it later, but figured id mention it, in case someone else feels like looking...

massah said:

keep on looking at your plants of a strain you've never grown before or have any experience with to determine its ripeness fellas...I'll keep on sampling bud to see how shes doing

Not to say that a combination of trichome state, swollen calyxes, browning pistils, etc are not good indicators of ripeness...I just prefer to check the state that the plant is in by smoking it

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I don't taste it but I agree about looking at it. This is yet another reason why it is good to pick a strain and grow nothing else for at least several grows. It starts speaking to you and will let you know when it wants fed, is too hot or cold, and is ready to be harvested.

You know, I've never tried to see how long a plant can live. Sounds like it is worth a try, anyway. I've always harvested when the fan leaves start dying, and the trichomes started changing color en mass. As long as the buds are still green and the trichome are degrading (new knowledge, yeah!), the only cost is going to be CFL's and nutes, right? My fan leaves used to be waste, and now they get bubble extracted, so who cares if they all fall off.
Next time, though. This momma's got to come down soon.....I'm almost out!

Or, is there a sweetness to the taste when the harvest is just right?

stevenr said:

You know, I've never tried to see how long a plant can live. Sounds like it is worth a try, anyway. I've always harvested when the fan leaves start dying, and the trichomes started changing color en mass. As long as the buds are still green and the trichome are degrading (new knowledge, yeah!), the only cost is going to be CFL's and nutes, right? My fan leaves used to be waste, and now they get bubble extracted, so who cares if they all fall off.
Next time, though. This momma's got to come down soon.....I'm almost out!

Or, is there a sweetness to the taste when the harvest is just right?

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uh you don't wanna use fan leaves for anything. use the sugary ones right up on the bud. i don't use any leaf with a stem for smoking or extract. and i do believe that trichs can get too ripe so to speak, just like anything else i would imagine.

Illegal Smile said:

This is correct. Too many think amber is a desired state for trichs, it isn't. It is like brinkmanship - wait till some go amber and then you theoretically have max thc. But I doubt that works. Amber means degraded thc, you don't want 25% of that do you? I just look for trichs to go uniformly cloudy. Even then you will see some clear ones because they are continuing to form.

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Amber trichomes is when thc converts into thc-a

Genetic_genie said:

Amber trichomes is when thc converts into thc-a

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It’s CBN that the amber creates that gives the sleepy effect
THC-a is the acidic form inside the flower leaf that you decarb from heating from smoking/vaping/baking whatever you decide, you will need Some form of heat
Example: Some of the more(I’ve heard most)potent plants will only be like 3-10% actual THC with the rest of the 10-20% Being THC-A. That is the main reason to you don’t just throw grounded bud into some cookie or brownie batter Or just eating it cause you might only get 20-30% percent of true effect!! Instead decarboxylation is something anyone who grows need to look into for trim and larf if cooking/making edibles.