emuman said:
so about how long from the time they look milky till they amber up? cause the lower half has been milky for a while and the upper still clear
Well, depends on the strain mostly, and grower's ways. Some strains' flowering period takes 2+ months to mature, some have 47 days of flowering time. One strain I know of has a 33-37 day flowering period!
The faster a plant matures (because of genetics, not manipulation) the faster the trichomes will change colour, and therefore, smaller length of time to wait.
From Clear to amber would usually be entire flowering period, and from milky white to amber, would be from
around the middle of flowering to the end. (You may to have to do some research on your strain)
What strain do you have? Seedbank or street?
And it sounds like the obvious thing to do would be harvest the lower buds first, and allow the top to mature a little while longer.
I usually test out the bud before I pluck anyway, I gently snip a portion of the bud with some very small pointy scissors, and decide if I like the buzz or not, ... it's better to go by the effect than just by colours of trichomes, just because ratios or always going to be different even if trichomes appear the same colour.
But if they've been milky for awhile, at least a month I suggest try enough for a regular size bowl, and see how you favour it.