The various "life stages" of a cannabis plant can be used to identify and track the plant's progression towards maturity.
Dormant
Before a seed is germinated it is alive but dormant inside its protective shell.
Vegatitive
In this stage, the plant grows the most and will be the most resilient to High and Low-stress training.
During the vegatitive stage pre-flowers will appear that can be used to identify the sex of the plant. If white pistils are seen emerging from the calyx the plant is female, if the plant develops clusters of balls resembling grapes it is a male.
Ideal humidity: 40-70% RH
Flowering
Once the plant reaches maturity it will stop branching and producing leaves to begin the production of buds. The start of flowering can be identified by the apperance of stigma. At this stage all plant training to shape the canopy should be complete.
Ideal humidity: 40-50% RH
Late-flowering
The last few weeks of flowering. At this stage lowering the humidity even further can increase yield and terpene content.[citation needed]
Ideal humidity: <40% RH
Re-vegetation
It is possible to re-vegetate a photoflowering plant that has already flowered so that it can enter flowering again and produce more buds.