Do 自 and 起 work together here? This text is talking about the lights in 广州湛涌村。

由于如秋后，广州的日照时间缩短，自花苗上盆起，花农们就会利用电灯补光来延迟花期。

This bit confused me (I'm easily confused). Is it right that 自 ... 起 work together as 'from when' or 'starting from when' here?

自...起 since

自花苗上盆起
starting from when the seedlings are put in their pots

If this is right, you can clearly see the power of Chinese to express ideas in a very concise manner!
自...起 since

It is correct, &quot;自???起&quot; means &quot;Since ???&quot;

自 = from

起 = begin



&quot;(自) ??? (起)&quot; = &quot;(begin from) ???&quot; = &quot;(Since)???&quot;
e.g.&quot;自七月起禁止捕魚&quot; (Ban on fishing since July)

Other common structures with 自:

&quot;自(from) ??? 以來(thereafter)&quot; = &quot;since ???&quot;
e.g. 自美國立國以來 (Since the founding of the United States thereafter)
&quot;自 (from) ??? 以後/之後 (after)&quot; = &quot;since ???&quot;
e.g. 自美國立國以後 (Since after the founding of the United States)