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after it's cycled. The goal in keeping healthy plants in the aquarium is to provide a steady, maintained environment. Same goes for your fish. You want to put them through as few environmental changes as possible.
I have done both (during a cycle vs after) and everything survived just fine. I think plants during a cycle helps to move the process along more efficiently. But, hefty doses of ammonia (well beyond 4ppm) will kill plants quite quickly.