Just stick to the KISS rule!
I have removed bottom nodes to force energy to the larger buds. the bottom nodes most times do not get enough light to produce big buds. Might as well compound that growth to upper nodes
Would it help to cut off the first set of leaves early once they get shady? Or wait for them to fall off? I topped my plant and it has 4 nodes coming out and the original grew back clean, then bent the new stem out of the way so the lower 4 get more light. Good knuckle starting
Would it help to cut off the first set of leaves early once they get shady?
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Yes you absolutely need to take care of the basics and dont go crazy I agree 100% but he was asking about cutting lower nodes and topping which indicates he is most likely doing a confined grow. In your case you look like you have an entire room. Everyone has their own style of growing. If he is working with less space a SOG or SCROG is the perfect choice. 1 plant grown naturally will easily fill a 4x4 space compared to a SOG or SCROG 1 plant can be grown to fill the whole space but with a shit load of tops and way more bud. People wouldn't waste their time with this method if it did not work. My first grows were left to go natural but after I tried a SCROG an started topping I never went back. I only have a 4x4 area. below is a pic of the same method in a 3x3 tent. I never go those results letting it grow wild in a 4x4 spaceUh, not so much. Hate to see folks throwing away good yield by hacking up their plants. Sort of like saying to a bodybuilder "If you want to get big arms you need to cut off your legs. Force some of that energy up into your arms."
Pure interwebz BS people. If you want big buds down low it is necessary to keep the plant as healthy as possible during each stage of the life cycle - from strong mothers, to well done clones, to a good veg period and balanced feeding during flower with CO2 enhanced atmosphere. Avoid the excessive PK "boost" in late flower that fries leaves and creates fox tails. Lay off the carcinogenic "bud hardeners" and "yield enhancers" sold by snake-oil merchants. Like some have said here - KISS.
Below is a look at what you might be throwing away. I've posted a similar picture in another thread about defoliation and other "magical" hack methods. Notice how the lowest buds on the plants are substantial, dense and ready for the top shelf (given a proper dry, trim & cure). These buds don't get much light at all, they're shaded by tons of fan leaves and not a single leaf has been removed unless it was damaged by some odd reason. There's no nail-thru-the-stem, no broken & twisted branches , no lolli-popping, no boiled roots, no shaded lower half, no whatever. And this is at 6-7 weeks with another month to go!
Just good, old fashioned plant care produces great results. Plus it's cheaper and less work (until trimming time
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The only application I can think of for this is to boost root growth / development in turn making your plant grow bigger / faster in the long run - RM3 showed some pics where he cut off a bunch of lower sites making fresh 'wounds' which were all buried below the soil creating new sites for roots to grow out of...kinda like the bottom of a fresh cutting, but in numerous locations on the stem...As much as the idea is intriguing, I wouldn't really spend time on it myself. It still seems counterproductive to remove anything unnecessarily, just to grow it back.
Dont touch it! its still a baby it needs every leaf it has. I am not sure I would top an auto. maybe someone else will chime in.
I dont think that first one is going to be much more than a top. curious to see what happens.
What do you mean no more than a top? I might just be too stoned but I don't understand lol
In very remote places of the world, tajekitstan, or west of Ürümqi ..the tribal peoples sex their plants by covering the lower section of the plant with girls dresses, Australasians in Perth do the same, allow it to sit for 10-14 days remove dress to see the sex of your plant, but you are trying to stretch your plants, use an hps in veg is the best way..!
