Topping is a no no in flowering, but FIMing the bus sites as soon as you see them is beneficial. I would FIM the bud sites as soon as I seen lil bud hairs, then after 4 weeks I would see them grow fatter than the rest of the sites and 3 crowns per FIMed bud.During the first few weeks of flowering, is it safe for the plants to be topped or would it cause more harm than good? And if they shooldn't be, then how would you suggest controlling overlapping growth?
FIMing is topping.
Your best bet would be to super-crop and LST. Just crush the stem a little lower than the larger colas until it falls over; then tie it off with some string.
Sorry for the confusion, but to clear it a a bit for u, u don't wasnt to be toppin towards THE END OF FLOWERING, should be done during veg although some folks DO top in the FIRST weeks of flowering. Now in ur case u say u have an overlapping problem which leads us to ur nest question.....still confused how can FIM'ing be ok but not topping. ultimately they accomplish the same goal with the same manipulation?
I believe LST is right up ur alley... this'll give u an idea, hope it helpsand also whats LST?
LST - Low Stress Trainingand also whats LST?