Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas

[Uncle Ben]

Jesus christ you trying to kill me with all that reading. I found a few instances about Whorled phyllotaxy(trifoliates), but it didnt really go into detail. Ill stick to experimenting. Its more fun than reading all that, and then trying to actually understand it .

LOL

Uncle Ben - It's been four days since I topped my first plant. I topped my second last night. The first one is exploding with new growth. Is it normal for topped plants to be using up water much faster than untopped plants? I water this one much more than the others now. Also; I've attached some photos. I can only see two new bud-sites...can you elaborate?

Thanks!

If your plants are really sucking up the water, that's a good sign.

Don't get pissed, but there is something really wrong with those plants, they don't look healthy. They are chlorotic and the leaves don't look green overall. If you got a photo under natural light (flash, corrected room light) it would help. What foods are you giving them?

 

[Dr.RR]

LOL



If your plants are really sucking up the water, that's a good sign.

Don't get pissed, but there is something really wrong with those plants, they don't look healthy. They are chlorotic and the leaves don't look green overall. If you got a photo under natural light (flash, corrected room light) it would help. What foods are you giving them?

Nice, just what I want to hear! I added some photos of the first topped plant under natural daylight. But both of them are really sucking up the water, I have to water almost everyday now with them.

Not feeding any nutes yet. I was going to start giving them FF Grow Big at the end of this week. They are in FF Ocean Forest soil which is supposed to feed the plant for a month before you need to add nutes (so i've read).

 

[Uncle Ben]

Nice, just what I want to hear! I added some photos of the first topped plant under natural daylight. But both of them are really sucking up the water, I have to water almost everyday now with them.

Not feeding any nutes yet. I was going to start giving them FF Grow Big at the end of this week. They are in FF Ocean Forest soil which is supposed to feed the plant for a month before you need to add nutes (so i've read).

Color looks good. Is that a double cola forming?

Names mean nothing to me, only NPK/micro values. You feed based on the vigor of your plants, not what is recommended as it is always a rough guide. BTW, I've had to water 3 gallon pots twice a day, about a liter each time. The need to water often reflects that you have a robust root system and lots of foliage. That's a good thing. Another indicator of good plant health/vigor is that each set of new plant material is larger than the one that preceded it. If all of a sudden your leafsets start getting smaller and not looking too good, you got problems. I learned this real quick growing orchids, and it translates to all types of plant material including cannabis. Of course there is a max point reached, which should be your guide going forward.

Good luck.....

 

[Snak]

Dr. RR-

Your plant's structure is very similar to a few that I have. Although it appears we both topped at the correct spot to achieve 4 colas, we're only getting 2 strong ones.

Do you use CFL's by chance? I was guessing that my plants couldn't get all 4 colas up and even because the light penetration of my CFLs is too low. Even though I have a metric crap-ton of 42w bulbs, it doesn't seem to really promote growth on the two lower branches that should form up into colas.

Regardless, my plants all have at least two strong main branches (colas) with plenty of healthy side-branches, and topping them this way clearly produces way more weight than just leaving them be. Me thinks you will be happy with your plant and what you did to her

 

[FuZZyBUDz]

can i clone the top that i cut???? and wen u say 5-6 node, does that mean fully formed or just 'in-sight'???

 

[Snak]

can i clone the top that i cut???? and wen u say 5-6 node, does that mean fully formed or just 'in-sight'???

Found on page TWO of this thread-

"By allowing the plant to get a good start, which occurs with some leaf material from say......6 nodes (opposing leafsets) as opposed to 2, you're just giving it a better jump-start. You can use the cutting as a clone. "

5-6 nodes shouldn't be hard to spot- if you have 5 fully formed and a 6th "in sight" that would qualify as 5-6 nodes.

 

[Dr.RR]

Dr. RR-

Your plant's structure is very similar to a few that I have. Although it appears we both topped at the correct spot to achieve 4 colas, we're only getting 2 strong ones.

Do you use CFL's by chance? I was guessing that my plants couldn't get all 4 colas up and even because the light penetration of my CFLs is too low. Even though I have a metric crap-ton of 42w bulbs, it doesn't seem to really promote growth on the two lower branches that should form up into colas.

Regardless, my plants all have at least two strong main branches (colas) with plenty of healthy side-branches, and topping them this way clearly produces way more weight than just leaving them be. Me thinks you will be happy with your plant and what you did to her

I'm using a 400W MH and HPS for this grow. I think I was expecting four new colas to form on the top nodes...but I see two on top and two more forming off of the 1st node.

My MH blew out three weeks into the grow so I've been using the HPS to substitute until I get my replacement MH. Heck by then it'll be flowering time anyway..




Uncle Ben - Double cola? I've looked at the plant a bit closer & there are two new cola's from the 2nd node and two more forming on the first node. The bottom two aren't getting much light at all so they aren't growing nearly as fast as the top 2.

 

[FuZZyBUDz]

ok i did this to my kushy indica, and tell me wat u think, keep in mind my first top, and cloning.

heres the 'top' in the humidity dome....

and heres the plant....

again...

WAT DO U THINK PEEPS??????????

 

[FuZZyBUDz]

how long should i veg it fer after i did this i can c how it werkz now!!!!!!! FUKIN AMAZING! but ive had it in veg from seed fer about a month mayb more, how much longer should i go????

 

[Uncle Ben]

I'm using a 400W MH and HPS for this grow. I think I was expecting four new colas to form on the top nodes...but I see two on top and two more forming off of the 1st node.

My MH blew out three weeks into the grow so I've been using the HPS to substitute until I get my replacement MH. Heck by then it'll be flowering time anyway..

HPS is fine from start to finish. Those that believe the paradigm of MH for veg and HPS for flowering have not done their homework, done the experiments. You'll be fine.

Uncle Ben - Double cola? I've looked at the plant a bit closer & there are two new cola's from the 2nd node and two more forming on the first node. The bottom two aren't getting much light at all so they aren't growing nearly as fast as the top 2.

It's dat damn ol ho moan thang again. The top 2 colas will always be dominant, but, I've never had a problem regarding differences in bud weight between the 4. Your mileage may vary....

 

[DaveCoulier]

UB, can you give me some info on pinching. I know people use it when supercropping, but Im wondering is it possible to pinch the top two colas without bending them over. Will that allow the lower colas to catch up while the top two are healing?

 

[Katatawnic]

I've looked at the plant a bit closer & there are two new cola's from the 2nd node and two more forming on the first node. The bottom two aren't getting much light at all so they aren't growing nearly as fast as the top 2.

UB, can you give me some info on pinching. I know people use it when supercropping, but Im wondering is it possible to pinch the top two colas without bending them over. Will that allow the lower colas to catch up while the top two are healing?

I used to just tuck the fan leaves a bit to allow the lights to penetrate the lower tops. Works great, although I did have to tuck them again daily.

Now I do the LST thing. I'd personally suggest gently tying them rather than pinching/bending... much less chance of stress on the plant, as well as unintentionally broken stems. You also have more control this way.

Keep in mind though, tying them "far" down will result in more tops than your initial four. (Just in case you don't want that, although I get lots of large buds from this. lol) So if your intent is only to allow a bit more light to the lower two tops, you'll only want to tie the upper two just enough for this.

These two photos were taken about two weeks after topping, and about one week after tying them... as you can see, they were tied completely horizontally, resulting in many more tops. Tying them down about, say, an inch or so would most likely be enough to encourage the more even growth you're desiring without a ton of new branches resulting as well... although they'll probably never be perfectly even.

 

[Uncle Ben]

UB, can you give me some info on pinching. I know people use it when supercropping, but Im wondering is it possible to pinch the top two colas without bending them over. Will that allow the lower colas to catch up while the top two are healing?

I'll not be a slave to my plants, (right). So, I improvise by doing a double harvest. Tieing, pinching.....it's really not necessary to get great yields. Pinching is causing a callous to the stem, supposedly it increase yields. It sure increases forum talk cloaked in romanticsm, hope, mystique.....the human element, not necessarily the botanical one. Wanna increase yields? Learn what makes a plant tick. I see some of the pathetic plants in these forums and can only shake my head.

Rulz......

1. Use good overhead lighting - HID. Exclusively MH, HPS, combo it doesn't really matter to the plant. The plant really doesn't care. It only matters to folks who wanna talk the lights talk and of course vendors who are out to sell lighting every which way but Sunday.

2. Use mobile high reflecting side panels. Keep them adjacent to the plants based on the garden's footprint. There is alot of useful light in reflective light. You're buying light, do not waste it, especially by over-doing it. Find your plant's light saturation point reflected by the bleaching out of the chlorophyll.

3. Double harvest - take out the bulked up, fat colas first. Cut the cola off at a point where it turns from fat and chunky to wispy and airy buds. Those are the last to come on and mature, so give them a chance. Studies have shown they can also have the highest THC %, one reason is that they aren't subjected to some of the stresses of top buds like heat. Put the lower half back under the lights, same photoperiod and when they bulk up harvest those buds. It can make a big difference in your overall yields. I've published photos a dozen times in other forums, too damn busy to do it again. BTW, ya gotta have some leaves left at first harvest to do this right. Can't do it if you're bound and determined to butcher your plants by not providing proper nutrition or flushing.

UB

 

[DaveCoulier]

Thanks UB. I plan on doing the double harvest after reading about you mentioning it before. Ill make sure I have a healthy vibrant plant to do it with, rather than some plant that looks like its limping to the finish line without any leaves.

 

[Mixooo]

Great work UB , thanks for the wanderful info <3
Sorry if i repeat someone's else question , but i was wandering does toping plants may contribute for plant sex ? In way does it somehow change the balance male/female ?

 

[Uncle Ben]

Thanks UB. I plan on doing the double harvest after reading about you mentioning it before. Ill make sure I have a healthy vibrant plant to do it with, rather than some plant that looks like its limping to the finish line without any leaves.

LOL

In way does it somehow change the balance male/female ?

Doesn't have any affect.

 

[swazifarmer]

Any info on strains that don't take nicely to topping?
coz I hear a few people knocking it, these people say that certain strains produce smaller colas that add up (gram wise) to 1 larger cola.

 

[DaveCoulier]

Any info on strains that don't take nicely to topping?
coz I hear a few people knocking it, these people say that certain strains produce smaller colas that add up (gram wise) to 1 larger cola.

I would search in the Seeds & Strain review forum. You'll probably find a bit more info there.

 

[swazifarmer]

I would search in the Seeds & Strain review forum. You'll probably find a bit more info there.

Do they address topping?

 

[thewinghunter]

CAn this be done at ANY time during veg some of my veg plants are 32 inches tall