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

[buraka415]

I have a question, I've read a lot of this thread, and I'm really stoked to have bumped into this technique. I was checking out my girls last night and started to check out the node alignment on the plants to just get a feel for practicing on where I would have made this cut (mind you these are 1 week into flower). But I checked maybe 15 - 20 of my girls, and none of the plants exhibited nodes that were across from each other. They were all alternating, I didnt see not one set of nodes that were even with each other.

Am I missing something here? I'm not trying to make the cut now, I was just looking at them to get a visual feel of where I would have "theoretically" made the cut.

 

[jjfoo]

buraka, clones usually don't have nodes like this

are you growing from clones? I grow from clones and used to cut all the lower growth off. After reading this thread it has changed the way I prune, but to do things like this thread shows you'll need to grow from seed.

 

[Gardener 09]

ya, if you grow from clones there nodes are always alternating, but you can still do it, i did just 2 days ago, i can already tell the groth starting on the new branches.

 

[buraka415]

@Gardener. pls report back on that.

I was reading just now in Mel & Ed's book: Then the arrangement of the leaves on the stem (phyllotaxy) changes from the usual opposite to alternate.. but thats after several, several true node sites have formed and you are into veg. right?

yeh jjfoo. from clones. :/ ive read a lot of this thread and seems like i recall UB mentioning why clones dont work.

 

[sixstring2112]

Hats off to ya!!

Namaste'
"A state licensed personal medical grow...Thank you"

Thank you , we aim to please.I figure if my patients are not 100% happy i failed at my job.This pruning method has helped me do my job better

 

[GoldenGanja13]

Your branches are alternating because they are mature. Once a plant becomes mature the branches go asymmetrical. That is when she is ready to flower. I would go ahead and fim my clones, and save the 4 topping for seeds.

I have a question, I've read a lot of this thread, and I'm really stoked to have bumped into this technique. I was checking out my girls last night and started to check out the node alignment on the plants to just get a feel for practicing on where I would have made this cut (mind you these are 1 week into flower). But I checked maybe 15 - 20 of my girls, and none of the plants exhibited nodes that were across from each other. They were all alternating, I didnt see not one set of nodes that were even with each other.

Am I missing something here? I'm not trying to make the cut now, I was just looking at them to get a visual feel of where I would have "theoretically" made the cut.

 

[buraka415]

so in theory, this can be done then to clones? seems like FIMing has been elaborated on this thread as not always being the most accurate and/or reliable.

 

[GoldenGanja13]

I have been practicing fim tech for 2 years, very reliable. I am now into 4 top then Lst.

 

[buraka415]

those look nice n healthy Golden! so i guess I need to get some seeds and try to experiment with this then.

 

[Uncle Ben]

I've never experimented with revegging a cutting (clone) but I do know that a revegged seedling will revert to a juvenile state of opposing nodes juvenile leaves, etc.

Happy 4th to my American friends!

UB

 

[GoldenGanja13]

Yeah you will learn and then add your own tweeks.

those look nice n healthy Golden! so i guess I need to get some seeds and try to experiment with this then.

Great info thaNks.

I've never experimented with revegging a cutting (clone) but I do know that a revegged seedling will revert to a juvenile state of opposing nodes juvenile leaves, etc.

Happy 4th to my American friends!

UB

 

[OZYGREENLAB]

OKAY I GOTTA INTERJECT YOU'S R GOING ABOUT IT ALL WRONG !!!.. I've recently counted 22 on a smaller plant and 28 on the larger of plants "arm buds" (colas) not counting the little columns (yes they all the size of your arm) on the one plant!!! ending up with a general 1.8 to 2.5 pnds dry a plant ..... I been on the block 20 years worth so am accustomed to various methods tried n true... >>>> THE BEST WAY>>> ...Is to let the plant grow to about mid thigh height... you then attach a rope/string with a rubber band right near the top of the plant but where it is obviously still strong enough to cope... Importantly with one hand somewhere between the base and middle pull the plant towards the ground, with the other hand helping to push this plant towards the ground where you should have a peg (tent peg for ground) or floor rack(wooden frame on ground to tie rope to when hydro) (can take 5 - 10 mins, just be slow n carefull it will bend)... Aim to pull the plant horizontal or to the ground so it's basically only a few inches above the ground and as low as possible... commenly u have the rope/string around the peg and keep pulling the rope to tighten the plant closer to the ground... Leave the plants branches start growing upwards!.. again when these branches get about knee height you then attach rope/string to these with the rubber band again and now you have to peg/tie these to the ground.. (you have to spread the branches with thought and even space , i make about 15cm gap between branches).... THE AIM IS TO CREAT MORE BRANCHES NOT LEAVES !!! Once the plant has been tied down once, the columns grow up, are pegged down a 2nd time and the next lot of columns start growing upwards i generally trim/prune all the shade leaves off,but am leaving roughly 3 sets of leaves on each column/branch, leaving roughly an open set of leaves on the top , 1 in the middle somewhere and usually leave just 1 shade leaf of the branch down the very bottom out of the way (nothing below it and usually pokes out the side on bottom)... the goal is to make a balance between having just enough leaf to collect sunlight and grow as well as having the space to let the sunlight get to all the plant instead of just the top and outside parts...ffs don't do what others have when i tried explaining and go nuts cutting leaves off too early it stunts and slows it ! you will have to prune out new leaves as it grows and typically will have to prune 3 to 5 times in the cycle as well as have to think hard about positioning each pegged down branch in the right place (not everyone can be pegged down and you have to have a few upwards) and then finally use more string tied with rubber bands to your arm buds (colas) to help support the weight and keep them in the right place while they reach proper size... This method outdoes everyone i've ever met or seen or heard of in 20 years and nothing i seen in pics of ever came close to this method , ending up with an octopuss 2 mtr square plant .... if you create a 2nd/ 4th / 8th branch done by nipping to double up then it wastes time and energy Vs this method where it just powers along >enjoy

 

[genuity]

OKAY I GOTTA INTERJECT YOU'S R GOING ABOUT IT ALL WRONG !!!.. I've recently counted 22 on a smaller plant and 28 on the larger of plants "arm buds" (colas) not counting the little columns (yes they all the size of your arm) on the one plant!!! ending up with a general 1.8 to 2.5 pnds dry a plant ..... I been on the block 20 years worth so am accustomed to various methods tried n true... >>>> THE BEST WAY>>> ...Is to let the plant grow to about mid thigh height... you then attach a rope/string with a rubber band right near the top of the plant but where it is obviously still strong enough to cope... Importantly with one hand somewhere between the base and middle pull the plant towards the ground, with the other hand helping to push this plant towards the ground where you should have a peg (tent peg for ground) or floor rack(wooden frame on ground to tie rope to when hydro) (can take 5 - 10 mins, just be slow n carefull it will bend)... Aim to pull the plant horizontal or to the ground so it's basically only a few inches above the ground and as low as possible... commenly u have the rope/string around the peg and keep pulling the rope to tighten the plant closer to the ground... Leave the plants branches start growing upwards!.. again when these branches get about knee height you then attach rope/string to these with the rubber band again and now you have to peg/tie these to the ground.. (you have to spread the branches with thought and even space , i make about 15cm gap between branches).... THE AIM IS TO CREAT MORE BRANCHES NOT LEAVES !!! Once the plant has been tied down once, the columns grow up, are pegged down a 2nd time and the next lot of columns start growing upwards i generally trim/prune all the shade leaves off,but am leaving roughly 3 sets of leaves on each column/branch, leaving roughly an open set of leaves on the top , 1 in the middle somewhere and usually leave just 1 shade leaf of the branch down the very bottom out of the way (nothing below it and usually pokes out the side on bottom)... the goal is to make a balance between having just enough leaf to collect sunlight and grow as well as having the space to let the sunlight get to all the plant instead of just the top and outside parts...ffs don't do what others have when i tried explaining and go nuts cutting leaves off too early it stunts and slows it ! you will have to prune out new leaves as it grows and typically will have to prune 3 to 5 times in the cycle as well as have to think hard about positioning each pegged down branch in the right place (not everyone can be pegged down and you have to have a few upwards) and then finally use more string tied with rubber bands to your arm buds (colas) to help support the weight and keep them in the right place while they reach proper size... This method outdoes everyone i've ever met or seen or heard of in 20 years and nothing i seen in pics of ever came close to this method , ending up with an octopuss 2 mtr square plant .... if you create a 2nd/ 4th / 8th branch done by nipping to double up then it wastes time and energy Vs this method where it just powers along >enjoy

why???????topping is just fine.

 

[KlosetKing]

It isn't a matter of which produces the most, it is more of a style thing. There comes a point where too many colas can dilute things.

hmm, too much topping might reduce the amount of hormones to each cola making some smaller (like 10 colas might all be smaller than 4 colas?), but i dont really see how it 'dilutes' things lol.

oh, and glad to see the browser issues have been worked out for the time being UB hope things are looking on the up and up now =D

 

[GoldenGanja13]

I do not believe you are diluting the hormones at all. I believe what you are doing is dividing available hormones. So naturally instead of one big cola and many smaller buds, you get many average to large colas. I have went from 1-2 oz per plant to 5-7 oz per plant and never lost potency, just let go of one large cola.

 

[theceo13]

is there anything negative that would happen to my plants if i topped them above the 2nd node but before they got to 5/6 nodes?

 

[DaveCoulier]

is there anything negative that would happen to my plants if i topped them above the 2nd node but before they got to 5/6 nodes?

It could impact the pace of growth. The reason you let it get a bit bigger is to allow the roots more time to grow. That way your plants will bounce back quicker after topping.

 

[KlosetKing]

I do not believe you are diluting the hormones at all. I believe what you are doing is dividing available hormones. So naturally instead of one big cola and many smaller buds, you get many average to large colas. I have went from 1-2 oz per plant to 5-7 oz per plant and never lost potency, just let go of one large cola.

ya i put the '?' in there cuz i wasnt actually too sure. i knew that if you split it enough, they would still lower in size, but i had only HEARD that you could potentially overtop and get many undersized nugz (and i didnt hear it from the man UB himself either). so sorry, to clarify, i was speculating, didn't mean to imply it was fact.

on a side note, and i know this has been addressed a hundred times, but my first true node, or at least what i thought was my first true node, the coty's are basically at the same node? on my last plants, the coty's stayed at their own node, and a new node formed above them. these ones have obvious branches and the same site as the cotys. think i should top above that node? or just go on up from those anyways just in case? again, sorry to be throwing that in, but i havnt seen the cotys form at the same node as branches before so iam a bit confused.

 

[GoldenGanja13]

I would snip off the coty and the one above, then top so there is only 4 branches total. These where done that way, and lst later (several times).

 

[KlosetKing]

I would snip off the coty and the one above, then top so there is only 4 branches total. These where done that way, and lst later (several times).

bear with my noobness for one more post here, because im still a bit confused from your response. to clear it up for my simple mind (lol) i have included a pic this time. the red circle is where the cotys are, but also appears to be a true node as well due to the branching (maybe iam wrong). so you think i should treat the red circle as 1st node, or the green one? only reason iam as concerned as i am is bc this is my first topping attempt and its probably going to be done here in the next 2 hours. and thanks again for your patience in advance! iam humbled by it...