Supporting plant structure

M

MuddyOne

Member
Ok,

At my location, the fall can bring seriously unsettled weather, and I need to help a buddy out.

All of his plants have been topped for two or 4 colas, so they all have a "Y" shaped joint anywhere from 5-10" from the ground. They are all quite tall, 5-7' and he's worried about the plants splitting at those joints. My only experience is with un-topped trained plants, so I'm not sure how to help him and need some opinions on a few ideas:

1.) His idea: Duct tape the plants tighter together right above the Y. I worry that the tape could cause stem Roy if moisture gets trapped behind it. I also worry that the adhesive may leech into his plant.

2.) Zip-tie the Y together, same idea as the duct tape, but not as much room for moisture to get trapped. Would also be a great point to tie other branches to. I worry about the zip tie cutting into the stalk if it thickens up as there would be a smaller pressure point.

3.) Do the same thing with twine. I only worry that the twine will hold water and cause rot.

I have only tied the plants to fences or stakes in the past, I just have no experience with the topped plants.

Thanks!
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Bet if you do nothing the plants will do fine. Guerrilla grew for years in the SW. That's some miserable pot growing country. Surprising how tough these plants are that everybody thinks are so delicate. Somehow they survived eons before man ever "discovered" it. Support the main stem below the Y. If the whole plant starts moving in high wind that is how it will split. Don't try to stabilize the upper branches down low. Physics. Leverage. Your "fix" will then become the fulcrum. Leave well enough alone and don't top so much next year if tragedy strikes this year.
 
Mr.Marijuana420

Mr.Marijuana420

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Bet if you do nothing the plants will do fine. Guerrilla grew for years in the SW. That's some miserable pot growing country. Surprising how tough these plants are that everybody thinks are so delicate. Somehow they survived eons before man ever "discovered" it. Support the main stem below the Y. If the whole plant starts moving in high wind that is how it will split. Don't try to stabilize the upper branches down low. Physics. Leverage. Your "fix" will then become the fulcrum. Leave well enough alone and don't top so much next year if tragedy strikes this year.
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yea but back then i bet they werent training their plants either, when plants are trained to go wider ur more likely to split the branches when they have fat buds on them, especially with strong winds and small animals climing them, had quit a few branches broke due to chipmunks last year. and yea the plant has survived for eons, but were not trying to just keep the plant to the end of its cycle, we want the greatest yield we can, and that means doing what u can to prevent ur fat buds from breaking offand falling to the ground, im using trellis netting this year. u can pretty much bet u will get atleast 1 strong storm between now and harvest, and unless u want to come to ur plants afterwards finding ur nice buds laying in the wet mud, ur gonna want to support ur plant. i love when ppl use the wild marijuana arguement, as if it even compares to quality of smoke and yield we're trying to acheive
 
M

MuddyOne

Member
Because of the way they are topped, they are very top heavy. I have staked down side branching in the past on Xmas tree shaped plants that were much stronger. I'd feel better with him doing something, even if it is just staking it down as I have in the past. I'd hate for the ruminants of a hurricane to blow through and take down his plants because I told him supporting it isn't necessary, and up here in the NE it is a distinct possibility.
 
chickenpoop

chickenpoop

Well-Known Member
man o man, I'm in NE, and let me to tell you..i was watering my plants and all of a sudden 60mph winds came down on me and the plants and some of the heaviest rain Ive ever seen! were talking buckets upon buckets of rain, i couldn't even see! my mj plants were about to fly away, the tops were touching the ground and they are 8ft tall! im now considering some kind of support my self. Lol i grabbed on to them so they wouldn't snap it was craazy!
 
BigJon

BigJon

Well-Known Member
chickenpoop

chickenpoop

Well-Known Member

im a little worried about cages being visable from the air, as are are many other people im sure. so im gonna do this same concept with bamboo sticks and dark green yarn. So in other words steak all around the plant, and just wrap that bitch up.
 
Kaendar

Kaendar

Well-Known Member
chickenpoop said:

im a little worried about cages being visable from the air, as are are many other people im sure. so im gonna do this same concept with bamboo sticks and dark green yarn. So in other words steak all around the plant, and just wrap that bitch up.
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You could always paint the cages camo green
 
M

MuddyOne

Member
Kaendar said:
So are they your buddies plants or yours? I have a sneaking suspicion they are yours.
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I have a sneaking suspicion that's a question that will go unanswered and shouldn't have been asked in the first place.

The cages look cool, but it's not something that can reasonably be done at this point. Thanks for the ideas though. Using stakes he should be able to secure most of it, if there is weather coming I think I'll just help him wrap it up with twine right above the "Y" to stop it from spreading out. He'll probably wrap the whole plant up in twine as well, similar to how they ship Xmas trees, and just unwrap it after a storm passes.
 
chickenpoop

chickenpoop

Well-Known Member
i'd support those plants if i were you, i just went to check on my plants today and they were all knocked over snapped in half, split down the middle, you name it. kapoot.
Not one survivor. So take this is a lesson fellas, dont let your plants grow 8ft tall, and keep some support for the wind.:wall:
 
FresnoFarmer

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
MuddyOne said:
Ok,

At my location, the fall can bring seriously unsettled weather, and I need to help a buddy out.

All of his plants have been topped for two or 4 colas, so they all have a "Y" shaped joint anywhere from 5-10" from the ground. They are all quite tall, 5-7' and he's worried about the plants splitting at those joints. My only experience is with un-topped trained plants, so I'm not sure how to help him and need some opinions on a few ideas:

1.) His idea: Duct tape the plants tighter together right above the Y. I worry that the tape could cause stem Roy if moisture gets trapped behind it. I also worry that the adhesive may leech into his plant.

2.) Zip-tie the Y together, same idea as the duct tape, but not as much room for moisture to get trapped. Would also be a great point to tie other branches to. I worry about the zip tie cutting into the stalk if it thickens up as there would be a smaller pressure point.

3.) Do the same thing with twine. I only worry that the twine will hold water and cause rot.

I have only tied the plants to fences or stakes in the past, I just have no experience with the topped plants.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
And yes.......I ziptied one of my tomato plants to a stake and the ziptie started shredding that stem.....you can by the landscapers green tree stretch ties for 3 bucks at a garden center......100 ft roll
 
FresnoFarmer

FresnoFarmer

Well-Known Member
yeah potassium silicate makes for thick stocks and strong stems from what I hear....But I hear don't use too much in flower because it can cause a bland taste to the buds
 
S

shizz

Well-Known Member
lol tie the branchs together farther up/i just went out today and did the same thing. if you tie them down low there just goona break above that. you gotta get up near the top. trellis netting works also. my plant have 6 or 8 tops and i just tied on to the tip of a lower branch and walked around the plants with yard pulling up the branchs as i go and tieing it off on the tip.yarn works well so does hemp. i also did duct tape a few that broke today that also works for the jionts where they break but wont keep them from breaking
 
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