Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas
- Thread starter Uncle Ben
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let us know which is best when it's finished. too bad u didnt try to do a 6 or 8 colas. maybe 6 colas and 4 colas will have the same size colas. also, at what week and height did you topped them?
Here is an l.a woman strain topped for 4 heads. was my 1st time trying topping and thought she turned out pretty well..
im new to this... but wont trimming the bottom of the branches help make the top bigger? those little popcorns at the far bottom, though it adds up to a good amount, but will it be better to trim it and maybe the top will produce a bigger cola?
The2TimEr
Well-Known Member
well the peices that don't really form proper buds right at the very bottom of branches that just remain hairy can get cut, you can see in the 4th picture, the plant to the left has it's bottom branches trimmed otherwise known as lollypopping, but the peices you see there on the 4 cola plant arn't what i'd want to chop off as they are decent sized, those are 1-2 gram peices!
and i dont think the main cola's suffered much from them being there..
NetGuruINC
Active Member
I must admit that first pic of the overhead view is FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. So which method do you guys prefer topping or FIM?
doogleef
Well-Known Member
IMHO, If you have the room/time in the bud room then leave all the lowers ( no removing leaves! ) and at the end take the tops and leave the rest to fatten up. My veg room is way too full to leave the floor space occupied for the extra couple weeks in the bloom room so i take the other approach. 
well the peices that don't really form proper buds right at the very bottom of branches that just remain hairy can get cut, you can see in the 4th picture, the plant to the left has it's bottom branches trimmed otherwise known as lollypopping, but the peices you see there on the 4 cola plant arn't what i'd want to chop off as they are decent sized, those are 1-2 gram peices!
how can you tell if it will be a good stem to keep and which to cut? whichever that can catch light? cuz i have some branches at the very bottom that is quite longer than those near the middle.
tusseltussel
Well-Known Member
You are commenting in a thread dedicated to a topping technique....you can answer your own question from there. Fim,lol that's funny
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
Here is an l.a woman strain topped for 4 heads. was my 1st time trying topping and thought she turned out pretty well..
Nice job!
A general statement - if folks think removing leaves is productive, then you really have no business growing.
UB
Uncle Ben
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A "good stem" is one with the most healthy green foliage. Do two harvests - cut out the fat colas to cure and put the plant back under the lights to bulk up the bottom bud material. The point on the "trunk" where the bulked up colas turn airy below is where you should make your cut.
Happy harvest,
Tio
Samwell Seed Well
Well-Known Member
i know it can be strain to strain but how long can you continue to flower a plant after tops are harvested . .generally?
Uncle Ben
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Takes about 3 weeks for me for one of the "mutts".
bossmanSkrilla
Active Member
Hey Uncle Ben Is There Also A Way To Get 6... Instead Of The Traditional 4?!?
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
No. You have a trade off. The more colas you have the smaller they will be. I came up with this training method for several reasons, one of them being that I realized when topping to get 4 main colas that those colas resulted in about the same size/bulk as one main cola.
Uncle Ben
bossmanSkrilla
Active Member
Thanks Homie +Rep!!
thats not what i wanted to hear..... and it seems to be false. otherwise why is topping such a big deal? it makes sense that more colas= smaller colas. but if it's 4 colas, it should be more than 1 big main cola. though i wouldnt know about that.... i guess im expecting too much from 1 plant. but seeing all those videos on youtube, those plants are freakin huge! and they quote to be slightly over 1 pound. that is the kind of plants i want to grow. UB, do you know how to grow such big plants? or is it only huge because it has been vegging for a long time?
Uncle Ben
Well-Known Member
Not my problem.
I have topped some O. Haze several times but that's only to manage their height. Also applied a PGR for the same reason. They are 7' tall, still reaching for the moon but pretty much under control for what is atypical sativa type stretch. If you think your mutts stretch, you should try your hand at a pure sativa. No indica, pure sativa which can only be found in some of the beans I have - TFD's O. Haze, Dalat Vietnamese, and Zamal..... surely not from the pollen chuckers you guys do business with. For example, Neville's Haze is NOT pure sativa. It's been bastardized with indica genes. Doesn't mean it isn't an awesome high and a good grower, just trying to qualify what goes on with this (cheesy) seed biz.
Bottom line, my Haze which is the original haze done by Sam the Skunkman's Santa Cruz neighbors from genetics he sourced is <Acapulco Gold X Colombian Gold X (S. Indian X Thai)> and has at least 12 tops where my Peak19 backcrosses still have 4 main colas (tops). None of the Haze "tops" can be considered dominant leaders in terms of apical dominance. You need to study botany which includes hormonal processes and of course get some experience. I think you're falling into the same old boring category as 90% of the noobs in cannabis forums which is searching for tricks rather than learning what makes a plant tick. "Supercropping", LST, SCROG......pffffffffftttttttttt.
I could ask the same question, "why is LST such a big deal?" Whoever labeled the training method of LST is really indicative of the bullshit based on inexperience, feelings, and such that you find in these forums. Topping, in any form, does not induce stress. It only induces a redirection/collection of ho-moans. Noobies induce stress by not understanding what makes a plant tick...... applying the wrong cultural methods, using supplements, etc. "Low Stress" Training is a false statement. Then you have the pervasive myth/paradigm of flushing and the band plays on.......
Facts (experience) before feelings,
Uncle Ben
UB -- first of all, great post and thread. I read about the first 35 pages but didnt see my question, which is, I grow from clones. As you know, clones are harder to count nodes, since often time, they have a stem or two jutting out before the real nodes start. Do I just count two real nodes and ignore the random sprouts before those that existed on the mother plant? Thanks in advance
herbbreeder
Member
i topped my plant a day ago but i cant see any new branches coming on it,
how long does this normaly takes?
how long does this normaly takes?
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