mustbetribbin
Well-Known Member
I would say if they are rapidly growing upwards and they are around 10-14 inches tall I'd probably go ahead and top them, they will simply branch out from where each leaf is growing out from currently, each node will put out branches as long as there is sufficient lighting provided (which in this case things look nice and bright already), and you can just trim off the lower branches if you like, but what most people do is allow the branches to develop and allow for maybe 2-3 nodes of height before topping again.
It really just depends on how large and tall you'd like the plant to get before topping, let it get too tall and it won't have time to branch out and get as wide later, but likewise if you train the plant to be shorter and wide they won't have as much chance of getting as tall later on, so there is a trade off, just gotta find your growing style and train the plant to grow in multiples of where each branch is topped from, like 2, become 4, become 8 and so on from each branch, and with clones it's a bit trickier than from seed to know where to allow the branches to divide out from, I'd probably let the top 2-4 main branches grow out and then super crop or top them to keep them at a somewhat even level height as they grow upwards.
Another thing that you might try is instead of topping the plant first, is to super crop the very tops by squeezing them gently in one direction only and bend them over, that is what supercropping is, basically anything that helps the inner tissue of the branch gain density by lightly injuring the branch/stem is supercropping, but for this method what I do is supercrop the very top over first, and wait until I see good signs of lower branches beginning to develop at the base of each the leaves, and when I see small shoots coming forth, a wait for the top to heal for just maybe 3 days or so, then I top it, so with this method new branches are already coming out from the stalk instead of the plant taking a few days for this process to begin with other methods such as topping normally. This also strengthens the main stalk a tiny bit more before the new branches pop out completely, so either way, but I kind of preferred this method more recently, seems more continued momentum occurs after being topped, rather than just topping normally also.
So there's lot of different things you can train a clone to do, but they do take a bit more practice to achieve balanced growth, but I'd say so far from your pictures that you are doing well, if you feel the plants have reached an acceptable height, then go ahead and top them or begin training them, they do look like they have plenty of starting locations to put out new branches from, I would say yeah, begin because they do appear to be a bit slender, now is a good time to try and get them to get some thickness in diameter around the main stalk, and the training techniques mentioned above will get you where you need to be, just allow for time to heal between each of the more physical types of training and you'll be good to go.
Thanks for the reply cheech, I was excited to see such a happy response so thanks for that, helped make my evening being able to offer someone a bit of knowledge their way.
Anytime friend, let me know how it goes.
