Help with topping and training

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Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Hello all, I have 2 feminized photoperiod plants that are not quite a month from seed.
I moved them from solo cups to their current 1gal homes about 2 weeks ago.
I topped them both 5 days ago and they seem to be moving right along.
I removed the 2 large top fan leaves from each plant to get more light to the secondary sites.
My question is what to do next about topping again or training??
I plan on lollipopping to a fair degree, so should I wait a bit and top the two top nodes? The stems are so thick and rigid that bending is damn near impossible.
Obviously I want an even canopy with as many tops as possible..:.:but am not going to use a scrog.
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.
For the record, I’m growing in coco amended with dry organics. Light is a HLG 320 LED running at about 60%.
Thanks again. 98B52251-4FA1-4239-BA74-4D2EA1A20C60.jpegE35614B8-BB0A-4BCB-96FB-C6D244123F8E.jpeg
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
1st I'd open the plant up some and make it more horizontal, if you want to bend the stems horizontal... Take hold of the stem, bend it and twist it back and forth, left to right, starting gently and gradually adding more pressure, if you're not careful they can fold but that's not a problem just folding the branches is my 2nd option.

Once you have it opened up and tied down it'll be easier to decide on your next step.
 
B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
S
Star Dog said:
1st I'd open the plant up some and make it more horizontal, if you want to bend the stems horizontal... Take hold of the stem, bend it and twist it back and forth, left to right, starting gently and gradually adding more pressure, if you're not careful they can fold but that's not a problem just folding the branches is my 2nd option.

Once you have it opened up and tied down it'll be easier to decide on your next step.
Click to expand...
When u say open it up are u talking about bending the main stem sideways?? And how far down do I want to go?
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
Bullmark said:
Is this what you’re talking about. I kinda twisted, bent and pinched at the same time.
I super cropped a few branches on my last plant and it turned out great.
View attachment 5235215
Click to expand...
Yeah you're on the right track there, tie each branch equidistant and near to horizontal, there's plenty time for vertical growth after you flip, concentrate on making it wide and level for now.
_20210525_160549 (1).JPG
_20220515_052704 (1).JPG
After flowering.
 
B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
Yeah you're on the right track there, tie each branch equidistant and near to horizontal, there's plenty time for vertical growth after you flip, concentrate on making it wide and level for now.
View attachment 5235217
View attachment 5235218
After flowering.
Click to expand...
I take it you defoliate quite a bit while training the plant ??
One more ??….my plants are almost a month old (since germination)……my plan was to let them stay in the 1 gal pots for another 2 weeks or so, then move to either 5 or 7 gal. Then I figured I’d let them go another 2-3 weeks before flipping…..does this sound like a good timeline if all goes well and I don’t experience any setbacks??
Last run I grew 3 plants and space became a bit crowded. So I cut it back to 2….but would like them to be pretty sizable.
Anyway, your thoughts are welcome and appreciated. Thanks again
 
Star Dog

Star Dog

Well-Known Member
Bullmark said:
I take it you defoliate quite a bit while training the plant ??
One more ??….my plants are almost a month old (since germination)……my plan was to let them stay in the 1 gal pots for another 2 weeks or so, then move to either 5 or 7 gal. Then I figured I’d let them go another 2-3 weeks before flipping…..does this sound like a good timeline if all goes well and I don’t experience any setbacks??
Last run I grew 3 plants and space became a bit crowded. So I cut it back to 2….but would like them to be pretty sizable.
Anyway, your thoughts are welcome and appreciated. Thanks again
Click to expand...
That's the Skelton of a plant that's been harvested lol, i don't defoliate
 
B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
That's the Skelton of a plant that's been harvested lol, i don't defoliate
Click to expand...
Oh I realize that second pic is post harvest….but it looked to me like maybe some leaves had been taken off the plant in the first pic.
I don’t know if it the genetics, my light, or something else, but every plant I grow is bushy as hell….I know bushy is generally good but sometimes the foliage is so thick it blocks out much of the plant.
 
C

ComfortCreator

Well-Known Member
A plan helps direct what to do, check out the manifold and mainline threads.

Defoliation is done with training at times because it gets so bushy. It also is done when a decision is made to lollipop the bottom at least partially. Imo, defol is a powerful tool when understood. It can greatly enhance side branching and encourage growth at the top.
 
B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Star Dog said:
That's the Skelton of a plant that's been harvested lol, i don't defoliate
Click to expand...
So I wanted to pick your brain again and get a little more direction with these 2 plants…
Since last time I continued “butterflying” and tying down to create an even canopy.
I also moved them to larger pots. Don’t ask why, but one is in a 7gal and the other in a 5gal.
In the process of bending and twisting I snapped a main shoot where it grew out of the actual main center stalk….I was late noticing it and no amount of tape and sweet talking could save it. Oh well.
The training and transplanting slowed them down a bit, but today marks a week in their bigger pots and theyve found their sea Legs and appear to be taking off.
My question has to do with lollipopping…..something I’ve done before but not with a plant that looks like these.
Ideally every bud site that is getting light would grow to the same height, but that’s not gonna happen.
When I lollipopped before I’d take off everything from the 3rd node down….I would leave some of the leaves if they weren’t blocking anything.
But this plant looks like many of the lower sites are getting direct light.
Should I simply take off any that aren’t getting direct light??
And assuming they continue to grow at a decent pace, I am thinking of flipping in another 2 or 3 weeks. Does that seem like enough veg time??
I have plenty of room vertically but my width is only 2.5’…..so I’d have a hard time if they get much wider.
Any thoughts are appreciated
 
B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
Bullmark said:
So I wanted to pick your brain again and get a little more direction with these 2 plants…
Since last time I continued “butterflying” and tying down to create an even canopy.
I also moved them to larger pots. Don’t ask why, but one is in a 7gal and the other in a 5gal.
In the process of bending and twisting I snapped a main shoot where it grew out of the actual main center stalk….I was late noticing it and no amount of tape and sweet talking could save it. Oh well.
The training and transplanting slowed them down a bit, but today marks a week in their bigger pots and theyve found their sea Legs and appear to be taking off.
My question has to do with lollipopping…..something I’ve done before but not with a plant that looks like these.
Ideally every bud site that is getting light would grow to the same height, but that’s not gonna happen.
When I lollipopped before I’d take off everything from the 3rd node down….I would leave some of the leaves if they weren’t blocking anything.
But this plant looks like many of the lower sites are getting direct light.
Should I simply take off any that aren’t getting direct light??
And assuming they continue to grow at a decent pace, I am thinking of flipping in another 2 or 3 weeks. Does that seem like enough veg time??
I have plenty of room vertically but my width is only 2.5’…..so I’d have a hard time if they get much wider.
Any thoughts are appreciated
Click to expand...
 

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B

Bullmark

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Damned good work
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Thanks man….I’m learning as I go, thanks to guys like you.
I’m a little undecided when to flip and flower.
They are just recovering a little from all the training and transplanting and I see noticeable growth in the past 3 days
Specifically the one in the 7gal pot has a lot of medium in the bottom of the pot for the roots to expand.
I watered the pot throughly to the point of a tiny bit of runoff….this was 5 days ago. Currently the top 3-4” is fairly dry but the very bottom (where the roots have yet to reach) is wet. I’m guessing that I should hold off and let the roots chase the moisture ?
Would it be better to let it veg while it grows into the new space OR flip it sooner and have this happen while it’s producing flowers??
Anyway, any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
Have a happy new yr.
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Bullmark said:
Thanks man….I’m learning as I go, thanks to guys like you.
I’m a little undecided when to flip and flower.
They are just recovering a little from all the training and transplanting and I see noticeable growth in the past 3 days
Specifically the one in the 7gal pot has a lot of medium in the bottom of the pot for the roots to expand.
I watered the pot throughly to the point of a tiny bit of runoff….this was 5 days ago. Currently the top 3-4” is fairly dry but the very bottom (where the roots have yet to reach) is wet. I’m guessing that I should hold off and let the roots chase the moisture ?
Would it be better to let it veg while it grows into the new space OR flip it sooner and have this happen while it’s producing flowers??
Anyway, any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
Have a happy new yr.
Click to expand...
Let it run another week. The more roots the bigger the shoots.
 
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