How do you LST? Show us.

So on another thread Brick Top mentioned a method he had heard about for keeping branches bent down. That got me thinking about all they ways I've done it in the past so I thought I'd share my favorite way and I'm hoping that others will share theirs.

So I like to use plastic coated wire that comes on a spool, basically it’s a twist tie that’s 100ft long and is commonly found with gardening supplies.

Here's my spool of plastic coated wire, one of the 4.5” pots I use for seeds/clones/vegging and a diet coke can for scale. While I'm using a 4.5" pot in these photos I've also done the exact same thing with a 10" pot.

First thing you need to do is cut off enough of the wire to make a ring big enough to circle the pot but smaller than the lip.




Here's how it should fit on your pot.

Now go get a plant that has a branch you need to tame. I’m going to use my mini mom.


Cut off some wire and make a hook on the end.


The thing I like about plastic coated wire is that it keeps it shape quite well. Take the hook and loop it over the branch you’re trying to tame.


Thread the other end of the wire between the pot and your ring.


Pull down the branch


and then hook the other end when you’ve achieved the right tension.


The best part is that both the Ring and the Hook are completely reusable.

I like to clone about 2 weeks into flower and once they root and start to reveg I fim them I wait about 2 weeks then tie the longest branches usually 3-5 and tie them down. I then top every branch or cola that comes from thos 3-5 main stems at least once each. The end result is a lot like this
http://s725.photobucket.com/albums/ww254/erkelsgoo420/Mobile Uploads/?action=view&current=IMG00637.jpg

Pics are in order of day 15 (LST start), 17, 19, 21 and 26 from sprouting.

Strain is a bagseed skunk variety.. this one is the oldest out of my current grow but the others have also been tied down from about week 2 and are catching up.

jrk152, are those pipe cleaners?

I couldnt believe it when I opened this thread and saw that you use twist ties also! I was just thinking last night "these work so well, I need to make a thread on this.."

I use twist ties also, except I use nails in the side of my bucket as the anchors to tie them down to. This way I can put them wherever I need them in the bucket, and it also allows me to make adjustments to my ties by simply pulling the nails through a little further to tighten the strings up. This way I dont need to re-tie for a good 3-4 days inbetween tying's.

Also, if youre going to use the twist ties, I like to "curl" the end of them with my fingernail just as you would "curl" a ribbon at christmas time with scissors. Instead of folding a "hook" it rolls into a nice little circle that wraps around the stems nicely. I put that "ring" that is formed just behind the stem for the fan leaf at the furthestmost point on the shoot I am tying down.

Here are some pics of a 3 week old clone. What I did was pull the lowest stem in the opposite direction that I laid the plant down and it worked out really nice to create a "y" shaped plant. That it what the third picture is attempting to show. Few more days and this puppy's going into the bloom chamber
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PS: The lowest stem which creates the second half of the plant had to be topped, which is why it looks that way.

Here's one of my ladies.

second pic is before I tied her down. She has already given over 50 cuttings and has been pruned back numerous occasions. She used to be real bushy, so i'm letting her fill back out.

submachinegun said:

Here's one of my ladies.

second pic is before I tied her down. She has already given over 50 cuttings and has been pruned back numerous occasions. She used to be real bushy, so i'm letting her fill back out.

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good job guys nice pics im deffinately going to have to try this

Nice post technomage, I use the same technique as you. The only difference for is that I either poke small holes in the top rim of the pots or on the new square pots I have there are slits on each side of the rim that makes it easy to tie to. I have been looking all over for a spool like you have, all I can ever find is packs of pre cut twist ties in the gardening section. Keep up the nice work my friend

personally i use this same twist tie method, but I recently saw a better idea, imo.

I wish I could remember where I saw it cuz I'd love to give the guy credit...but he puts rubber bands around his containers and just uses a loop of yarn to pull down on the branches..leaving the 2 cut ends held in place by the tension of the rubberband against the container, seems much easier and flexable then the twist ties...I know the twist ties give me headaches sometimes when im trying to get them to the right spot but they're so rigid it can be a pain.

Thanks Tom.

I know both my local hydro store and Home Depot carry them as I've seen them both there in the last week.

A search of twist tie spool on eBay will also show results.

tom__420 said:

Nice post technomage, I use the same technique as you. The only difference for is that I either poke small holes in the top rim of the pots or on the new square pots I have there are slits on each side of the rim that makes it easy to tie to. I have been looking all over for a spool like you have, all I can ever find is packs of pre cut twist ties in the gardening section. Keep up the nice work my friend

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jrk152, highstandards, submachinegun. Thanks you all for those photo examples, exactly what I was looking for.

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Wow, beautiful SCROG

fdd2blk said:

............. View attachment 545036 View attachment 545037 ............

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The rigidness is actually something like. My plants tend to be very short and bushy and being able to put the branch exactly where I want her as opposed to just pulling her down actually helps.

They big thing us twist tie users have to watch out for is the cheaper bands that use paper wrapped wire. Only use plastic wrapped wire.

grow1620 said:

I know the twist ties give me headaches sometimes when im trying to get them to the right spot but they're so rigid it can be a pain.

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Thx technomage. Some updated pics.. day 13 flowering





As you can see they aren't growing as neat and tidy as before, biggest problem are the fan leaves.. some of the get squashed up against the soil as I continue to tie the plant down, especially the ones near the main growth tip

I'm New Here And Was Just Wondering Whats The Purpose Of Doing This?I ask Because I'm Ordering My Seeds Tomorrow And Starting A CFL Grow In My Closet.I'm Trying To Learn As Much As Possible!

RudyJ420 said:

I'm New Here And Was Just Wondering Whats The Purpose Of Doing This?I ask Because I'm Ordering My Seeds Tomorrow And Starting A CFL Grow In My Closet.I'm Trying To Learn As Much As Possible!

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More bud more toppers enough said. not really a how-to picture but all those tops are on one babe,

In my case I use LST and topping as a tool to keep my plants short and bushy. In my flower chamber I only have 30" for my plant/pot.

TechnoMage said:

jrk152, highstandards, submachinegun. Thanks you all for those photo examples, exactly what I was looking for.

Click to expand...

one from today...

going to veg for a month or two more. she's already given an ass load of clones and has been pruned back, I started her from seed in March. Once I put her in something bigger and flip that switch she's going to explode.