LST question

Hiya guys and girls

I have topped my plants twice and have multiple healthy main shoots growing out from the stem now so I thought it would be a good time to start training them.

Most of the guides I have read talk about tying down the main stem, and don't seem to take into account topping and multiple main shoots.

So, what I have done is start to tie each of these new main shoots down to the edge of the pot, rather than tie the whole plant down, if that makes sense? So there are now four anchor points around the plant where I have tied down new main shoots.

Have I done the right thing?

yes. bondage and manipulation can be done in creative ways. check out scrogs.

look for a guide on mainlining, best one I have seen is at growweedeasy

You did it right. There isn't just one way to LST-any time you are bending branches or tying anything down you are implementing low stress training. You don't see a lot of info on topping multiple times then using lst because unless your growing monster bushes you don't really need to do that-Just bending my plants over provides plenty of tops(without actually topping the plant at all). If I did what your doing I could fill a 4x4 tent with 1 plant easily.

Squidbilly said:

You did it right. There isn't just one way to LST-any time you are bending branches or tying anything down you are implementing low stress training. You don't see a lot of info on topping multiple times then using lst because unless your growing monster bushes you don't really need to do that-Just bending my plants over provides plenty of tops(without actually topping the plant at all). If I did what your doing I could fill a 4x4 tent with 1 plant easily.

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Thanks, this is useful info, and explains why I didn't find the guides I was hoping for!

I suppose this "belt and braces" approach will give me plenty of veg time which is useful as I have two autos growing alongside my vegging girls. I imagine it will also help the LST'd shoots get more access to light as they were a bit swamped in all the shrubbery! Proper bushy plant I got going here! Out of six plants growing this is the only one I have done any training on because it's just so damn bushy!

hogbud said:

look for a guide on mainlining, best one I have seen is at growweedeasy

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Bit late for mainlining now really, they are well established post-topping and I aint screwing around defoliating and stripping back one month into the grow.

I would bet the farm that your going to have to remove handfuls of leaves eventually growing the way you are-my advice is don't be scared to remove ANY leaves you think are getting in the way, or blocking light, or laying ontop of other leaves creating 'wet spots'. In veg I literally have to remove handfuls of leaves to keep good circulation in my tent and to avoid powdery mildew. 'Foraging' or selectively removing leaves actually makes for more vibrant and vigorous plants-don't believe the hype of not removing any leaves-your gonna have to growing in that style.

I had always understood it like this:

leaves photosynthesise and make energy for more growth, which gives more leaves, which gives more growth etc

I also am very wary of trimming and stressing my plant in any way, shape or form as it is my first grow and they are fem seeds, so the risk of f**king something up is high.

Also, because I am new to growing, I figure it makes sense to - aside from topping and a little training - let it grow how it grows so I can better understand the plant.

With that in mind, would you still suggest I trim? And *what* should I trim? Big ol' fan leaves, weak lower leaves? New growth or old?

What benefits does trimming *actually* provide and what are the cons?

It's sort of important to understand how it works, look for that lst guide and pay attn to the auxins. Basically when you bend the top most node below the others, it causes the lower branches to grow more, with this in mind, you can shape the plant however you want.

Don't be afraid to remove branches and leaves, esp if they are broken or damaged. Just don't go crazy with it and allow time to recover. Also, if large fan leaves are in the way of where you need light, try bending them out of the way under other stems or branches, it'll still help feed the plant while staying out of the way.

PS> I LST'd the shit out of 6 plants last run, check my journal for tons of pics... Actually I quit using the journal after the site change... this post has some good shots of the "mature" plants: https://www.rollitup.org/t/early-harvest-on-organic-lst-beauties-high-res-pics.824686/

AlGore said:

Basically when you bend the top most node below the others, it causes the lower branches to grow more, with this in mind, you can shape the plant however you want.

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Thanks. By this do you mean that by the branch being tied down, auxins flow down into that branch making it grow bigger?

PS Yeah I figured it couldn't hurt to take away some low, sorry looking growth yesterday when I took a couple of clones. For these clones I picked leaves that were healthy looking but blocking new growth from getting light.

I then proceeded to pluck off some leaves from low on the plant that looked like shit.

Basically, the plant trys to send the most growth to the tallest tip. If you bend this tip below the others, it will send the growth to the others. Like my two bottom most branches on most of the plants, grew out to be as big as the main tip, I never topped any of em btw, but you can, you just shape it differently.