Plant getting way too big... LST?

I have a girl outdoors thats getting way too big. She is already about 5.5 feet tall and probably has another month of veg to go. By the time she flowers she will be 6-6.5 feet at this rate. Flowering stretch will probably get me close to 10-12 feet. Yikes! How can I LST a plant that is so big while the stem is already pretty thick. She only starts to bend a bit past half her height which doesnt give me much to really bend downwards. I have only two main concerns. I am a legal backyard grower and my backyard fences are at most 6 feet. Although my neighbors know that I grow I would prefer it be out of sight. And my other concern is that occasionally my neighbors will turn on a light on the side of their house at night. Could one CFL lightbulb from approx 15 feet away mess up my flowering cycle once she starts flowering?

As always thanks for all and any help.

Yes the light can cause an issue. Put your foot at the bottom of the stalk and push the whole plant over or start super cropping the branches 3-4 ft down. Got a pic ?

LST for sure. You can do it that way successfully or you can tie her down. Tie some garden wire/string 2/3 of the way up and pull her over so she can be tied to a steak in the ground.

for starters pinch off the top and hopefully it won't get too much taller. I like the other commenters idea-put your foot on the base and bend the tree over your foot away from the fence, simultaneously you have to have a buddy ready to tighten down all of your tie down twine that you have on the tree, you got to tie it down while you bend it. don't worry if she can handle it, she can take it! She will grow into her new constraints perfectly well and unharmed. Even if you do crack her when you bend her wrap it with some tape and get some pruning seal tar from the garden center and paint some of that on there.

Ok so I LSTed her, im not really sure if I did a good job... Im afraid her stem is going to snap. Should I pull her down more? Pull her down a little more each day? Or just leave her? Any advice?

BTW someone mentioned I should top her, I already did that. She wont stop growing lol.

No....that's fine!....it won't snap...if it does...it'll be supercroped instead of LST'd...but it won't snap....and "outdoors"...LST doesn't work...instead of one 6-7 foot main kola you're going to have multiple....next time don't plant in ground if size is an issue...FYI..we plant in ground to grow monsters...I have 20 all over 6ft with just under two months of veg left...LST'd one...and it's as I described to you..over 6ft with dozens of "main" kolas....

that does look like a nice job on the training - always a good idea with a pliable variety. although it seems unfortunate that the plant should be penalized. I know it looks trashy but what a lot of folks do is extend their fence height with tarps etc - this could give you privacy and protection from light pollution. or you could just wrestle with her the rest of the season to keep her tied down low which can be fun too

Looks like a good tie down job to me. If it were me I'd keep tieing down the other branches as well when they take over dominance. Sorta spread her out in all directions. I'd think you could end up with a nice round shrubbery shape that way.

Ok see I don't really have a problem with height. My main concern is the light issue. Should I continue with the LST or should I let her grow like the monster she is and just try to cover her up with a tarp hanging from my house at night to protect from the occasional light that's on?

Also if this is just going to increase my yield I don't mind going through with the LST.

keep it the way it is and triple the normal yield....like I said multi main kolas..instead of one...check it out...1st pic...over 7ft no LST....second pic..LST'd...and same height but dozens of main kolas....last pic obviously...the rest...trust me...leave it LST'd...I just took these pics to show you

Nice grow passthat. Did you have that netting custom made ? Good job stride . Fan that ho out ! A BB gun might help you . lol Or go buy your neighbor a green cfl and wrap it up in a box as a present and go over to the neighbors with a six pack and ask them if they wouldn't mind sporting the bulb for a few months . lol I use the green cfl's on my patio .

Alright I'll keep it LSTed but will 1 more month of veg be enough to create the "new colas"?

Pass you mentioned that LSTing outdoors doesnt work. In what way do you mean? Do you mean in the sense that I will still end up with a huge plant because you mention that it'll triple my yield so that doesnt seem to be a problem.

I read that "doesn't" as a typo but I could be wrong.

Stride said:

Alright I'll keep it LSTed but will 1 more month of veg be enough to create the "new colas"?

Pass you mentioned that LSTing outdoors doesnt work. In what way do you mean? Do you mean in the sense that I will still end up with a huge plant because you mention that it'll triple my yield so that doesnt seem to be a problem.

Click to expand...

your thread is titled plant getting too big....and it read like you're using LST as size management...in that respect it doesn't work...had this thread been titled LST to boost yield...then I would've left out the "don't work" part of my info...it'll work to grow a bigger and better yielding plant...but from the threads read...that's the opposite of what you want...


and the greenhouse was ordered from homedepot...just found one the same size as my grow area...the original "netted" encloser I made....

Oh ok gotcha. Well I'd like to yield as much as possible but how is LST going to grow a bigger plant? Bushier but not exactly bigger right? I guess at this point if it still grows really big Ill just use a tarp to cover it up or just talk to my neighbors and see if they could not turn it on at night. That green CFL idea isnt that bad either considering the light im talking about is only a light for the side of the house.

just go get your neighbor a green cfl and bush her out. Like pass said, you'll be in the same perdickerment (lol) before the stretch is over.

Man now im confused... Should I go through with the LST or keep growing her straight up?

It's your plant....do what you want...I can't make my opinion any clearer..a pic is worth 1000 words..if you really can't see the difference between the two plants...then nothing I say will make sence...good luck

I don't want to butt in. Your thinking to hard. LST will bush out more and grow just as tall providing more yield then a tall skinny 1 cola plant in general.. Your thinking taller is better. Go look around at some pics you'll understand a bit more. I have topped my plants a bunch and LST'd and they are still to damn big for my 6 ft fence.

^^Dont worry about "butting in" I want opinions. Well ok if this is really going to increase my yield that much Ill stick with it. I mean they're already LSTed.