Topping Outdoor Plants

Hello! Names Eric I'm new to the forum. I'm kind of new to growing. Only been doing it a few years so I have a basic understanding of how things work. I have 4 plants growing in my backyard. My question is should I top them? Super crop? Just let them be? I'm from Long Island New York so I won't be budding until August/September. I attached some pics! Thank you !!!

personaly, i would just leave them be, there side branching quite nicely as they are. topping is usualy if you have height issues in the space your growing in. or to keep them hidden behind a fence.
looking real nice

Hey there! I'm from Long Island too (North Fork area). I grow in the ground so I need to LST or top to prevent the plants from getting too tall. This year I'm using netting to create a SCROG. I will put up a 2nd layer of netting in the next day or two. Here's my last post from about 2 weeks ago:

Are your plants starting to flower? Another local grower told me this morning theirs are starting. I looked at my plants and sure enough it looks like mine are too! I'll be taking a few clones today.

Good luck with your grow!

old_smoke said:

Hey there! I'm from Long Island too (North Fork area). I grow in the ground so I need to LST or top to prevent the plants from getting too tall. This year I'm using netting to create a SCROG. I will put up a 2nd layer of netting in the next day or two. Here's my last post from about 2 weeks ago:

Open show an tell 2023

I wish I could! We get wind so bad that it's anchored to the ground with railroad ties and rebar... I wish I could just grow outside but northeastern Colorado is wind and hail country! I topped and super cropped last year and got by. So hopefully it works this year... Seems no matter where one...

www.rollitup.org

Are your plants starting to flower? Another local grower told me this morning theirs are starting. I looked at my plants and sure enough it looks like mine are too! I'll be taking a few clones today.

Good luck with your grow!

Click to expand...

I haven't noticed anything yet. I'll have to take a closer look later. How tall do you let your get before you top? Thats what I'm worried about. I feel like my main stems are starting to shoot up and leave everything else in the dust

I think that "go go kid" makes good points. If height isn't an issue I too would leave them alone. You're pretty close to flowering and my opinion is that as a newish grower your priorities are to get a usable harvest and nail down the drying and curing before focusing on maximizing yield. Having most of the energy focused on the main cola is what the plant wants to do naturally, so there's really no downside to it other than yield. That assumes that height is not an issue.

If height is an issue and you have no choice, I would Supercrop using Kyle Kushman's method. (How to Supercrop Cannabis Plants for Massive Yields with Kyle Kushman’s Chiropractic). I've had good success using this method when growing in pots outdoors and indoors. It's a weird sensation feeling the stems crack under your fingers, and the plant looks like a POS for a few days, but it does work. Your goal wouldn't be "massive yield", but keeping things under the radar.

I'd maybe top the plants in the 2nd and 4th pics, just to encourage lower branch growth.

old_smoke said:

Hey there! I'm from Long Island too (North Fork area). I grow in the ground so I need to LST or top to prevent the plants from getting too tall. This year I'm using netting to create a SCROG. I will put up a 2nd layer of netting in the next day or two. Here's my last post from about 2 weeks ago:

Open show an tell 2023

I wish I could! We get wind so bad that it's anchored to the ground with railroad ties and rebar... I wish I could just grow outside but northeastern Colorado is wind and hail country! I topped and super cropped last year and got by. So hopefully it works this year... Seems no matter where one...

www.rollitup.org

Are your plants starting to flower? Another local grower told me this morning theirs are starting. I looked at my plants and sure enough it looks like mine are too! I'll be taking a few clones today.

Good luck with your grow!

Click to expand...

I haven't noticed anything yet. I'll have to take a closer look later. How tall do you let your get before you top? Thats what I'm worried about. I feel like my main stems are starting to shoot up

waterproof808 said:

I'd maybe top the plants in the 2nd and 4th pics, just to encourage lower branch growth.

Click to expand...

Yeah those two plants are a little strange all the growth is very close to the main stem and weaving in and out of each other very tight. Do you think I should top and supercrop?

No need to do anything, but you could tie down the tops on these to encourage more bushiness and bud sites. It wouldn't necessarily increase your yield but more buds means less chance of budrot/budworms when you have just a few thick, massive colas. I wouldn't top them, IMO that shocks and stunts the plant

Topping is done mostly for crop uniformity and height control. Your pot size is what limits/sets your total yield. Topping before flower set will result in more similarly sized colas, a shorter but wider, more manageable plant. Lack of topping often results in one giant cola prone to mold while too much topping will result in too many smaller colas. These in 20gal pots have been topped 3-4 times (SuperSilverHaze on Left, Lemon Skunk on Right).

ELINNEMAN27 said:

Hello! Names Eric I'm new to the forum. I'm kind of new to growing. Only been doing it a few years so I have a basic understanding of how things work. I have 4 plants growing in my backyard. My question is should I top them? Super crop? Just let them be? I'm from Long Island New York so I won't be budding until August/September. I attached some pics! Thank you !!!

Click to expand...

If those were mine, I would top them like so...

Topped and the skirts cleaned up. I don't usually get them this far this soon, but my back wasn't screaming for a change, and I won't have all that low end scruff to throw out. To skimpy to bother trimming it is just a pain most harvests. Let go wild they soon cover the walk and make weekly spraying for Powdery Mildew and Caterpillars much more difficult than it needs be.

BrassNwood said:

View attachment 5310263
Topped and the skirts cleaned up. I don't usually get them this far this soon, but my back wasn't screaming for a change, and I won't have all that low end scruff to throw out. To skimpy to bother trimming it is just a pain most harvests. Let go wild they soon cover the walk and make weekly spraying for Powdery Mildew and Caterpillars much more difficult than it needs be.

Click to expand...

What do you spray for powdery mildew?

ELINNEMAN27 said:

What do you spray for powdery mildew?

Click to expand...

Simple high PH water.
1 tablespoon Potassium Bicarbonate or Sodium Bicarbonate (Household baking soda) to 1 gallon of water. Drench spray once a week every week seeding to week of harvest.