Topping questions with pics

bgmike8

Well-Known Member
So I just topped a couple days ago. I think my plants are doing great. The colas where I topped are way bigger than when I did the cut.

If you look at this pic you can see that the lower node has two colas that are bigger than where i topped.

So my first question is what will happen here. Are the bottom ones going to keep growing out orbit the plant going to focus on the top colas?

Secondly, I want the two top colas to grow out two feet in each direction. Should I strip all the growth under the top node so the plant will focus on the top like people do with mainlining??

20160827_225115.jpg 20160827_225123.jpg
 

MeJuana

Well-Known Member
No need to trim anything off at all. There's two methods for regulating growth. You can super crop (pinch and slightly crush stem until it is bent over to varying degrees.) You do this to keep the same top, but to halt it's growth while it repairs the stem so that the side shoots can catch up in size. The second way needs understanding. Auxins are the hormones responsible for the rapid growth of the highest tips. If you change the highest tip it will automatically receive the auxins. So the second way is to tie the top lower than the lowest shoot, so again when you do this that branch will no longer receive the auxins and the auxins will distribute to the highest tip instead. I love manhandling plants

edit: Mean to tell you your lights are too close on the leaves that are cupping upward. If the whole plant heat or humidity, maybe too much fan.
 

bgmike8

Well-Known Member
No need to trim anything off at all. There's two methods for regulating growth. You can super crop (pinch and slightly crush stem until it is bent over to varying degrees.) You do this to keep the same top, but to halt it's growth while it repairs the stem so that the side shoots can catch up in size. The second way needs understanding. Auxins are the hormones responsible for the rapid growth of the highest tips. If you change the highest tip it will automatically receive the auxins. So the second way is to tie the top lower than the lowest shoot, so again when you do this that branch will no longer receive the auxins and the auxins will distribute to the highest tip instead. I love manhandling plants

edit: Mean to tell you your lights are too close on the leaves that are cupping upward. If the whole plant heat or humidity, maybe too much fan.
I don't think I need the lower node though. I'm filling a 4x4 net.
Idk.

I guess I can just tie the shit out of everything.
I'm growing horizontaly from a 5 site aero tub. So I'm worried that side growth will just get in the way.
 

LegalizeNature420

Well-Known Member
Yes, cut away all branching below those two nodes, leaving only fan leaves.

The branches you see near the bottom in the pic are from the two main colas.
Photo1181.jpg
This pic is from a harvested plant. I top clones very early, so the cut/split is only about an inch from the soil. This, in my opinion, provides the plant plenty of time to recover and thereby go into flowering with as much steam as possible.
Photo1477.jpg
 
Last edited:

MeJuana

Well-Known Member
During veg I remove all the lower leaves and set the plant up for flower and the plant will redistribute those taken leaves elsewhere on the plant. (As long as you don't take more than 20% or 1/5th of the total foliage)

During flower I won't remove leaves because they aren't replaced and I feel like it is important to have the leaves and roots to support the buds. I will, however, take buds off the lowest branches so that the buds are redistributed elsewhere on the plant.
 

iHearAll

Well-Known Member
wait for it to stretch out a little and give it some LST or a scrog. . the branches will put off there own side branches and they can be the parts that grow vertically but distributed down the larger branch in a naturally even spacing. support the main branches with stakes like you would any lanky vegetable.
 
Top