You don't have to 'recover' to go to flower after topping fwiw... that's just my opinion. My next batch will be 12/12 from seed and I plan on topping
Generally what I've noticed in my outdoor (and just *very* recently in my first indoor) grows, is that male/herm will show sex before female, so they are easy to decipher. As a new grower, you're going to look every day, so if you don't see the two small hairs, don't panic. Let things grow out. Males will show themselves with ball sacks long before they pollinate and you *will* be able to identify them.
Chop them down, and watch the rest. When you discard the males/hermies, put them in a bag and throw them in a dumpster a few blocks from your house.
Clones? Some say from bottom, but I have taken from what makes Mom look better. Mostly from bottom, but pruned branches from the top are just as effective.
Pics? You might see some white hairs on my three indoor females in the last pic of the last post in my sig for my current grow
-spek