When Should I Start LST?

perc30 · Aug 21, 2020

I'm 16 days in on these two plants (wedding cake and cookies gelato, both feminized), when should i start LST on these?

Should I top them now or wait? Should I also transplant to my 2-gallon pots now? I want to eventually transplant them again to 5-gallon pots to finish.

I have not introduced nutrients yet, using Happy Frog soil and I watered with Great White mycorrhizae two days ago.

Richard Drysift · Aug 21, 2020

I would wait a week or so to go to your 2 gal pots and then FIM them to start training. Sprinkle a pinch of great white right into the hole when you transplant them; place the root ball in direct contact with it. Give a few days to recover....
When you see new growth emerging on top wait until the leaves are praying like hands and then snip once at the wrists leaving a tiny fob. This will slow then down a bit but the lower nodes will grow taller; making multiple tops. Once they start to grow again start pinching in between all the nodes; just apply pressure until you feel the cells pop and the stems gets limp. Then do it again a week or two later. Bend and pinch the topmost growth to try and even the canopy.

PatientGuddanStownd · Aug 21, 2020

I like to top above the 5th node. Others do it different.

I would transplant to the final size container now. Those babies look good!

I go straight from peat cup (when roots are growing out bottom) to my 5 gallon flower pot. Never had an issue doing that. It will also expose plants to less stress not having multiple transplants.

I don't do any training until the plant is 14-16", that's also when I have to start flower. At that point my tops spread easily through the scrog

perc30 · Aug 21, 2020

Richard Drysift said:
I would wait a week or so to go to your 2 gal pots and then FIM them to start training. Sprinkle a pinch of great white right into the hole when you transplant them; place the root ball in direct contact with it. Give a few days to recover....
When you see new growth emerging on top wait until the leaves are praying like hands and then snip once at the wrists leaving a tiny fob. This will slow then down a bit but the lower nodes will grow taller; making multiple tops. Once they start to grow again start pinching in between all the nodes; just apply pressure until you feel the cells pop and the stems gets limp. Then do it again a week or two later. Bend and pinch the topmost growth to try and even the canopy.

this is great, thanks! that about lines up with the timeline i expected

perc30 · Aug 21, 2020

PatientGuddanStownd said:
I like to top above the 5th node. Others do it different.

I would transplant to the final size container now. Those babies look good!

I go straight from peat cup (when roots are growing out bottom) to my 5 gallon flower pot. Never had an issue doing that. It will also expose plants to less stress not having multiple transplants.

I don't do any training until the plant is 14-16", that's also when I have to start flower. At that point my tops spread easily through the scrog

i'm definitely concerned about the stress associated with doing more than one transplant. on the other hand, im anticipating that going to the 2-gallon and then to the 5 gallon will help me manage proper watering volume and not over/under watering... still undecided, need to give this more thought.

Richard Drysift · Aug 21, 2020

Don’t worry so much about transplant stress; mycorrhizae will help a lot with this. Go with your largest size container about a week or so before you flip to bloom phase.

perc30 · Aug 26, 2020

I topped both plants and successfully transplanted them to 2-gallon pots!

when should i start doing LST and set up scrog net? none of these branches seem like they are long enough to tie down but even if they are, which ones would i specifically tie down?

i was thinking of starting nutrients as well but with the soil being all new and its happy frog, i also might not have to rush and i'm not seeing any signs from the plants (except the one on the left has a slightly yellow tint on some of the leaves...)

Horselover fat · Aug 26, 2020

Me, I would have put a string around it somewhere where the lower blue loop is and pull it left a bit. Then use another string higher up to bend the plant over to the right and skip topping. I can see eight auxilliary shoots already.

Driver733 · Aug 26, 2020

I use 3 different pots before I get to the final 3 gallon pot.

I weigh each pot to be sure I don't water too soon or too often:

I start LST on the 3rd pot, about 2-3 weeks before the 3 gallon pot:

They might only spend a week to 10 days in the first two pots, the third pot will be a few weeks and then into the 3 gallon fabric pots.

Driver733 · Aug 26, 2020

perc30 said:
i'm definitely concerned about the stress associated with doing more than one transplant. on the other hand, im anticipating that going to the 2-gallon and then to the 5 gallon will help me manage proper watering volume and not over/under watering... still undecided, need to give this more thought.

Do not worry about transplanting stress; done right, the plant will thrive in the new, correctly sized pot. Worry more about not transplanting enough, or not at all.

Horselover fat · Aug 26, 2020

Driver733 said:
Do not worry about transplanting stress; done right, the plant will thrive in the new, correctly sized pot. Worry more about not transplanting enough, or not at all.

Exactly. The plant will not be unhappy having more space for roots and more nutrient rich soil.

Driver733 · Aug 26, 2020

perc30 said:
I topped both plants and successfully transplanted them to 2-gallon pots!

when should i start doing LST and set up scrog net? none of these branches seem like they are long enough to tie down but even if they are, which ones would i specifically tie down?

i was thinking of starting nutrients as well but with the soil being all new and its happy frog, i also might not have to rush and i'm not seeing any signs from the plants (except the one on the left has a slightly yellow tint on some of the leaves...)

The more you tie down and stress the plant, the more they will respond - with more growth and more nodes. Tie them down like Russian whores, they will get right back up, and tie them down, top and/or FIM them again and again.

Micheal Sandford · Aug 26, 2020

Make sure to improve soil, and lighting place will be appreciated.. that helps them to grow with quality.

Driver733 · Aug 26, 2020

Here is an update on my LST - I started training in this first pic on 8/10:

Now, here we are 10 days later:

The same ladies at home in the tent:

Some close ups:

So as you can see, the growth has been pretty strong over the last ten days, and I keep tying them down over and over again. Every few days, I will adjust the pipe cleaners so I don't pinch the plants and allow them to grow out (but not up - yet).

Once I transplant into 3 gallon fabric pots, maybe another 10 days or so, then I will have the main stems growing sideways and allow the colas to start growing vertically. The more I top and FIM, the more they seem to grow.

perc30 · Aug 30, 2020

I topped both initially and then started tying the main stem down (adjusting more each day). They seem to be responding pretty well! Started veg nutrients at 25% doses. This is what they look like after a few days of introducing LST

When Should I Start LST?

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