When to top?

Well my plants are a little over 3 weeks i think, and they have their first set of 7 leaves, they are only about 4-5 inches tall, and my question is, when should i top them?

I top my plants in the first 2 weeks after you start the flowering cycle.

You can top anytime after you have a few nodes, and you can chop just a little, or quite a bit.. There are different schools of thought.. Uncle Ben's thread on the topic is stickied for a reason..

I agree born2kill, Neo you can top as soon as 2-3 nodes are there.

theres alot of things that come into factor... how much space do u have???? is it an indica or sativa... the smaller u top it the less nodes you will have and less of a yeild .. .if i were you i would wait tell i have atleast 5-6 nodes....but it really depends on your height limit...hope that helps

Doalude said:

I top my plants in the first 2 weeks after you start the flowering cycle.

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Jeez, how does that work for you? personally i would never top any later than a couple of weeks before flower.
In my experience you really want healthy established growing tips or it slows down flowering significantly. But hey, obviously different things work for different people.

I find that its best to top as soon as your plants are established enough to live through it, giving them more veg time after the top\fim will really establish your plant well as a two (or three, or 9) stalked tree. Also with an earlier top you're promoting more bushy growth and less leggy growth.
Everyone has their own strategy and while some are better than others, its up to you to find whats best for you.

Arjan's ultra haze #1, topped a week after going into soil from the cloner.

In any event, good luck, and aim high!!!

i usually top when i transplant because the plant will be in shock anyway

poke smot420 said:

i usually top when i transplant because the plant will be in shock anyway

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Aren't you then stressing it at both ends at the same time?

spiked1 said:

Aren't you then stressing it at both ends at the same time?

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Yeah, i would think you'd want to spread out the torture, less you turn your lady queer.

Uncle Ben's thread is stickied for a reason..

theres alot of things that come into factor... how much space do u have???? is it an indica or sativa... the smaller u top it the less nodes you will have and less of a yeild .. .if i were you i would wait tell i have atleast 5-6 nodes....but it really depends on your height limit...hope that helps

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No arguments at all that you need to go with a method that works for you in your space..
Regarding the yield, that isn't 'necesarily' true.. The number of tops will determine how spread out your final yield will be, but productivity is all about the roots.. Get good roots before flipping and you'll get a better yield regardless of topping.. And obtaining that is a major reason why its probably best to wait for those higher nodes like you advised before chopping way down to node 2 and switching to 12/12 a few days later..

Aren't you then stressing it at both ends at the same time?

Yeah, i would think you'd want to spread out the torture, less you turn your lady queer.

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Here is a funny fact, topping does not torture the plant! The vertical slowdown is just due to auxin redeployment.. The plant actually remains quite healthy/happy through the process..

born2killspam said:

Uncle Ben's thread is stickied for a reason..
No arguments at all that you need to go with a method that works for you in your space..
Regarding the yield, that isn't 'necesarily' true.. The number of tops will determine how spread out your final yield will be, but productivity is all about the roots.. Get good roots before flipping and you'll get a better yield regardless of topping.. And obtaining that is a major reason why its probably best to wait for those higher nodes like you advised before chopping way down to node 2 and switching to 12/12 a few days later..Here is a funny fact, topping does not torture the plant! The vertical slowdown is just due to auxin redeployment.. The plant actually remains quite healthy/happy through the process..

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Well. I don't know the exact science of it. All I know is it works somehow. The plant is in shock from transplant anyway so when topped it will grow back as soon as it comes out of shock. No hermies no problems at all. ever

Yea, transplant can be an actual shock/stressor to the plant, but that can be minimized by assuring that there is no major soil difference between the new and the old.. Plants resist minor physical damage much better than envoronmental shifts like that..