Where should I top my plant? At which node?

Questions marked with "***".

Hello, I have two plants, one is one month older than the other. The first I planted April 20th, and the second May 20th.

The first plant I topped above the 4th node, and it is already just over 3 feet high (very bushy too I might add)!! ****First of all, will topping above the 4th node even produce main colas, or just a giant bushy plant?

I did not follow Uncle Ben's advice of cutting above the 2nd true node for 4 main colas. I was thinking of following this for my second plant. My second plant already has about 6 nodes, approximately just over 1 foot tall.

My plants have 2 months more veg before flowering. ****If my first plant is already just over 3 feet tall when topping above the 4th node, would cutting above the 2nd true node cause the second one to grow even taller since there would be less tops??

****And now the big question, above which true node should I top at? I have neighbors so they cannot be too tall, but I would also enjoy a nice yield, hopefully with main colas.

**Also, if I am to cut above the 2nd true node, well, my first true node fan leaves are dead. Should i cut above the 3rd node? How should I handle this?


Thank you so much for all advice,
Grow Info.

what region are you located? i cant imagine that you would still be in veg in the beginning of September... let alone halfway through

Yeah, if the first fan leaves are dead, I usually cut above the 3rd node...just to keep some healthy leaves on the plant. Although there's a chance you could get six (smaller) colas topping here, but often I get two main stalks topping it above the 3rd node. Depends on the particular plant, conditions, etc, imo.

i normally top as soon as possabile , just make shure there is growth on your plant

its pretty late so i would recommend LST ing instead look it up its pretty neat

xebeche said:

Yeah, if the first fan leaves are dead, I usually cut above the 3rd node...just to keep some healthy leaves on the plant. Although there's a chance you could get six (smaller) colas topping here, but often I get two main stalks topping it above the 3rd node. Depends on the particular plant, conditions, etc, imo.

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Thank you, this is exactly the advice I've been looking for, for months!

BUT, I just went outside to check on my first plant (a month older), and it's already entering FLOWERING, 2 months early when comparing to the online daylight calender. I can see the gorgeous white hairs!!! I'm so happy. Should I still top my second plant in the case that it might begin flowering as well? If so, what node should I top at since I would like maximum yield, especially if it will flower soon? I'm in California by the way.

Thanks,
Grow Info.

ukjw said:

what region are you located? i cant imagine that you would still be in veg in the beginning of September... let alone halfway through

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I'm in California, that's what the daylight calendar said, but... I just checked my first plant and I see the beautiful white hairs starting!!! It's entering flowering!! 2 months before the daylight calendar. This is only on the first plant that has begun the flowering stage, do you think I should still top in case the second plant may begin the flowering stage soon as well? If so, at which node, as I still want a maximum yield if chopping off half the plant right before flowering is bad? What is your advice? Keep in mind the dead first node leaves.

Grow Info said:

Thank you, this is exactly the advice I've been looking for, for months!

BUT, I just went outside to check on my first plant (a month older), and it's already entering FLOWERING, 2 months early when comparing to the online daylight calender. I can see the gorgeous white hairs!!! I'm so happy. Should I still top my second plant in the case that it might begin flowering as well? If so, what node should I top at since I would like maximum yield, especially if it will flower soon? I'm in California by the way.

Thanks,
Grow Info.

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the 2nd plant will likely flower soon also man... they often start to flower way way before actual 12/12 when outdoors... they flower often at14 hours or you might make it to 13....12/12 is sorta just used for indoors.... naturally they dont just know the day they get exactly 12 hours of light

ukjw said:

the 2nd plant will likely flower soon also man... they often start to flower way way before actual 12/12 when outdoors... they flower often at14 hours or you might make it to 13....12/12 is sorta just used for indoors.... naturally they dont just know the day they get exactly 12 hours of light

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Thanks much! So would you advise not topping at all then? Especially since topping will take a week or so to recover? I might consider LST, but this is my first grow so i'm trying not to get involved with anything too tricky or advanced, but I also don't have alot of height to grow because I have neighbors.

Thank you for your advice,
Grow Info

The plant starts to flower when days get shorter, which starts on the summer solstice (June 21).

Edit: Damn, I bumped the shit outta this thread.

Grow Info said:

Thanks much! So would you advise not topping at all then? Especially since topping will take a week or so to recover? I might consider LST, but this is my first grow so i'm trying not to get involved with anything too tricky or advanced, but I also don't have alot of height to grow because I have neighbors.

Thank you for your advice,
Grow Info

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Been a while since I checked this thread....don't know if you topped the second plant, but LST is actually pretty easy. I just use string tied to the stalk(s) and to a rock or something heavy at the other end. Just a slight bend at first (careful: it's easy to get carried away and bend her too far at first...thus breaking the stalk)...then you can increase the amount of bending incrementally over a few weeks until she's as low as you want her.

I find that estimating the ultimate height on a new strain isn't easy...especially outdoors. I'm on my first outdoor grow, and I've been surprised at how tall these things have gotten since putting 'em outside in mid-July. I only topped half of my plants in June/July, but I wish I had topped them all. In hindsight, I could have easily gotten away with it in July, but I was afraid it was too close to the initiation of flowering...turns out it wasn't. I did tie 'em all down a little, just to make 'em less obvious.

While it's true that the days start getting shorter around the last week of June, it seems that mj doesn't start flowering until early Aug (when the daylight hour are down below 13.5 or so). I'm in SoCal (around 33 deg longitude), and expected flowering to start around Aug 9. Sure enough, four of six strains were showing flowers when I visited on friday.

You can use this site to see the expected hours of daylight in your area: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php