Will Flowering at 4 Feet Tall be a Problem?

[RedRavenRuler]

So as you can guess I'm new to this whole growing thing... anyways my grow space is incredibly short and the tallest my plants will be able to get without being burnt from the light is around 4 feet tall... I'm curious if this will effect the amount of bud the plant will produce? I'm only growing 2 plants this go as it's my first attempt and they just some bag seeds from some high mids I got awhile back and saved.

I've read up about topping, low stress training, and super cropping but is there any other methods I should look into to grow a more bushy plant rather than a tall plant? Also about the Topping there seems to be a LOT of contradicting opinions on the subject... some people say don't start doing it till at least 1 foot tall, others say sooner is better... some people say only do it a few times other say do it as much as you want... so I'm looking to see what you've personally tried and what's worked for you all.

So my main 2 questions are 1) will flowering at 4 feet effect how much bud the plant is able to produce ... and 2) what is the most tired and true method of topping?

Any suggestions for making them BUSHY and not tall skinny things is much appreciated

 

[racerboy71]

if you flower them when they get to be 4 feet tall, they are going to be like 8/ 12 feet tall when they get done flowering as plants will double or possibly triple in size from the time you put them into flowering.. so if you start them in flower at 4 feet, they are going to be some monsters when flowering is done..
as for topping, check out uncle bens topping technique for two or four main colas on here, it's a great thread with lots of knowledge and should answer all of your questions pretty much..

 

[colonuggs]

get a strain thats genitically short...that wont stretch much in flower......Indica

or

grow to 2 ft and then cut your lights (12/12) youll end up around 3 - 5 ft tall...depending on bag seed strain

 

[RedRavenRuler]

Thanks for the speedy reply both of you! I'm super new around here and this is the SINGLE forum I'm a member of that doesn't SLAM new members... speaks mad levels about he community aspect of our culture! I'm a member of many music production forums, some computer forums etc... and all of them treat noobs/newbs like the scum of the earth basically so MAD PROPS to this entire community.

WOW I didn't know they'd grow that much in flower! Thank goodness you BOTH said that or I'd be in a mess haha... I plan on buying some Northern Lights seeds from Nirvana eventually but to be perfectly honest my room is... ghetto... as all get out and I'm currently using an infrared heat lamp as 1 of 2 lights I'm using ... I should have a better light in about 5 weeks though and then I want to build a little aeroponics system...

As for Uncle Ben's topping technique I'll look into it for sure!

 

[gobskiii]

id stick to indicas, but i have always had luck with F.I.M'ing.less stress...more colas.

 

[Icculus]

If this is your first grow i would just try out topping if i were you to keep the plants shorter. I top my plants after the 4th node has grown so 3 remaining nodes are left on the plant. You can later if you want but i would no go any earlier.

After your plants recover and grow back a little bit they will have more main stalks. When these big enough to your liking (I would probably do like 4 or 5 nodes depending on the strength and size of leaves on the branch) you can top them again and end up with even more tops.

You can really do this as much as you want, its basiclly personal preference. I will post some pictures of my plant this year that i topped for you.
This was after first topping.It grew to this size then i topped again.

Then i topped again and it looked like this a couple weeks later

 

[RedRavenRuler]

Ok so top after a 4th node has grown, any sooner causes to much stress with to few leaves? Then top again when those new tops have 4-5 nodes on them, or 4-5 TOTAL nodes?

 

[Icculus]

If you top before it has 4 nodes it will be hard for the plant to generate new growth with such a little amound of leaves. And yes when the new tops have 4-5 i would top again. The reason i wait longer to top the new tops is because the first few sets of leaves are usually really small, so i let it strengthen up before topping them again.

 

[RedRavenRuler]

If you top before it has 4 nodes it will be hard for the plant to generate new growth with such a little amound of leaves. And yes when the new tops have 4-5 i would top again. The reason i wait longer to top the new tops is because the first few sets of leaves are usually really small, so i let it strengthen up before topping them again.

Thanks for the info man! Will certainly put into use.

 

[Icculus]

No problemo man thats what we are are here for

 

[Bigby]

If you pick Indica dominant strains, and only veg for 2/3 weeks then you're unlikely to end up with anything over 4ft. Last grow I tried my first sativa dom strain, super lemon haze - vegged for 3 weeks of 18/6 under 400w then flowered under 800w - they did stretch like crazy, but the tallest was 4ft 2in, and they are supposed to be 70% sativa. I did end up with a tall pheno of Vanilla Kush which was supposed to be mainly Indica, but she finished at 3ft 10in.

Pick your strain carefully, veg for about 3 weeks or untill you have alternating nodes or the plants are around 10inches, then flip to 12/12 and you'l be fine.

 

[Icculus]

If you pick Indica dominant strains, and only veg for 2/3 weeks then you're unlikely to end up with anything over 4ft. Last grow I tried my first sativa dom strain, super lemon haze - vegged for 3 weeks of 18/6 under 400w then flowered under 800w - they did stretch like crazy, but the tallest was 4ft 2in, and they are supposed to be 70% sativa. I did end up with a tall pheno of Vanilla Kush which was supposed to be mainly Indica, but she finished at 3ft 10in.

Pick your strain carefully, veg for about 3 weeks or untill you have alternating nodes or the plants are around 10inches, then flip to 12/12 and you'l be fine.

He said he was using bagseed read the thread first.

 

[RedRavenRuler]

He said he was using bagseed read the thread first.

Yeah for now just bag seed until I get a bit more equipment to properly care for my girls... no sense spending $30 on seeds when I don't even have a Ph meter yet ya know... anyways thanks for all the great help guys! Any rough estimates what such a short plant could bring in cured? I'm aiming for 1 ounce per plant so that I have enough to smoke until the next 2 plants are harvested etc... I only have 1 room so they will flower in the same room the veg in.

I was also doing some reading up on cloning during the flowering stage and from what I've read is that it can be done and actually gives the young plant more hormones to grow... my question is if I were to clone say in the last week and a half of flowering and kept the clones in the same 12/12 light cycle room and then eased them back into 24 hours of light would it work?