ChroniSuierkush
Active Member
(LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A NECESSARY ACTION INVOLVED IN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING A GROW, rather A HELPFUL STRATEGY)
I have not come across many threads about topping/pruning so i will share my 2 cents.
I am a grower with 5 + years of intense experience. Botany is my passion. Through my short time growing i have come across all shapes and sizes of plants. (Indica, sativa, ruderalis).
i have had about 90% beneficial success rate involved with topping and pruning my plants. (Yield , plant size). The 10% which i was disappointed mainly was at fault of the genetics. Meaning... My babies were just to stretchy for my seemingly small indoor grow space.
So lets get started...
first let it be known that i always start my girls off as clones (from my mothers). Ive wasted time before growing male/hermaphrodite seeds and i wont do it again. Reason i mention this is because seedlings and clones should be topped for their 1st time at different stages of growth.
When my cuts have developed a nice root mass, i transplant them into their 3 gallon pots, which they remain in until the end of the grow. I then water with fresh water + 1 ML of rooting solution. (I want the roots to be developing great before i top/prune.)
given that my clones are already 3-5 inch tall when planted, i wait til they reach about 6-8 inches before their 1st top. The ideal topping spot is right below your newest leaf formation, yet above your 1st node. Its basically just clipping off the newest leaf growth. You want to leave the node because your two (or more) tops will develop from there. Note that topping your plants does slow growth (very short-term slow growth).
After about a week or so after that first top, you should have two top branches that are reaching for the light, and some of the lower branches should have had extreme upward growth as well. As soon as those new tops get a decent amount apart from each other, maybe four-six inches (spacing for the future), they should be topped again. Your plants will have the same growth as described for YOUR first top, only they would have two tops to clip now. So clip off the newest growth on both tops, still making sure to leave the 1st nodes. That is all the topping i do. After that i usually start giving the girls a mild veg feeding, and give them about 3-4 more weeks of veg.
BY the time you flower, if grown correctly, you should have at least 4 tops that are about even height, and a lot of the lower growth that would usually be light-fucked should have shot upwards, and be peaking out into your canopy. (Take note that the plants still stretch in flowering). With that being said.. I usually wait about 7-14 days after i flower to prune the low growth on my plants. IF you are an indoor grower like myself with typical air-cooled HPS light, then you know all about the bottoms of the plants and how they receive little-no light. I have found that topping and pruning correctly develops a much nicer canopy of tops that do much better indoors, rather than a typical taller plant with 1 large cola
i usually do an eye test to see where exactly would be the best point to clip everything off the bottom. When lights are on... Any leaf, node, that is receiving little or no light should be CLEANLY cut off, and discarded. A good rule of thumb is to cut off anything from about 6-10 inches from the top of your soil. It is beneficial to cut that low growth off because the energy it WOULD'VE used would be transferred up to your tops and other nodes. Also after you've pruned the bottom it allows for more adequate airflow and mAkes it more open and easier to water. (Water wand).
OVERALL i believe the methods i have described here are beneficial and relatively easy to master. I hope this helps anybody struggling with space issues, low ceilings, light burnt colas, low yields.
LEAVE YOUR FEEDBACK
I have not come across many threads about topping/pruning so i will share my 2 cents.
I am a grower with 5 + years of intense experience. Botany is my passion. Through my short time growing i have come across all shapes and sizes of plants. (Indica, sativa, ruderalis).
i have had about 90% beneficial success rate involved with topping and pruning my plants. (Yield , plant size). The 10% which i was disappointed mainly was at fault of the genetics. Meaning... My babies were just to stretchy for my seemingly small indoor grow space.
So lets get started...
first let it be known that i always start my girls off as clones (from my mothers). Ive wasted time before growing male/hermaphrodite seeds and i wont do it again. Reason i mention this is because seedlings and clones should be topped for their 1st time at different stages of growth.
When my cuts have developed a nice root mass, i transplant them into their 3 gallon pots, which they remain in until the end of the grow. I then water with fresh water + 1 ML of rooting solution. (I want the roots to be developing great before i top/prune.)
given that my clones are already 3-5 inch tall when planted, i wait til they reach about 6-8 inches before their 1st top. The ideal topping spot is right below your newest leaf formation, yet above your 1st node. Its basically just clipping off the newest leaf growth. You want to leave the node because your two (or more) tops will develop from there. Note that topping your plants does slow growth (very short-term slow growth).
After about a week or so after that first top, you should have two top branches that are reaching for the light, and some of the lower branches should have had extreme upward growth as well. As soon as those new tops get a decent amount apart from each other, maybe four-six inches (spacing for the future), they should be topped again. Your plants will have the same growth as described for YOUR first top, only they would have two tops to clip now. So clip off the newest growth on both tops, still making sure to leave the 1st nodes. That is all the topping i do. After that i usually start giving the girls a mild veg feeding, and give them about 3-4 more weeks of veg.
BY the time you flower, if grown correctly, you should have at least 4 tops that are about even height, and a lot of the lower growth that would usually be light-fucked should have shot upwards, and be peaking out into your canopy. (Take note that the plants still stretch in flowering). With that being said.. I usually wait about 7-14 days after i flower to prune the low growth on my plants. IF you are an indoor grower like myself with typical air-cooled HPS light, then you know all about the bottoms of the plants and how they receive little-no light. I have found that topping and pruning correctly develops a much nicer canopy of tops that do much better indoors, rather than a typical taller plant with 1 large cola
i usually do an eye test to see where exactly would be the best point to clip everything off the bottom. When lights are on... Any leaf, node, that is receiving little or no light should be CLEANLY cut off, and discarded. A good rule of thumb is to cut off anything from about 6-10 inches from the top of your soil. It is beneficial to cut that low growth off because the energy it WOULD'VE used would be transferred up to your tops and other nodes. Also after you've pruned the bottom it allows for more adequate airflow and mAkes it more open and easier to water. (Water wand).
OVERALL i believe the methods i have described here are beneficial and relatively easy to master. I hope this helps anybody struggling with space issues, low ceilings, light burnt colas, low yields.
LEAVE YOUR FEEDBACK
