Oh yes, a newbie topping question...WITH DIAGRAM!!!!!111!!!ONE!!!

CarlinistFellow

Active Member
Yeah, that looks good Carlin, nice work.
I can't believe the first response wasn't "NOOOOOOOOO! DOOD YOU'RE FUCKING IT UP! DONT CUT IT THERE! THAT'S THE NODE OF INSTANT HOT DEATH! Tape it, for the love of fuck, TAAAAAAAAAAPE IT!". Lol. :mrgreen:

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, if the OGK looks good tomorrow the White Widow and Blue Cheese are getting it next.
 

prosperian

Well-Known Member
End of the day, they're just plants. Peeps tend to get a little fanatical with cannabis around here.

I guess I'm included in that group as much as I hate to admit that. Rep +
 

CarlinistFellow

Active Member
Edit: here's a pic of it
View attachment 2779330View attachment 2779336View attachment 2779338View attachment 2779339

Something that I think helped the fim, when I cut the tip top off, the side branches (that BC the tops) were reallllly small. Usually when you top, the part that is cut stops growing bit I cut mine really low, to where you couldn't really see what was goinng to grow. The two branches grew as tops, plus 4 grew out of the middle (the part that was actually cut)
Are you growing in a tub of Country Crock? Mother fuck that's badass. Bud tastes like butter I bet!
 

ThorGanjason

Well-Known Member
Haha, yeah I start them out in these little cups and then switch to those before going to the smart pots. As others stated your top job is fine, you're on your way to multiple colas :).

In the future tho, I'd try and cut that spot when the growth was a little smaller, like when those side branches (the two that will BC the tops) are barely growing out. How many nodes did you cut off the top, just one? Sometimes you can't help how big that spot is, or the growth around it (depending on how fast the plant is growing), but I've had the best luck getting multiple tops by cutting it when its still really small up there.

I've deleted a bunch of my pics but I'm pretty sure I can pull one up of what that plant looked like when it was first cut
 

CarlinistFellow

Active Member
12 hours later and the OGK is looking good. No pics for you! though, because my camera battery is dead.I went ahead and sliced the White Widow and the Blue Cheese as well. Unfortunately my Purple Haze and HGK are runts, so I don't get to take my mad blade skillZ (boi!) out on them. Yet. :fire:
 

prosperian

Well-Known Member
I was surprised at how fast they recover too. It's like they don't miss a step, but you do lose all that growth on top with the cut. I've seen growers take the topped portion and clone it with success. Good way to double your crop.

Just make sure the plant's root ball has developed before using this topping technique (seven nodes at least before cutting).

BTW, anything topped above the third node will produce branches not main stems. More branches can improve production by providing better light penetration for indoor grows similar to LST-ing. It flattens out the plant and creates multiple bud sites, but these will be much smaller than the main stem buds.

I like UB's method because it actually creates the main stems that have all the fat buds. Mainling is another technique that can create the multiple main stems and I will be using ML-ing on my next grow to compare results.
 

roseypeach

Well-Known Member
I was always scared to top that early cause some folks told me to wait till the fourth or fifth. I like the idea of 4 tops! thanks for sharing Prosperian...YOU the man!!!!;)
 

prosperian

Well-Known Member
I was always scared to top that early cause some folks told me to wait till the fourth or fifth. I like the idea of 4 tops! thanks for sharing Prosperian...YOU the man!!!!;)
Sure, no prob. I have over a dozen main stems in my 2x3 closet. Topping the mains helps me max my harvest in a small stealth grow area. Fogo asked if I clone my cuts, I do not have the room, but yes the cuts can be used as clones.

28 days from 12/12 flip. Blue OG, White Lavender, Sour Kush, and Bag Seed...
 

MRD2001

New Member
I have always topped my plants but this year I decided not to top them. Now a couple weeks into my grow I'm thinking that I screwed up. Do you think it is to late to top them now?
mama mia.jpg
 

CarlinistFellow

Active Member
I have always topped my plants but this year I decided not to top them. Now a couple weeks into my grow I'm thinking that I screwed up. Do you think it is to late to top them now?
View attachment 2784481
Oh man, you're asking the wrong dude, I'm only 20 days into this crazy train ride. i will say, the method I used cuts them real close to the bottom, I think you'd be giving up a ton of growth for little return doing that. I have no clue how cutting closer to the top of the plant affects its structure. Sorry bro.
 

hbbum

Well-Known Member
I have always topped my plants but this year I decided not to top them. Now a couple weeks into my grow I'm thinking that I screwed up. Do you think it is to late to top them now?
View attachment 2784481
Why don't you just bend those bitches over and LST them? Maybe even a very low supercrop? Would be a better use of the growth you have now, just use weights to gradually bend it over.
 

prosperian

Well-Known Member
I have always topped my plants but this year I decided not to top them. Now a couple weeks into my grow I'm thinking that I screwed up. Do you think it is to late to top them now?
I agree with hb. You would lose a lot of time this late in the game. I would also recommend LST-ing. Do it gradually over a couple days and the plant will respond quickly and you will still maintain all the growth. Or you can just let them grow naturally and try the technique next time. Nothing wrong with leaving the plants alone. They are still capable of producing ounces of dried bud!

These were not touched on my past indoor grow...
 

CarlinistFellow

Active Member
here is the OGK18 five days after topping, and the Blue Cheese and White Widow 4 days after. The OGK is taking off, and the other two are bushing out, though responding a bit slow than the OGK did. all the girls got transplanted yesterday and are loving life in their 3 gallon pots. Check out the full grow in my sig if interested. (The plants are a much darker green than the pics show, I just can't get my DSLR to play nice with the MH)

White Widow
View attachment 2785979

OGK18
View attachment 2785978

Blue Cheese
View attachment 2785977
 

MRD2001

New Member
I just couldn't stand it anymore, I topped them last night at their 5 node leaving about 10". We still have some pretty intense sun in FL so I'm hoping that I didn't screw up to badly. Time will tell. I try to keep them manageable because I have to move them one day a week when my lawn dude come to mow the lawn. He know that I have grown for the last few years but I still try to keep it on the down low.
 
Top