When should I top this plant?

SamsonsRiddle said:

it's not cutting off branches, but rather the small popcorn size buds that grow from all the tips below the top 1/3rd of a branch. they will only grow big enough to be cut and thrown in the bag with all the trimmings in it, especially in a scrog. if they don't make it to the net by day 12 after flip, go ahead and pinch em off. I try to have all my trimming done by two weeks after flip, but i've heard of people taking longer.

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Oh so your just taking off the buds and leaving the leaves and branches for like extra photosynthesis?

Like @SamsonsRiddle mentioned, anything that doesnt make it to the screen after 2nd week of flower gets lobbed off. I as well dont take much of anything off the plant past 2 wks of flower. Not sure if this is how extreme he does his, but I take mine down bald to the stems. No scrub buds or leaves or anything but stalks feeding tops. I top when the plant hits 4th node, and I cut it at the 3rd. I then top again after the next set of nodes have come in to the second set, I top again. I wind up with 30 or so tops from a plant that would have given me far less tops untouched. All the tops get ALL the energy.
This was from a grow when I was a bit more ambitious about my final weights. Im not too stressed these days about final weights since I'm not a caregiver.

The majority of this picture was the tops of 2 plants.

Bulletproof_Love said:

I was thinking of that too for the next time around. What size was the screen? I've got a 2x2x4 tent.

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I personally in that tent would use an 18 by 18 screen and put two small plants under it in 3 gallon pots

Strocat said:

I personally in that tent would use an 18 by 18 screen and put two small plants under it in 3 gallon pots

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I have a 16x22 with 2.5" reach through holes. I'm growing white widow in a 3 gallon smart pot. You think that's enough for 2 plants under the 3 bulb T5 have now?

I have a similar situation here with a Burmese Kush plant. I waited until the plant had been in dirt 5-6 weeks then topped her so that the top cola was now a beautiful 6-8 inch clone. You gotta wait until the donor mom is more than 5 weeks in dirt before her clones root better. Three weeks after taking the top it is an 18 inch basketball in my veg room. Moral -- topping really is better if you want clones or to make the plant bushier.

Good luck, BigSteve.