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A Complete Guide to Topping, Training and Pruning

Kozmo

Active member
Veteran
I read some where, when pinching your plants it was either better to do it before or after watering. I just can't remember which one.
 

Kodiak

Mad Scientist
Veteran
Hi guys,

Just dropped in to say hello :)

Yeah, you can use the techniques in any number of combinations, with great results.

To answer your question Kozmo; I don't think that it makes a difference and if it does, then your plant isn't very strong. What I'm trying to say is that you might as well stress test your plants in every possible way, because then you will find out if you have a strong or weak plant. Sure, some plants are decent producers under optimal conditions, but it's better to have plants that are EXTREME producers under poor conditions.. True Survivalist plants, that is.

I usually top and then LST but I might also pinch. LSTing has the benefit of freeing up more space for the final "layout", wheres super cropping has the benefit of leaving all the growth intact. Sometimes plants become overzealous when it comes to the distribution of energy. In other words, they might try to support too much growth. In these cases, you can either remove some of the growth or allow the plant to select the important areas itself. The plant will drain the energy from the unwanted areas and reloacte that energy to where it is needed. Leaves go yellow and fall off. When a whole branch has been cleared this way, you might as well remove it.

The bottom line is that plants have been taking care of themselves for millions of years, so they don't really need all that much help. Plants might not, however, favor flower production to the extent that we would like, which is where the training comes in. By narrowing down the distribution "options" for the plant, we direct more energy towards the formation of bud.

You can also opt not to train at all, just to see the results.

I would spend more time looking for strong individuals among a larger population of plants. A poor plant might never make it big, no matter how well you treat it, while a good plant might shine, even under the worst of circumstances.

I've said it before but around 50% of the plants are ok but nothing special, 25% are above average with some good traits, 15% are exceptional with many desirable traits, 7.5% are unqiue with mostly desirable and some unusal traits and the final 2.5% are what could be considered as "holy grails".

So, what you should be looking for is that last 2.5% of plants. In other words, if you grow 100 plants, you might find 2 plants that fit into that category. In reality, the "holy grails" might be even less frequent.

So, the goal is to find exceptional plants and then try to unleash the true and full potential of that plant.

K
 

Jack Ryan

New member
hello guys, i just decided to start training my plants but i had a doubt... some say to train just after watering, others just say not to do that after watering, so i grew confused XD
despite what the guide says, what's the truth? XD

Oh, and i'm sorry if you already answered the same question in this 3d but i'm in a little hurry to start LST and 47 pages to read are... heavy XD

Thanks alot :)
 

Hottish

Active member
hello guys, i just decided to start training my plants but i had a doubt... some say to train just after watering, others just say not to do that after watering, so i grew confused XD
despite what the guide says, what's the truth? XD

Oh, and i'm sorry if you already answered the same question in this 3d but i'm in a little hurry to start LST and 47 pages to read are... heavy XD

Thanks alot :)


Train plants while they are thirsty, softer stems less liable to snap,,,,,,,,,,,,
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al70

Well-known member
If yer really worried about snapping branches, take a piece of aluminium foil, the size of a rizla n wrap around the stem, try wrapping a cigarette with foil, u can touch the end of it with the filter without breaking the cigarette, works the same with plant stems and always after feeding/watering, the less stress the better, goodluck.
 

Hottish

Active member
Thanks a lot guys :D also I'll try out the method with the aluminium foil, looks interesting ;)

try both methods when in need of watering , the stems will be limp and when nice and plump

I also give thick stems a light squeeze with a plyers to slightly crush and then bend over

let us know which works best for you


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Jack Ryan

New member
I'll let you know as soon as the 3d node is rdy ;)
btw, do u think is better starting training when the third or fourth pair of leaves shows up?
 

Jack Ryan

New member
The Week after...

The Week after...

try both methods when in need of watering , the stems will be limp and when nice and plump

I also give thick stems a light squeeze with a plyers to slightly crush and then bend over

let us know which works best for you


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about this ad



Hey guys :D Eventually I ended up trying to LST simply when the plant was in need of water, it worked great, i'll upload some pics later on when I'll tie down the next node; atm I tied down 2 nodes and a pair of fan leaves to let the internodes catch more sunlight ^^ tho the plant's new leaves seem to have some sort of... contortion and don't look healty green; had some ph problems last year but it didn't look much like this
 

Well

Member
Hi there.

I have a little Q about monster cropping, i have a monster cropped plant that has been in veg for about 5weeks and are soon to be placed in my growtent 90*90cm (35.4*35.4inch).
I run a 600W light in cooltube, now to my Q
Will this 1 plant take up all my space? Or can i run 2 monster cropped plants whit the space i have?
The picture is about 2 weeks old now, and she is in a ~8 gallon pot.

all the best

1401388310reh.jpg
 

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