Cutting the top off plants...

[Pakman]

I have searched and searched, but cannot find an answer to my question.

It's sort of a two part question,

When topping, how many nodes down can I go?

And, if I were to consider 'main lining' or what ever you prefer to call it, do I need to start with a small plant, or can I remove several nodes to start the process?

Hopefully this makes sense and somebody has an answer for me.

 

[Jaqen H'gar]

you can take off as much as you want as long as your leave some nodes with growth new growth will emerge from them.

I tend to top mine multiple times to create small "bushes".

Obviously if you take too much the plant will take forever to recover.

 

[Pakman]

So just to clarify,

Lets say one plant has 10 nodes, which in my cab is to tall considering flowering stretch, I can cut the plant down to say the 3rd node from the bottom, leaving sufficient leaves for recovery and start mainlining from there? I understand the more I take the longer the recovery, but in this turn thats not a major issue to me as it is my first run.

Assuming this is correct, I may try it one or two plants first, rather than doing them all and loosing everything.

 

[Dr.Suess]

So just to clarify,

Lets say one plant has 10 nodes, which in my cab is to tall considering flowering stretch, I can cut the plant down to say the 3rd node from the bottom, leaving sufficient leaves for recovery and start mainlining from there? I understand the more I take the longer the recovery, but in this turn thats not a major issue to me as it is my first run.

Assuming this is correct, I may try it one or two plants first, rather than doing them all and loosing everything.

Essentially yes providing that your plant is nice & healthy to start with before topping

 

[Pakman]

Ok this is great news, everything I found through google etc only ever showed or specified removing the very top.

Yeah the plants are doing great, I'll be sure to pay extra attention to them after the cutting.

One side question, where in the feeding cycle would this be done or is it not important?

I've found feeding full strength every two days works best.

 

[pop_rocks]

dosent matter as long as its still in veg
i try to avoid topping during flower, just because it could diminish yield
another way of controlling height would be lst, bending that sucker over
now you will have a row of buds exposed to the light, plus you can do this during flower

added:
if you are planning on rooting the severed top i would do it at the end of your feed cycle
if you are just composting the cut top, dosent matter

 

[coconutcurry]

...I've found feeding full strength every two days works best.

Feeding full strength every two days will probably kill your plants soon. Inform about overfertilisation, a typical mistake many beginners do, like overwatering.

 

[ChasingGreen]

If you are topping a plant that extreme (10 node plant down to node 3), you should also cut off some of the root ball, it will help immesnly with the recovery. I just did this exact thing, to make a mother out of my veg plants. One I cut down to node 3 and it wasn't doing great even with nutrient feedings, yellow, etc. I cut the root ball down 50% and put in fresh soil, looks fan-fucking-tastic now.

 

[Unagi]

Have you looked into supercropping? You can manage the plants height without removing any part of it and it will promote more bushy growth. Ive done it a million times along with topping aswell, i prefer supercropping to control height. Topping imo works best for manipulating how you want the plant to look and how many top shoots you want.

Supercropping is the term, hope this helps!

 

[Pakman]

Down to the 3rd node is just an example, but I am interested to hear the suggestion of trimming the root ball. I will definetly keep that in mind.

As far as nutrients the plants have shown me that full strength every two days is what they want, or atleast close enough. I am growing in coco coir, so no plain water unless she asks for it.

I have read into super cropping, lst etc. Based on my cab dimensions I firmly believe mainlining will be my best option right now.

Thanks for all the info guys, will let you know how it goes.

 

[Sativan]

Why aren't you doing L.S.T.? It won't damage the plant or retard the growth. Topping as you are planning will slow the growth considerably.

 

[Dr.Suess]

Why aren't you doing L.S.T.? It won't damage the plant or retard the growth. Topping as you are planning will slow the growth considerably.

I think he wants to try mainlining, he has mentioned it many times and topping from the 10th node to 3rd node is the kind of thing you do..

 

[Pakman]

The plants grew pretty rapidly, to the point of insufficent room to flower. Research found mainlining, but I came here to find wether I could cut it right back to do so, or if it had to be done early as all the information stated.

I have more vertical space than horizontal space, so simply bending the 18+ inch plants over wouldn't work due to horizontal space limitations. Please don't take this as an attack, I just didn't really provide many details to start with so L.S.T. if they were a bit smaller would have worked out.

Side note: they actually have thrived from the topping and are doing great, if not better than before.

 

[Unagi]

So long as the nodes you are trying to make into new tops are located at the same hub it will work it self out and you will have to lst to keep them even. If the nodes are at diffrent hubs you will want to supercrop the tallest branch so that the smaller one can grow into the same height and thickness, keep managing it so that they stay even.

This will work for you if you keep at it, i can tell you from personal experience that if it fails it's only because we got lazy and didnt keep managing the plant to stay even. What will happen if you stop managing them is that the plant will choose a new alpha branch and that one will get the most attention from the plant it self, slowly going back to the natural shape again!



Got any pic's buddy?

 

[chronosync]

If you are topping a plant that extreme (10 node plant down to node 3), you should also cut off some of the root ball, it will help immesnly with the recovery. I just did this exact thing, to make a mother out of my veg plants. One I cut down to node 3 and it wasn't doing great even with nutrient feedings, yellow, etc. I cut the root ball down 50% and put in fresh soil, looks fan-fucking-tastic now.

This.

Or if in coco, cut the ec and give it some shade

 

[Betterhaff]

Why would you want to cut the root ball? As long as there is growth showing at the nodes to be left the additional roots should be of benefit. You may want to adjust your watering schedule as to not overwater. Roots are golden, that is part of the reasoning for mainlining and topping…growing the root ball as well as increasing the number of prime flower heads.

 

[cannaisok]

yeah the person that said to roottrim was reveging a plant its something completely different than mainlaining/cutting/LST in veg. in veg u NEVER touch ur root, even when i transplant i take care not to brake a single root. more healthy roots:bigger yield
if u return a finished plant from 1212 to 18/6 u cut old roots away so that new fresh roots can grow that are more efficient than old long roots.
If u feed mineral fertilizer every watering u will harvest disgusting poison, but u know it better because ur plants talk to you already in ur first grow as you say.. u will have dark green leaves in best case and burned plants in worst case. taste will be shit no matter what u do, and propably headache if u smoke 4 joints in 2hours

 

[ChasingGreen]

Why would you want to cut the root ball? As long as there is growth showing at the nodes to be left the additional roots should be of benefit. You may want to adjust your watering schedule as to not overwater. Roots are golden, that is part of the reasoning for mainlining and topping…growing the root ball as well as increasing the number of prime flower heads.

Only because he was saying that he was taking a plant that was at node 10 and bringing it to node 3. In that case, the roots have prob already encased the container and if you just top, you won't get good growth back from those same roots.

 

[Betterhaff]

Pot up if root bound. And you don’t have to go big. For example, if in 18 oz Solo transplant to a 1 L. It really depends on the goals. If you are trying to limit size you can keep the pot size small but your yield will be affected and you will have to water/feed more often. Some varieties respond differently to being root bound though. Pretty much the only time I trim roots is when transplanting bonsai mothers/fathers, here the goal is to keep the plants small and somewhat retard growth. Transplanting and root trimming with a reveg is an additional stress. It may be necessary if it’s from a large plant but if possible I’d rather leave it be until I see new growth and the plant starting to revert.