Is there a such thing as topping too much?

[Bgreenheadband]

I was wondering if there was a point where topping could hurt a plant.
For a variety of reasons, my next room will be split with plants that have had an almost 3 month veg time, with some that will have only had about 6-8 weeks.

To clarify I have some which are about 1-1/2 feet, and will switch them to 12/12 the same day as a batch I just put in the clone machine this week.

The day I am going to put them on to 12/12 is about 6 1/2- 7 weeks away.


Can I just cut the 1 foot plants almost in half? And trim all surrounding shoots, to give the others a chance to root and get started? I'd like them to bush out a but anyway....

Is there anything else I could do to stunt their growth without harming them too much? Could I just give them a very small amount of light?


I am growing hydro on tables...with hydroton as my medium.
Strains are: the white, chem d, cheese, and jacks cleaner

If there is no safe way to do this, I always have the option of just having 15-20% of my room being monsters compared to the rest...


Thanks for any answers or ideas

 

[HempAlchemist]

topping, while it does increase node sites, it also slows growth down. cutting 50% or more of a plant can really shock it and cause a lot of stress ie slow stunted growth, extended flower time, hermi expression, or death. not that this will always happen, but it can. i would suggest using LST or doing a modular ScrOG to help create an even canopy for your plants. i would strongly suggest not flowering all of the plants if you cant create an even canopy because your smaller plants will start to strech, increasing the node spacing, which will cause a lower yeild. this is all depending on your amount of light vs the amount of space you have to work with. best way to know if your smaller plants wll have enough light is to get a lightmeter and take readings with everything in your flower room. these tools are really cheap, are worth having, and can be bought at most grow shops, camera shops or online for about 10-20$

 

[sci-fi]

I do it all the time with my moms. I would not do 1/2 though. Cut 1/3 at the most, keep them under low intensity light, and light nutes. Once they start looking healthy again you can come bank and cut them a second time. When i cut my plants back i try to cut just above and internode where there are new shoots. you may get the urge to cut some random large leaves left with the small new shoot that looks funny but don't. Wait tell the plants starts looking healty again. Go check the bonsai moms in the soil section. You will be shocked what those guys do to there plants.

 

[InNvBoarder]

The White huh? I didnt think too many folks out there had her. Way curious to see how it turns out. Ive run her half dozen times now and im still not sure shes dialed. Damn she looks amazing!!! I dont think topping to keep them small would be aweful. Sorta like taking clones from moms. Make sure the root system stays healthy and im sure you will be fine. I cant wait to see how that W turns out. Always fun to compare Good luck and grow on!

 

[xeasyx]

ok matey i dont keep moms i take cuttings of the grow im on for next round and once the clones have rooted and grown a bit i keep them at low temps untill i need them then i higher the temps when im ready for them im not sure how low you have to go to stop growth i just put them under a cfl in the shed this also gives me short stocky plants it works for me cheers easy

 

[bendoslendo]

Hey Bgreenhead. I've experimented with a few different ways to slow growth in my perpetual setup. Some times it's quite necessary.

I've found the most effective way is limiting pot size. Combining this with low intensity cfl lighting and reduced nute strength helps even more. In your case limiting pot size doesn't really seem like an option. As xeasyx mentioned, keeping the temps low is also helpful, but probably not feasible in your setup either without slowing all your girls down.

Top 1-2 node topping only slows growth for me about 1-3 days max in coco or e&f. Doing this too many times will produce a large amount of small colas and will result in a big leafy bush not producing as much high quality dense buds as if you had only topped 1-3 times. Cutting the plant in half might give you as much as a 1-2 week stall. I've done this before without any negative effect on flowering and yield.

Another method I've tried is almost complete defoliation. Doing this in veg several times will likely result in severe ramification, lots of little branches. There is a good example of this by Bobhope in the defoliation thread. This method definitely allowed me to slow vertical growth while the others in the same setup caught up. But I probably won't do it again due to the crazy amount of branching it produced. Like a few hours under my scrog worth of clipping hundreds of little worthless growth shoots. Not worth the trouble imo.

I don't know if I'd been lucky with super hardy strains, but on the 2-3 strains I've chopped in 1/2 I haven't had any long term negative effects. I'd probably recommend that over multiple toppings or defoliation.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

^yea bendo i find myself in similar situation...i need to slow my veg down because i have two weeks before next harvest and instead of starting them 12/12 now i wanna clear out the entire room and run everything in the flower room from 18/6 to give them some size....

but yeah..small veg pots and cold temps work..but the best is just topping. you dont take the whole top, just the little node.

i only take 2-3 tops max per plant...at two weeks its one top, at 3 weeks take two tops, at 5 weeks top the 4 or so new growths..then you are ready to flower and hopefully get around 6-8 tops per plant..

 

[forty]

Is there a such thing as topping too much?

yes... according to Wilt Chamberlain