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One cola....or two?
- Thread starter Old Toker
- Start date
I don't know what a minifold is, but if looking for multiple colas, best advice is start topping early rather than letting one central stalk develop and then trying to convert it. I've got something going right now that stretches too much, so to control it, it now has 32 tops and no side branching. Top, then top those tops and so on. That way all stems are an even ish hight.
Old Toker
Well-known member
Thank you GMT! A manifold is a topping method that tries to spread the growth into 8 (or more) colas. I'm sure that is WAY too simplified of an explanation of a manifold.
My problem (among many) is that I can't determine whether this is actually two colas growing at the end of branch that should only have. My poor eyesight combined with a lack of experience in this method is making me hesitant about whether I should trim one now...a few days before flip so the plant has some time to recover.
Sure would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
My problem (among many) is that I can't determine whether this is actually two colas growing at the end of branch that should only have. My poor eyesight combined with a lack of experience in this method is making me hesitant about whether I should trim one now...a few days before flip so the plant has some time to recover.
Sure would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
Switcher56
Comfortably numb!
I already answered that ?
Yes, it looks like that top is going to develop into a double, personally I would leave it as it will be close to the light. A reason you may want to remove it is if mold is a concern with your strain/environment or if the tops are already very close together and it may crowd others out.
Old Toker
Well-known member
Yes....you did, and I cleaned up all those small inside colas. These ones at the end I was uncertain about. So....you think these are actually two tops and I need to remove one! Thanks again for your patience.
Oh I see, sorry I completely misinterpreted your question. From the looks of it you just have vigorous side branches growing there. As to whether to trim them or not, I would ask is that cola higher the same hight or lower than the other 7? As that answers the question. If it's taller, leave them, if shorter, remove both of those side shoots and just leave the main central one. If it is no taller or shorter, then compare the development of the side branches to the other colas. Just try to keep them all the same, whether you let them go or not makes no real difference so long as all 8 are doing the same thing. I'm trying to decide should I stop at 32 or go for 64 lol.
moose eater
Well-known member
Years ago I did what I regarded as Super-Cropping, whether I had the definition down correctly or not. I would, as GMT and others have advised, pinch tops until I had a somewhat uniform umbrella (depending somewhat on strain), and try for as many 'primary colas' as possible on one plant, with as few as 9 and as many as 16 plants in a 4' x 4' area.
A key element in making this a productive approach was to prune any bud-sites or branches further below the main canopy than 8-10 inches, about 2 weeks into bloom cycle. (I've slacked on this in recent times due to my energy levels, but I highly advise it, for numerous reasons; let the main colas get the energy, don't let the light-deprived buds that would have otherwise existed, stress and increase the probability of male stress flowers on an otherwise good female plant, make trimming easier for not having to deal with popcorn buds, etc., etc.)
But as others have said, this is best done early on. If you get a 'double cola' later on, further from the base, whether due to plant damage from bugs, humans,, or what ever, if it were me, I'd let it go unharmed, and see what she does.
A key element in making this a productive approach was to prune any bud-sites or branches further below the main canopy than 8-10 inches, about 2 weeks into bloom cycle. (I've slacked on this in recent times due to my energy levels, but I highly advise it, for numerous reasons; let the main colas get the energy, don't let the light-deprived buds that would have otherwise existed, stress and increase the probability of male stress flowers on an otherwise good female plant, make trimming easier for not having to deal with popcorn buds, etc., etc.)
But as others have said, this is best done early on. If you get a 'double cola' later on, further from the base, whether due to plant damage from bugs, humans,, or what ever, if it were me, I'd let it go unharmed, and see what she does.
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Okay first of all let me try to clear up the manifold thing, if you're describing what I think you're describing a lot of the people that have been on sites like these know that as FIMing or the FIM method. FIM stands for F**K I Missed which is maybe what the person discovering this method might have said when he/she thought they were actually topping the plant. When done successfully, instead of the center stalk growing one big cola, it will produce something like a crown of smaller colas with the number of points to the crown varying from plant to plant.
As for whether or not you should top the plant it kind of all depends on what is most important to you out of your harvest. If having the most massive cola possible is important to you then don't top. No matter the method of topping, generally speaking the topped colas will be smaller then if you left the cola alone. Now me personally I don't care if I have a massive cola or not, sure they make for really nice trophy pictures but eventually you're going to break all the buds down to a smokable size whether they be big main colas or smaller topped colas. Some also believe that the big main colas are more potent then smaller ones, I've done it both ways and didn't notice any significant difference in potency from one style to another. Now if you goal is to maximize the yield from your grow space then I say by all means you should top striving for a nice canopy of decent but not huge colas, doing this will also let a lot of your secondary buds that aren't topped catch up and become cola like themselves. If you go with the one main cola that often times pushes the light so high to keep from burning the cola that secondary growth is less impressive.
As for the question of should you do it early in order to give the top time to recover before flipping to flower I would tend to say no. The first two to three weeks of flowering is what they call the stretch phase, during this phase you typically don't get a lot of actual flower development. Topping just as you switch to 12/12 will give them enough time to recover but reduce the stretching of the tops. Instead most of the stretching will occur in the secondary branches and this is what lets them catch up and become cola like themselves and fill out the canopy.
As for whether or not you should top the plant it kind of all depends on what is most important to you out of your harvest. If having the most massive cola possible is important to you then don't top. No matter the method of topping, generally speaking the topped colas will be smaller then if you left the cola alone. Now me personally I don't care if I have a massive cola or not, sure they make for really nice trophy pictures but eventually you're going to break all the buds down to a smokable size whether they be big main colas or smaller topped colas. Some also believe that the big main colas are more potent then smaller ones, I've done it both ways and didn't notice any significant difference in potency from one style to another. Now if you goal is to maximize the yield from your grow space then I say by all means you should top striving for a nice canopy of decent but not huge colas, doing this will also let a lot of your secondary buds that aren't topped catch up and become cola like themselves. If you go with the one main cola that often times pushes the light so high to keep from burning the cola that secondary growth is less impressive.
As for the question of should you do it early in order to give the top time to recover before flipping to flower I would tend to say no. The first two to three weeks of flowering is what they call the stretch phase, during this phase you typically don't get a lot of actual flower development. Topping just as you switch to 12/12 will give them enough time to recover but reduce the stretching of the tops. Instead most of the stretching will occur in the secondary branches and this is what lets them catch up and become cola like themselves and fill out the canopy.
