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Skullznroses 2012 Training and Pruning Outdoor Plants
- Thread starter skullznroses
- Start date
pictures 2
pictures 2
So as you can see I have added a few pictures of outdoor plants being bent and tied to bamboo, spread apart and topped multiple times. I felt that I wasn't seeing any pictures of these teks up close and many inexperienced growers might like to see some of their ideas or things they have been told in real life.
I encourage people to top plants multiple times in early months and spread them apart when they are young and pliable, to avoid breaking branches or splitting stems.
Feel free to comment or post. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing some cool examples other people have to share.
pictures 2
So as you can see I have added a few pictures of outdoor plants being bent and tied to bamboo, spread apart and topped multiple times. I felt that I wasn't seeing any pictures of these teks up close and many inexperienced growers might like to see some of their ideas or things they have been told in real life.
I encourage people to top plants multiple times in early months and spread them apart when they are young and pliable, to avoid breaking branches or splitting stems.
Feel free to comment or post. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing some cool examples other people have to share.
Here's my easy outdoor LST (low stress training) technique. I double planted each hole last year with clones and as the plants grew upward, I tied them back down to each stake every 5-6 days or so. In the end these ended up being huge bushes 5ft high by 6ft across. By the end of veg you could not tell that they were two seperate plants.
This is around June 20th, 2 weeks after planting.
Forgot to add that the stakes were actually pieces solid pine 1" x 1" which I ripped on the table saw. By the end of the season the plants get heavy and need alot of support, this bypasses the need for staking and tying later in the season.
This is around June 20th, 2 weeks after planting.
Forgot to add that the stakes were actually pieces solid pine 1" x 1" which I ripped on the table saw. By the end of the season the plants get heavy and need alot of support, this bypasses the need for staking and tying later in the season.
Bend the bitch over and tie her down has always been my motto skullznroses. Looks like youre doin a fine job of it.
Its a good way to increase yeild and prevent the classic cannabis stature that can aid in their identity for those looking for it. It also helps prevent wind damage which can be a big deal for those of us living in thunderstorm country. Unfortunately for me, i grow in tall weeds and i need for my girls to get on up and stand tall.
Couple of things i would add. Remember, the branches tied down in the spring, have to be tied UP in the fall when their heavy with buds,else theyll be on the ground.
Its just my opinion and im sure some would disagree, but i think pruning too late in the season for outdoor, delays flowering to some extent. For me, anything after mid july slows the flowering process as the plant seem to put more effort into redirecting its growth than in producing flowers. Just me though, do what you like.
Its a good way to increase yeild and prevent the classic cannabis stature that can aid in their identity for those looking for it. It also helps prevent wind damage which can be a big deal for those of us living in thunderstorm country. Unfortunately for me, i grow in tall weeds and i need for my girls to get on up and stand tall.
Couple of things i would add. Remember, the branches tied down in the spring, have to be tied UP in the fall when their heavy with buds,else theyll be on the ground.
Its just my opinion and im sure some would disagree, but i think pruning too late in the season for outdoor, delays flowering to some extent. For me, anything after mid july slows the flowering process as the plant seem to put more effort into redirecting its growth than in producing flowers. Just me though, do what you like.
Thanks for the responses. Just the sort of comments I was looking for. Glad to see Im not the only one thinking this process through and considering different growing methods.
.Clunk- I think those 1" stakes are great. I use sticks and other things I find around the woods from time to time, but they are often fragile. Those damn bamboo are good because they are skinny enough to snake through the branches of an immature plant without damaging the stalk with a square edge.
I guess you could say I do some version of LST myself. Often I try to get a few plant in a hole and spread them all out from the center. I feel like as long as the roots are in your soil the plant can really go in any direction. I can't help but feel these large bushes yield more.
Moondawg -Excellent points you have made. I don't have to deal with wind damage luckily, but maybe that cause my plants aren't prone to it. I am not in a place where heights matters, and I guess thats a good thing. I try to machete down the local weeds surrounding my plants, although i know that seems like a security risk, but I figure if they are that close the game is up, or hope it goes unmolested.
Pruning late in the season delay flowering? That is a great point. I have thought this myself or at least thought about it. Anybody else have something to add regarding this grow question?
.Clunk- I think those 1" stakes are great. I use sticks and other things I find around the woods from time to time, but they are often fragile. Those damn bamboo are good because they are skinny enough to snake through the branches of an immature plant without damaging the stalk with a square edge.
I guess you could say I do some version of LST myself. Often I try to get a few plant in a hole and spread them all out from the center. I feel like as long as the roots are in your soil the plant can really go in any direction. I can't help but feel these large bushes yield more.
Moondawg -Excellent points you have made. I don't have to deal with wind damage luckily, but maybe that cause my plants aren't prone to it. I am not in a place where heights matters, and I guess thats a good thing. I try to machete down the local weeds surrounding my plants, although i know that seems like a security risk, but I figure if they are that close the game is up, or hope it goes unmolested.
Pruning late in the season delay flowering? That is a great point. I have thought this myself or at least thought about it. Anybody else have something to add regarding this grow question?
The only downside to the big stakes is that until the plants grow into them, my hillside has what looks like hundreds of sets of rabbit ears poking out of the ground. Thinner bamboo might no be as conspicuous..
This is the thread I always refer to when I think of outdoor LST, I hope it's alright to post a link to another forum, but I think this guys results are worth looking at (read all pages)
This is the thread I always refer to when I think of outdoor LST, I hope it's alright to post a link to another forum, but I think this guys results are worth looking at (read all pages)
Last edited by a moderator:
niceeven
Member
Interesting stuff. I never really got into bending until last year and that's when I began to understand the potential it offers. Out of caution, I had decided that bending worked great but that topping was not the best thing to do at my latitude. Reason? we have such a short season and topping would slow a plant down, would it not? Meaning that right or false I have always felt that a plants has to fix itself after a trauma like topping, would that not slow the overall growth? I have always rationalized that people with longer seasons can afford it , but that it could possibly be detrimental in a short one, does that make any sense at all of is it just wrong?
This year I have more plants than I ever had and they are spread over many spots. I pretty much planned to double, triple plant even, wanting to make sure there would be some females in each spots and the plan is to bend the girls away from one another. Knowing what I already know and have already written about, do you guys would still advise me to top some?
Thanks in advance!!!!
This year I have more plants than I ever had and they are spread over many spots. I pretty much planned to double, triple plant even, wanting to make sure there would be some females in each spots and the plan is to bend the girls away from one another. Knowing what I already know and have already written about, do you guys would still advise me to top some?
Thanks in advance!!!!
I don't top because of the short season. Like you say, there's a one week recovery period after topping which is way too much when you only have a 7-8 week veg cycle; that's nearly 15% of potential growth down the drain!
If you've double or triple planted each hole, why not try the LST method I mentioned? Use 4 of 5 foot bamboo stakes on a 45 degree angle to pull the plants apart from each other and away from the center of the hole. As they grow, tie them down to achieve the quasi-LST effect. Once they fill in they'll become one huge bush with many even tops.
I use lime green flagging tape with a single loose knot to tie them to the stakes - the flagging tape is all but invisible and as the plant grows it stretches enough to not cut into the plant. Here's another pic showing what I do:
indoor/outdoor
Member
i like to see my plant towering above me close to 9 ft sometimes, i FIM mine when their about a foot thats it, they look just like kyle kushman's he uses the same method i do
indoor/outdoor
Member
they have a really nice structure with the FIM tecnique and tend to hold them selfs up better with multiple branches evenly
Hello Power People-
.Clunk- Nice link. That guy clearly had some really perfectly vegged out plants to work with.
niceeven-- I do think that perhaps flowering time has to do with branch structure and stress to the plant, including the results of training and topping. Since flowering time is typically measured due to solar activity I can't quite subscribe to this idea though.... Ive had identical clones flower off at 10-12 day gaps because of uneven light and water as well as bug damage from near by slug swamp.
Regarding "topping" -- I top because I have run plants side by side of the same strain and have yielded more per plant from the plant that was topped. There were just more top colas, and the top most cola is still the top most cola even if the taproot/mainleader connection gets broken. Im not sure I totally buy the "conserve the taproot" theory either. I wonder if the broken tap root causes people to have delayed regeneration in a topped plant. I subscribe to the Old Tyme secret that MaryJ likes to be abused a little.. shaken not stirred. If you pamper the plant you are taking away from its time with Mother nature. But still topping, when done correctly can have a super charging affect on the plant. Each delay is followed by a vigorous attempt by the plant to fill in the space which has been removed. Also the abundance of new leaders increases the leaf surface area of the whole plant and that means more energy for growth. The only issue I see with topping is that indeed it causes the plant to split. (My new theory is that Indica trunk is harder to train then Sativa branch)
Indoor/outdoor guy- Fimming just cost me a Trainwreck plant!!! I fimmed a small plant too close to the time of transplant and killed it. I still F'mmed shoots that grew out of a few other plants too make sure....
.Clunk- Nice link. That guy clearly had some really perfectly vegged out plants to work with.
niceeven-- I do think that perhaps flowering time has to do with branch structure and stress to the plant, including the results of training and topping. Since flowering time is typically measured due to solar activity I can't quite subscribe to this idea though.... Ive had identical clones flower off at 10-12 day gaps because of uneven light and water as well as bug damage from near by slug swamp.
Regarding "topping" -- I top because I have run plants side by side of the same strain and have yielded more per plant from the plant that was topped. There were just more top colas, and the top most cola is still the top most cola even if the taproot/mainleader connection gets broken. Im not sure I totally buy the "conserve the taproot" theory either. I wonder if the broken tap root causes people to have delayed regeneration in a topped plant. I subscribe to the Old Tyme secret that MaryJ likes to be abused a little.. shaken not stirred. If you pamper the plant you are taking away from its time with Mother nature. But still topping, when done correctly can have a super charging affect on the plant. Each delay is followed by a vigorous attempt by the plant to fill in the space which has been removed. Also the abundance of new leaders increases the leaf surface area of the whole plant and that means more energy for growth. The only issue I see with topping is that indeed it causes the plant to split. (My new theory is that Indica trunk is harder to train then Sativa branch)
Indoor/outdoor guy- Fimming just cost me a Trainwreck plant!!! I fimmed a small plant too close to the time of transplant and killed it. I still F'mmed shoots that grew out of a few other plants too make sure....
photo 3
photo 3
Psyched to add some Love Update
First- Here is one of the Earl Skunks I have bent over. It is sending those weakling lower branches right to the sky like Warren sends licks.
So I have to admit I was a little bit to excited to check on my work and took a bind off a plant to see if it had healed correctly. Well, I didn't have twine in my hands when it broke, and so the small time window I lost getting knife from pack cost me. This one did not heal correctly. I think that the plant needs to have a certain woodiness to be able to heal.. this little guy needs constant support. Its scarred on the inside...
This is an Indica bush and its being difficult. Basically have been striping all lower growth to keep it from getting to clustered, and its just too vigorous after so many prunes. I have decided not to train this one, due to its stout stature.
But fear not criminals and dead beats, Batman has an answer.
My new idea. Called the beehive fix. Should allow the plants to grow with out need of the cutting twine. My girls don't want to be tied up for a work week... look how bad the diameter can be restricted from just a long weekend. I'll get a photo of the plant that did heal.
Lastly a shot to show there ain't no diesel being used in this picture show.
photo 3
Psyched to add some Love Update
First- Here is one of the Earl Skunks I have bent over. It is sending those weakling lower branches right to the sky like Warren sends licks.
So I have to admit I was a little bit to excited to check on my work and took a bind off a plant to see if it had healed correctly. Well, I didn't have twine in my hands when it broke, and so the small time window I lost getting knife from pack cost me. This one did not heal correctly. I think that the plant needs to have a certain woodiness to be able to heal.. this little guy needs constant support. Its scarred on the inside...
This is an Indica bush and its being difficult. Basically have been striping all lower growth to keep it from getting to clustered, and its just too vigorous after so many prunes. I have decided not to train this one, due to its stout stature.
But fear not criminals and dead beats, Batman has an answer.
My new idea. Called the beehive fix. Should allow the plants to grow with out need of the cutting twine. My girls don't want to be tied up for a work week... look how bad the diameter can be restricted from just a long weekend. I'll get a photo of the plant that did heal.
Lastly a shot to show there ain't no diesel being used in this picture show.
indoor/outdoor
Member
LOOK UP THE FUCK I MISSED TECHNIQUE IT WILL WORK A LITTLE BETTER THAN TOPPING OR REMOVING THE TOP GROWTH SHOOT WHICH WILL CAUSE MORE LATERAL GROWTH. THE FIM TECHNIQUE RATHER ,HOW YOU DO THIS TECHNIQUE IS VERY SIMILAR TO REMOVING THE TOP BUT INSTEAD OF TAKING THE WHOLE SHOOT COMPLETELY OFF YOU REMOVE 80 PERCENT OF THE TOP GROWTH SHOOT AND LEAVE THE BOTTOM 20 PERCENT. WHEN AROUND A FOOT TALL OR SO WHEN YOU HAVE GOOD BRANCHING GROWTH ALREADY APLLY THE FIM TECH AND YOU WILL SEE ALL THE LOWER BRANCHES WILL CATCH UP TO THE VERY TOP CREATING A EVEN CANOPY, CREATING A PLANT WITH A VERY VERY NICE STRUCTURE AND BALANCE LOOK IT UP KYLE KUSHMAN USES IT AND SO DOES ED ROSENTHAL
bikhomes
Member
I train pretty extensively and have one important tip:
Do not use anything that is not stretchy/soft on your plants. I use the green plant "tape" that is designed to stretch and grow with plants to tie off with. Don't tie directly to your stake either, tie one end of the plant tape to the branch and pull it down towards your stake, tie the other end to the stake. I generally have about 8"-12" of stretchable tape between the stake and the branch, this makes for easy adjustments as well.
Do not use anything that is not stretchy/soft on your plants. I use the green plant "tape" that is designed to stretch and grow with plants to tie off with. Don't tie directly to your stake either, tie one end of the plant tape to the branch and pull it down towards your stake, tie the other end to the stake. I generally have about 8"-12" of stretchable tape between the stake and the branch, this makes for easy adjustments as well.
G
guest8905
ed rosenthal meh,,,,
Bikhomes-Hey Man, thats a great point. I have taken the time in my last trip to do what you have mentioned, using a lasso around the plant and tied to short stake. This if nice because I can pick up the stake and repost the plant without more effort. I wish I had some of that nice soft tape. I know what you mean, but I spend my cash on soil amendments.
Stickky-Thanks for stopping by and using big words. Ed Rosenthal is the man. We give around his calendar at holiday at my 'mas house. Im not sure about his bible, never had it, although Im sure its full of general information that can't hurt.
INdoor/OUtdoor- I have femm'd a bunch of plants. A few got the the type of cut you're looking for. Like one main stem stays and then perhaps two or more shoots off of the side without a vulnerable V notch. (which we all know leads to crack(s)
As mentioned I made a trip to the space...
Here is a GH seedhouse 2011 Trainwreck cut
and its sister with some twine around its neck,, should do better right?
This is the mother I promised a photo of, it too isa GHS 2011 WW
had the split in the stem, but healed. I have also extensively pruned out of the middle of this plant to make it stronger looking
This is the Top 44 that was shown in post 1 or 2.. gonna be west coast big Im afraid
This is a well topped WW x BB... never grown this out to flower. Im am really really psyched to try this plant outdoors. It has a nice clean and lean bush shape that seems like it could be future gold. Who knows.
Peace to the Middle East and rain in LA
Stickky-Thanks for stopping by and using big words. Ed Rosenthal is the man. We give around his calendar at holiday at my 'mas house. Im not sure about his bible, never had it, although Im sure its full of general information that can't hurt.
INdoor/OUtdoor- I have femm'd a bunch of plants. A few got the the type of cut you're looking for. Like one main stem stays and then perhaps two or more shoots off of the side without a vulnerable V notch. (which we all know leads to crack(s)
As mentioned I made a trip to the space...
Here is a GH seedhouse 2011 Trainwreck cut
and its sister with some twine around its neck,, should do better right?
This is the mother I promised a photo of, it too isa GHS 2011 WW
had the split in the stem, but healed. I have also extensively pruned out of the middle of this plant to make it stronger looking
This is the Top 44 that was shown in post 1 or 2.. gonna be west coast big Im afraid
This is a well topped WW x BB... never grown this out to flower. Im am really really psyched to try this plant outdoors. It has a nice clean and lean bush shape that seems like it could be future gold. Who knows.
Peace to the Middle East and rain in LA
bikhomes
Member
Hey man I hear you on the financial constraints but plant tape is probably the cheapest thing you can pickup. Think of it as insurance against you forgetting about a rope tie and it choking out a limb.
$11 for 215ft and that lasts a long time. Put that against the cost of twine and it's even cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Plant-Tie-Rib...TF8&qid=1340177494&sr=1-7&keywords=plant+tape
$11 for 215ft and that lasts a long time. Put that against the cost of twine and it's even cheaper.
http://www.amazon.com/Plant-Tie-Rib...TF8&qid=1340177494&sr=1-7&keywords=plant+tape
truth tabernacle preach!
