topping finger sized stem

[Marquis de Sod]

i was reading kodiaks growing sticky, might be on indoor grows tho, about topping and i am looking at my Hawaiian girls and if i take the top with it's five or so lateral branches off, that would really open the plant up and there are plenty of other lower lateral branches that would become 'tops'.

problem is i am worried about the opening when i cut it if the stem is about as big around as your little finger. i did this to four of them right before i put them into bloom, and one had some sap fill the hole, the other didn't, just had a hole in the top that never quite filled in. this on a pencil sized stalk. the ones i want to top are bigger, so i am wondering if there is something i should do to this wound, maybe put a clothes pin on it, or if there is anything else to put over it.

Better yet i guess, i should ask if this sounds like a good idea in the first place. Plants are two months old, three feet tall, have been topped once already, and plan on leaving outside till it starts pissin down rain all the time (mid sept hopefully not sooner), then brought indoors to finish. They are in 5 gallon buckets of soil/1/4 perlite, getting fish poo and GH micro and grow. Turned randomly when i move them about the yard to try to follow the sun.

 

[Nes]

Its hard to say whether or not topping is a great idea without seeing picutes. But.
If you are going to, there are a few things you can do to mitigate issues.
1. use a sharp blade and cut at a sharp angle. If you cut it flat across, you increase the chances of moisture pooling on the wound and pathogens to enter.
2. Cut directly above the node/branch you want to keep. Don't leave inches of stem to just die and rot over the top branch.
3. if you are really worried about it, grab some grafting tape from a nursery and use that to seal the wound.

 

[DoubleDDsNuggs]

I've never done this but have seen some old hippies doing a perpetual harvest on their outdoor girls, where they harvest the top first branches and that opens it up to let the bottom branches take a few extra days to ripen and then they harvest that. might be the easiest solution with less worry.

 

[Marquis de Sod]

thanks, i couldn't stop myself and went ahead and cut them. i put a clothes pin on one and elec. tape on another and nothing on the other two or three. it seems like they are healing alright no matter what i did to them. the other branches on top all around look like they are becoming tops already too.

 

[Nes]

auxin is a plant growth hormone produced in mass in the apical meristem (highest growing point). It trickles down the phloem, supressing the growth of the meristems (nodes/branches) below it. Removing the source of that growth retardant (topping) allows the lower meristems to take up apical dominance. Different strains seems to produce these in different levels, causing differing branching patterns and reations to topping.
Plant science is fun!