Understanding the Art of LST - Before You Look at Any Pics, Read This First

[smokeymacpot]

Here's a sativa dominant selection from my current grow.




And, voila! What should be a stretchy pain to deal with is now a super dense canopy. I'll have some post 12/12 stretch photos to share in a couple of weeks. Rock on, folks.

thing is though, you do not have a level canopy, you havent tied down the cola end of the plant.

 

[pray4pistils]

You're correct the far end of the plant isn't tied down. I say it doesn't matter a bit, though, because there is no "cola end". I'm going to get a distribution of smaller nugs instead of a single huge one. Mind you, it's been weeks since the majority of growth came from what would have been the top of the plant. Due to the LST the action has been concentrated mostly in the lower branches. I figure that it'll be evened up within a week or so.



Take a look at my bottom shots and you'll see exactly what I mean. The top section is spindly in comparison. Also, if you look at the main stem you'll see what the internode spacing was like before I started the training. It's about 2 - 3" between each node whereas now we're talking 1/4" at the grow tips. It's seriously dense as the side angle photo demonstrates.



In this example the lowest part of the plant is about 3" under the highest. It is catching up, though, because it is directly under the 400W MH where as the tall part is farther away.

Lastly, this is just one plant of 8 in a 4x4' space. The variation in height isn't perfectly consistent, but it's damned close throughout the grow area. I say that 100% uniformity just isn't critical to get the job done nicely. Here's what it looked like several weeks ago when the plants were in little 3oz cups:



Btw, lights are currently that 400W MH and also a 400W HPS. I'll begin flowering this weekend. When I do, the HPS bulb will be swapped out for a new CMH. The MH will be replaced with a 600W HPS.

 

[chef]

Good primer first time I've seen Auxins mentioned around IC.

Its a bit off topic, but Auxin related...
Has anyone else noticed how much faster & healthier clones are, when taken from the *Apial stem? (*been calling them Alpha stems for 30 yrs) lol

I don't have any postable proof, other than 30yrs of observation to back it up, but I'd bet my stack its true!
Its an absolute requirement for any cuts destined to be moms & they always take priority over lower cuts in my op.

cheers

 

[pray4pistils]

Chef, I think you're talking about the apical stem? Here's a very good discussion of the subject.

 

[chef]

Thanks man, I'm not crazy then.
That affirms why kelp is such a great nute too, all the auxins & cytokinins etc.

End of hijack. Thanks again

 

[admiralcornport]

Some LST for y'all

 

[smokeymacpot]

You're correct the far end of the plant isn't tied down. I say it doesn't matter a bit, though, because there is no "cola end". I'm going to get a distribution of smaller nugs instead of a single huge one. Mind you, it's been weeks since the majority of growth came from what would have been the top of the plant. Due to the LST the action has been concentrated mostly in the lower branches. I figure that it'll be evened up within a week or so.



Take a look at my bottom shots and you'll see exactly what I mean. The top section is spindly in comparison. Also, if you look at the main stem you'll see what the internode spacing was like before I started the training. It's about 2 - 3" between each node whereas now we're talking 1/4" at the grow tips. It's seriously dense as the side angle photo demonstrates.




Btw, lights are currently that 400W MH and also a 400W HPS. I'll begin flowering this weekend. When I do, the HPS bulb will be swapped out for a new CMH. The MH will be replaced with a 600W HPS.

yeh its no biggy that you didnt level it out, but these plants sometimes arent predictable and it might be that the main cola takes off far better than the lower down growing tips.
and yeh your plant is very dense! personally i would have done more lst to spread out the bunching of them.
it will be interesting to see how you get on with that plant.

 

[kingspade]

here's some of my pics...
i waited a little too long, i wasn't going to lst, but decided to go for it later on...








couple weeks later

 

[pray4pistils]

Kingspade, that off-center positioning looks a bit like mine, eh? That's what happens when you wait a bit longer than ideal to start. I recommend tying those branches down big time to make them bush out via side branching. Do it really soon to get some density or it'll be too late. I'd also move the far branches closer to the center. Tie them down underneath the current middle section's leaves to limit the light they get. This will further prompt the plant to bush out.

Btw, what size pot are you growing in and what kind of lighting is this plant under?

 

[pray4pistils]

Some LST for y'all

I salute you, Admiral! Those are some gorgeous plants.


Meanwhile, here's how my gal has progressed:

front

This mommy needs a little trim. Most of the growth is fairly even due to LST training. However, the stragglers that I do have will become clones.



side




The growth on the right is still lower than the very top. That's because I've been growing it out and then pulling it down. (Notice that the plant is better centered on the bucket now.) This mother was pulled from the veg chamber last night and is now in for flowering. Hurrah for bushy sativas!

 

[Bmw1000c]

Hello. Is LST possible when vegetative is skipped?

 

[Cannabis_indica]

Very informative thread, i love your idea with pipe cleaners pray4pistils, your plants are really dense i just hate using string.

 

[pray4pistils]

Hello. Is LST possible when vegetative is skipped?

You mean... such as when taking a rooted clone and then immediately flowering it with little to no growth time? In such case you could LST it it... but, it'd be fairly pointless. A SOG set up with many clones would be the best bet. You don't want bushes in that scenario. -more like a bunch 18" tall poles with single colas.

Very informative thread, i love your idea with pipe cleaners pray4pistils, your plants are really dense i just hate using string.

Oh, right on. I used to use yarn and it was a horrific amount of work. The pipe cleaners + heavy duty paper clips are infinitely easier for a number of reasons. Give it a whirl. You'll love it!

 

[guest]

Hi folks ..

So LST is what I'm doing ..

I think I saw some of this before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCiLCs213tk&feature=channel_page

I really don't know how much veg time this AK has had. It went into flower cycle on 12/26.

It is a single plant that measures 3' x 3' and at that time was about 6" to 9" tall.

I made a video because a still shot didn't seem to get it across.

This is set in a 2'x3' tub filled with those clay pellets. Roots have filled in the entire area.

 

[pontiac]

 

[bbing]

funny how we never see how these finish.
hmmmm.

 

[pray4pistils]

It is a single plant that measures 3' x 3' and at that time was about 6" to 9" tall... This is set in a 2'x3' tub filled with those clay pellets. Roots have filled in the entire area.

Deeeeeyamn! That's what I call some LST, baby!

What method do you use for holding the branches in place? Did you initially place the plant in the middle of the tub and then tie them down and train them to the outside? I'd love to see a video of what this looks like as flowering progresses.

 

[kingspade]

Kingspade, that off-center positioning looks a bit like mine, eh? That's what happens when you wait a bit longer than ideal to start. I recommend tying those branches down big time to make them bush out via side branching. Do it really soon to get some density or it'll be too late. I'd also move the far branches closer to the center. Tie them down underneath the current middle section's leaves to limit the light they get. This will further prompt the plant to bush out.

Btw, what size pot are you growing in and what kind of lighting is this plant under?

Hey,
Sorry it's taken me awhile to get back to ya, I forgot I posted in this thread.
Those pics were from a grow a couple months ago, so it was all done already.

Those were 1 gallon cheap-o pots from Home Depot. I started that plant indoors with a couple others. Kept 'em under a couple CFLs until I tied 'em down, then moved 'em outside. Didn't do as well as I had hoped, it was my first outdoor grow. Kind of a side project I did just to mess around and try outdoors.

 

[conehead]

What happen to the bud shots bud? its like a tease without the squeeze. Nice informative
thread, but could do with the piece de resistance (buds buds & more buds). We love our bud porn.

 

[thcrefugee]

im so glad to see everyone is a fan of this!

I was doing it for years before i even knew what it was.

plus, i always felt it was much less stressful because the apical bud is not removed.