how low can i top?

[Harvest Time]

I have 6, 2 foot plants but decided late in the game that i want to top and LST...my delemma is the height...how far down can i top it and expect it to continue to grow? can I go as low as the lowest node? or maybe lower? i want to eventually scrog but want to keep the screen 8-12 inches above soil...i want to get and many busites as possible for the scrog but the node spacing is rediculous for this goal so i fear this may be my only option for more sites...can i just chop that low this late??? any angle? or tips please???

 

[Harvest Time]

or would i be best to take cuttings from each and start over with clones for my desired results???

 

[Lorenzo]

rule of thumb: don't chop off more than 50% of plant.

 

[Harvest Time]

hey thanks Lorenzo... if this is so...can i wait for new development and chop 50% of what is left...aka chop once to become 1 foot, and again after new growth to be 6 or so inches???

 

[botanist85]

Hey Im not disagreeing with that rule of thumb but as long as your plant is in veg you can cut off any amount. It will re grow as long as your on a 18/6 light schedule and you didnt completely remove all the nodes off the main stem. I top my plants all the time. In nature if a animal eats the plant it re grows new shoots from the closet node. I have had accidents where I chopped my plant in half because I dropped the light, the plant was fine and re grew two main shoots/stems from the closet node.

Look at my current grow, I have some topping pics in there. Take a look-ski, it will give you confidence.

 

[Harvest Time]

great point! thanks alot for the advise...so i do need to leave a node one then? K+ for the advice man and congrats on the LEDs...cant wait to be on that train... money wont alow for it yet though...

 

[Throwgar]

I've hacket 95% off before, leaving no veg, just a stump and a node. It came back. I'm not reccommending this, but mj is extremely tollerent.

 

[Harvest Time]

awesome...thanks, but once again...do i absolutely need to leave at least 1 node???

 

[Harvest Time]

also... must it be done str8 across or more beneficial at an angle??

 

[Harvest Time]

is there a way to encourage more nodes to grow??? scarifying parts of the main stalk to grow more branches???
most of the lowest nodes are kindof gone... i had removed the lowest few sets of branching due to the leaves dying off during a defficiency... can i still cut right there and expect 2 stems to come out? there are tiny new leaves developing there, maybe cut right above?

 

[Calimed]

Do you have a picture of the plants you want to prune?

You can get pretty creative with topping and training.

 

[VerdantGreen]

you wont get new nodes to grow, if you dont leave any nodes the plant will die.

plants from seed should be left with at least 4 pairs of nodes - otherwise you will risk stunting the plant. clones can be taken down to less but as somebody mentioned do not take more than 50% of what is there.

always top back to a mature leaf/leaves - it is this leaf that will initially provide the energy for the new shoots to grow.



V.

 

[Jnugg]

plants from seed should be left with at least 4 pairs of nodes - otherwise you will risk stunting the plant. clones can be taken down to less but as somebody mentioned do not take more than 50% of what is there.

always top back to a mature leaf/leaves - it is this leaf that will initially provide the energy for the new shoots to grow.



V.

I agree wit this advise only I have always heard/read to not cut/remove more then 30% of the plants overall matter per 1-2 weeks.

 

[darksith]

you can take as much off as you want as long as you leave at least 1 node. I have broken a plant in half on accident before, the clone I put in the dirt was over 12" tall, and bigger than what was left of the rest of the plant. Both grew healthily in the end.

But can I ask why do you want to top? I am guessing that your best bet would be to clone the crap out of those plants, taking every clone possible and then budding the left overs once you give them a couple weeks to recover.

I never top my plants unless Im desperate for big numbers of clones.

 

[Think Green]

I topped this female dutch treat sativa at 6 inches before I built my new grow area.

 

[sneaky101]

I agree with the 50% rule just to be safe. But you can also clone whatever material you remove and quadruple you plants. They like to have company

 

[sprout42O]

is there a way to encourage more nodes to grow??? scarifying parts of the main stalk to grow more branches???
most of the lowest nodes are kindof gone... i had removed the lowest few sets of branching due to the leaves dying off during a defficiency... can i still cut right there and expect 2 stems to come out? there are tiny new leaves developing there, maybe cut right above?

FIM. Basically, instead of cutting the whole shoot off, leave a tiny bit and 2 shoots will grow from the sides and 2 more will grow from the bud site. Run a search on fim.