top or not to top?

[original Blues]

Hay all,

I have been given a 3 new strains that i have never grown b4 and im not sure if I should top them or let them grow there own natural way.

AK-47 serious
Blue Cheese Big budha
Hashberry mandala

 

[Maijah]

i grow ak and never top it, keep top and like 4-5 side branches

 

[aasin527]

i wouldn't top the ak's

 

[Core]

Top i say! and top to 2 or 4 main stems.......then get rid of the sidebranches ,this way popcorn buds will be kept to a minimum, and harvest will be better.
Nhow its each his own grostyle

 

[ICETOKER]

I agree with core. I always top my plants and tie down as needed.

 

[Ekz_Ray]

peace

peace

i would say LST, try topping a clone and see what happens, unless youre doing mom scenario.... whats the plan? to aid the "A" portion of this Q&A...

 

[ICETOKER]

Yes what happens? I´we done it many times with good results..... just check my chocolopes http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=3010577#post3010577

terrible looking plants arent they

peace

toker

 

[Rainman]

I agree with Core. Topping and removing the popcorn allows your plants to push all their flowering energy to the main colas thus increasing yield.

As you can see I top everything and cut away all undergrowth. These plants all averaged 4-7 ounces ecxept for the Bubba in the last pic and it gave up 2-3. Top! Top!

 

[BPJR]

I always top my plants and secure with bamboo and zip ties. I find I have increased my yield of solid dense bud. I am not one for popcorn buds.

Good looking plants Rainman! Thats exactly how mine look

 

[Once More]

Original Blues, I don’t think anyone here can tell you what’s going to be best for you. Especially with the limited info provided. Your setup and conditions are what will determine if it’s in your best interest to molest your plants.

Great pictures of both untoped and toped plants all over this forum and even in this thread now.

Rainman just put up a great example of toped plants. If you have a need or want to keep your plant count low then this can be a great way to go.

For me (a SOG grower) I see a lot of extra veg time. Four to six untoped plants like the AK47 near the top of this thread would fit in to a similar space and need less veg time. Or you can go full on SOG with about 9 plants per square foot with no real veg time. If done right they will all end up yielding about the same gram per watt. The difference is going to be veg time and plant count to fill your space.

That all said some sativa will need to be worked over to make efficient use of space in almost any style of grow

 

[original Blues]

Hay thanks all for coming back to me Rainman assin527 they are some amazing pics they are some heavy buds.
I have to say I have been growing the same mother (blueberry) for some time now and I always top them but I was a little unsure how these react to topping so I supose I will top a couple and see what happens. Not sure how many of each I have but 13 total we ar in week 2 of flower. Ill keep this link updated with what happens any comments welcome..

 

[mixin]

top between the 4th and 5th set of leaves for four main colas

 

[original Blues]

hay mixin youve added another fab pic to this thread love it!!

 

[mixin]

hay mixin youve added another fab pic to this thread love it!!

thanks! i like this technique because the four main colas can lean outward and allow more light to get to the lower buds too

 

[original Blues]

Hay take a look at my 2nd crop in for the year, I started my fist grow in dec 4 weeks later iam adding a this new grow to the room under a 600w cool tube due to time constraints these had to go in a little earlier then i would like.
As they are a little smaller than i would like i placed my whiteberry in a oxypot whith is booming along.

AK Cheese hash: in a 20 pot wilma coco ab,bud blood week 1, pk 18/19 week 2-5, pk 13/14 week 5, pk19/18 week 6-8, flush week 9.

Whiteberry- oxypot canna aqua flora a&b, boosters same as above but I may leave out the pk13-14 will see how things go since using the pk 9-18 the phrosrous levels may be a little high.
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=13401&pictureid=268987
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=13401&pictureid=268986
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=13401&pictureid=268985
http://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=13401&pictureid=268984

ps how do you add your pics to your post rather than clicking on a link??

 

[PuReKnOwLeDgE]

I always top. Here is some serious ak47 topped, this was a few days ago. 5 serious seeds phenos in total.

Day 22 Flower

 

[original Blues]

thanks! i like this technique because the four main colas can lean outward and allow more light to get to the lower buds too

Yes im defo in agrement when you get the right strain and have the space go with it.

Im currently looking at rebuilding my grow room and with little height