How do you get a lot of top buds

[KaMoeKazee]

Hi all,
I have a dumb question but I would like to know how you get your plant to get multiple tops on them instead of just the one shoot?
I have a few plants that I am working with and they all just grow tall without really bushing out.
Do I wanna chop the top half of the plant to get the lower branches to grow up or do you keep your lights really close to them?
I have read others say they trained them early to get multiple tops but I dont know what that means? My plants are probably to big for that now but would like to try training them when they are young if anyone can enlighten me on how to do that.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the dumb question.

 

[Donald Mallard]

Its not a dumb question so no need to apologize,

to maximize your yeild per plant topping and training is by far the best method imo,

i generally top my plants at around a month from seed, they will typically have 4 - 6 sets of inter nodes by that stage,

so they will grow 4 - 6 sets of branches,
as those branches grow upwards , and when they are around 12 inches long or so,

i start bending them to encourage outward/horizontal growth rather than allowing the plant to grow vertically as it would like ...

this allows the next sets of inter nodes to act like tops in their own right ,
if you continue to bend and shape the plant in this fashion,

you can end up with a nice shrub like a ball , full of bud sites ,
rather than a lanky plant with one top bud and a few side branches ..

there is a variety of training methods that will achieve this result,
so a search for scrog , training , super cropping , and you will see what can be done..

 

[xmobotx]

dont forget LST and FIM ~lol of course you will run into those terms w/ don's terms above

 

[anon0988]

Hi all,
I have a dumb question but I would like to know how you get your plant to get multiple tops on them instead of just the one shoot?
I have a few plants that I am working with and they all just grow tall without really bushing out.
Do I wanna chop the top half of the plant to get the lower branches to grow up or do you keep your lights really close to them?
I have read others say they trained them early to get multiple tops but I dont know what that means? My plants are probably to big for that now but would like to try training them when they are young if anyone can enlighten me on how to do that.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the dumb question.

I am actually on my 2nd grow and I went for this same method this time around. Basically what you want to do is start when the plant is still small. It's called LST (low stress training). Basically as soon as the plant is about 4" high or so , you start bending it over sideways and holding it in place so it begins to grow how you shape it. The gist of it is that a plant wants to have a main top, when you bend the plant sideways it releases hormones to trigger side branches to go up and try to be mains. If you continually do this you get a very bushy plant with many main colas. I actually just installed my screen to do a SCROG 2 days ago. I can't speak to how well this method works because it's my first time trying it, but it looks promising so far. I've about got the screen filled to every corner and I'm thinking I'll flip to 12/12 soon to start flower.

What I've found works best for training is pipe cleaners. You can pick up a big pack for around $3-$5 and they work great, you just bend them how you want them and they stay. I trained mine in 12" pots (~1.9 gal) and would hook the pipe cleaners to the rim of the pot to hold it in place.

 

[KaMoeKazee]

Wow, thanks everyone for the great informative replies. I hope to turn my bean stalks into bushes lol.
I had no idea that you could do things like that. I will give it a try as soon as I can get my clones to root.

Thanks for making this a fun place to learn and share knowledge.

 

[Tonygreen]

Hey KaMoeKazee check it out I'm doin that stuff myself right now, stop by and have a look!

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=263415

 

[KaMoeKazee]

Thanks Tonygreen, I checked out your link and I am signed up to your thread. I cant wait to get my plants looking bushy like yours.
Thanks for helping me out.

 

[Tonygreen]

No problem dude!

 

[Drift13]

Read here... https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=115377 and hope it helps.

 

[Hammerhead]

I use topping,fim,lst and tying.....This was still in veg. 75 days veg and 2 weeks into flower. on the 2nd pic .She will have buds everywhere. I know this plant well. she does not stretch more then 1x. i used a 10g pot....

I still need to tie her up also needs to be thinned out a bit.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

Its not a dumb question so no need to apologize,

to maximize your yeild per plant topping and training is by far the best method imo,

i generally top my plants at around a month from seed, they will typically have 4 - 6 sets of inter nodes by that stage,

so they will grow 4 - 6 sets of branches,
as those branches grow upwards , and when they are around 12 inches long or so,

i start bending them to encourage outward/horizontal growth rather than allowing the plant to grow vertically as it would like ...

this allows the next sets of inter nodes to act like tops in their own right ,
if you continue to bend and shape the plant in this fashion,

you can end up with a nice shrub like a ball , full of bud sites ,
rather than a lanky plant with one top bud and a few side branches ..

there is a variety of training methods that will achieve this result,
so a search for scrog , training , super cropping , and you will see what can be done..

Great Post! Thank you I too needed that answer.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

I use topping,fim,lst and tying.....This was still in veg. 75 days veg and 2 weeks into flower. on the 2nd pic .She will have buds everywhere. I know this plant well. she does not stretch more then 1x. i used a 10g pot....
View Image
I still need to tie her up also needs to be thinned out a bit.
View Image

Sweet pictures......They are amazing!

 

[KaMoeKazee]

Drift13, thank you so much for that link! That is some great info. Can't wait to give it a try.

Hammerhead, that is some very impressive work and I can't believe how beautiful green your plants are. Do you use some special fertilizer? I would love to learn what you do for your plants.

NYNebie, I agree with you. Some great and useful info everyone.

Thanks to everyone for being so helpful with the information and willing to help us newbies get to where we need to be. Your help is much appreciated.

 

[NYUrbanFarmer]

KaMoeKazee pls check out my week 3 pics in thread "Week 3 am I on the right path" and tell me what you think. Are they premature?