Plant height and trimming after 12/12?

[JamesFarmer]

Hello All,

I have been working towards being able to leave my girls unattended from time to time. Not quite there yet but work required that I leave town for a week. I came home and found a couple of issues I have to address.

One is regarding plant height. I am trying to keep my plant heights as consistant as I can so that they receive uniform lighting. Upon returning home I found my girls that went 12/12 18 days ago grew significantly while I was away. Unfortunately two of them (of 6) grew 10-12"+ taller than the other four. The four shorter ones are the better looking plants.

Given that I am 18 days into 12/12 can I top the taller plants without harming them? Are there other ways of dealing with this?

I thought of training the taller ones to the side to make them "shorter" but I don't have enough room to do it well.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

FJ

 

[TheCleanGame]

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[JamesFarmer]

I thought of training the taller ones to the side to make them "shorter" but I don't have enough room to do it well.

Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[TheCleanGame]

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[JamesFarmer]

Supercropping would allow you to drop the tops a few inches, right into the plant itself, no widening of the space requirements at all.

Check it out.

Keep it Clean!

I topped the plants while they were in veg. This gave me multiple flower sites instead of a single cola on the top.

I am concerned that topping again at 18 days of 12/12 may do more harm than good.

Thoughts?

 

[Coconutz]

Dont top in flower. Thats madness.
There are so many days of flower that need to be used to produce the herbs.
Bend them or do what you gotta do, but dont top them. Just let them grow right into the light if you have to.

 

[JamesFarmer]

Dont top in flower. Thats madness.
There are so many days of flower that need to be used to produce the herbs.
Bend them or do what you gotta do, but dont top them. Just let them grow right into the light if you have to.

Looks like I'll take a hit on the tall ones in order to preserve the shorter ones.

 

[ambertrich]

JamesFarmer, TheCleanGame gave you some great advice.

Read up on supercropping and LST. Gotta make them plants you Bitches -pinch 'em, bend 'em and twist 'em to the height/width you want. Dont be afraid to do it, you'll be glad you did.

I would definately not cut them to even the height. That is more likely to cause problems with the plant than bending or tying. Wherever you pinch the stem will heal with a thickened callous or knukle that will give it added strength. It won't hurt your yeild and may in fact help in the end.

Here is an example of a plant I had to pinch/twist/bend and she did not suffer at all as you will see.

Good luck and good growing!

 

[Coconutz]

Can you raise the shorter ones a little and bend the taller ones a little?
Ive used milk crates to raise up certain strains and they drain right into my trays

 

[JamesFarmer]

Can you raise the shorter ones a little and bend the taller ones a little?
Ive used milk crates to raise up certain strains and they drain right into my trays

Growing in RDWC. Can't raise the plants unfortunately & I don't have room to bend them.

Good thought though.

Thanks for the input.

 

[TheCleanGame]

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[JamesFarmer]

JamesFarmer, TheCleanGame gave you some great advice.

Read up on supercropping and LST. Gotta make them plants you Bitches -pinch 'em, bend 'em and twist 'em to the height/width you want. Dont be afraid to do it, you'll be glad you did.

I would definately not cut them to even the height. That is more likely to cause problems with the plant than bending or tying. Wherever you pinch the stem will heal with a thickened callous or knukle that will give it added strength. It won't hurt your yeild and may in fact help in the end.

Here is an example of a plant I had to pinch/twist/bend and she did not suffer at all as you will see.

View Image

Good luck and good growing!

I read up on topping & supercropping while I had these in veg. I decided to top this bunch based on recommendations in the threads I read. The ones that I topped the most aggressively are the best looking of the bunch. They are shorter but healthier and have more viable bud sites.

If I had a bit more room I would be training the taller ones to reduce overall height. I think I may cut my plant count next time to give me more room.

Thanks for the info!!

FJ.

 

[JamesFarmer]

While reading up on supercropping, topping, LST etc. Most of what I read said "do NOT supercrop plants in flower".

I took a little closer look.I Googled "supercropping in flower". I found some good discussions and examples of people who had good success supercropping in various stages of flower.

So here we go........... I pinched the 5 tallest branches and laid them over. they are now blocking other bud sites. I am going to watch them for a few days and see how they behave.

Of the six plants, one of them is a bit puny. I may cut that one to open up more space to manipulate the others. These girls sat in veg for two weeks longer than I usually do and have gotten a bit out of hand.

Thanks Gent's!

 

[grassott's dad]

Hi JF. I've supercropped many times in flower to avoid the tops getting burnt and the plants turn out just fine.

Sounds like you've got a crowded room. If so have you looked into defoliation? Unblock them budsites to let the light in.

GD.

 

[JamesFarmer]

Hi JF. I've supercropped many times in flower to avoid the tops getting burnt and the plants turn out just fine.

Sounds like you've got a crowded room. If so have you looked into defoliation? Unblock them budsites to let the light in.

GD.

Thanks for the tips. I have looked at defoliation. I tend to move slowly trying new things. I may try this on one plant in my next bunch.

 

[grassott's dad]

Thanks for the tips. I have looked at defoliation. I tend to move slowly trying new things. I may try this on one plant in my next bunch.

Not trying to tell you what to do with your crop, but I wouldn't top in flower at all.

If you are gonna defol, then just chop off 3 or 4 of the biggest leaves every couple of days or so and read it from the plants from there. It's no good picking on just one plant in a crowded room.

 

[JamesFarmer]

Well the supercropping appears to have worked well. I have been watching for the stems that I bent over to show signs of harm or new growth. Looks like new growth is the winner.
They are forming the "knot" I have seen pictured are developing and I see new growth.