Sexing and Pruning.... When do I start pruning and how much should I take off?

SuperSativa · Apr 30, 2016

Hello,

The kids are 7 weeks and 5 days old now. I've identified 2 females so far. I just found the pistils within the last 3 days. The other 3 kids haven't shown any pistils yet. At what point should I be concerned that they could be males and could pollinate my females?

Also, being that this is my first run and I'm as new as they come; I don't know much about pruning. Specifically the where and when. What should I be pruning off (excess leaves or full branches) and when should I begin pruning. I topped them about a month ago and I pruned them once about 2 weeks ago, thinning them out quite a bit. A friend of mine that has more experience than I do told me I shouldn't have prunned them so much so soon. Of course he hasn't been around since making that suggestion and he hasn't told me when I should start. I'm hoping I can get more help here. All help is very much appreciated!

You will clearly notice in the pics that were taken right after I pruned them a couple weeks ago.

Thanks,
SuperSativa

stoned-trout · Apr 30, 2016

no balls no worries..even after showing balls it takes some time..don't stress it...yeehaw..why the obsession with pruning???..native born masshole..nh was for booze and ciggies/..live free or die no sales tax..living stress free in cali..paying for it tho

SuperSativa · Apr 30, 2016

Yeehaw

Yeehaw

stoned-trout said:
yeehaw..why the obsession with pruning???..native born masshole..nh was for booze and ciggies/..live free or die no sales tax..living stress free in cali..paying for it tho

I wouldn't say it's an obsession.... I'd rather not prune at all but from what I've read, pruning is just another thing that needs to be done to maximize yield. Just need to know when and how hahaha...

You are absolutely right! I grew up in MA and live in NH now in a town that borders MA. NH is definitely for the Massholes to come and get there beer and cigs. Cigs are about $10 - $11 per pack in MA and $5 - $6 in NH... YEEHAHAHA

zapallo · May 1, 2016

Hi! SuperSativa bro, in my opinion, your plants are looking great, u did the topping in the perfect moment to get nice branchy plants and the results are evident. Don't worry too much, the main reason why you should prune your plants is to maximize the illuminated area, so your objective is to make the lower branches grow (ideally) to the same high as the top branches.
Another kind of prunning i like to use is the lollypopping, which is basically eliminating the little sprouds that would not receive enough light to grow decent buds, so they'll just be a waste of energy to the plant. It's also useful to improve aeration by eliminating excess leaves (meaning leaves that are not getting any light) in order to prevent from mold or mildiu. In my opinion this is the only situation when you could actually have an excess of leaves.
About when to start prunning, i've done toppings to plants with barely the first node formed with enough success, i thing the most important issue is when to stop prunning! it's highly recommendable to stop pruning your plants before the switch to 12-12 period to have them fully recovered of the stress. Otherwise the stress of the flowering starting plus the pruning may even turn your plant into a hermie!
This of course also depends on your plant. Some can handle extreme prunning in flowering with no problem.
I don't no if i did some help haha hope i did. Best wishes to you and your garden

soil margin · May 1, 2016

Topping and training the plants will definitely increase yield, but too much pruning will slow growth and reduce yield, so it's a balance you have to find there. If you're just trying to maximize growth and yield, I would suggest putting those girls on top of some boxes or lowering your light a bit. Getting those plants some extra lumens will probably make a bigger difference on growth rate than anything else at this point. When you do prune, focus on lower and inner leaves that aren't getting good light and air exposure. I would leave alone anything that is getting fully exposed to the lamp.

On a different note, those girls look pretty darn droopy. You might be overwatering just a touch. And if you really want to increase growth/yield, put some mulch in those pots to cover the soil.

SuperSativa · May 1, 2016

THANKS!!! and *** Another Question on Flowering ***

THANKS!!! and *** Another Question on Flowering ***

Thank you stoned-trout, soil margin and zapallo!!! This would be so much more difficult if it wasn't for the help you all have given me. I can look at youtube vids all day but being able to ask specific questions and getting answers makes me much more confident.

I have been planning on going switching to 12/12 after 8 weeks (which will be next Saturday May 7th). I thought these kids would be taller than they are by now. They're all between 12 and 14 inches now. Should I stick with my plan to start flowering after 8 weeks (no matter how tall they are) or is it better (would I yield more) if I wait until they reach a certain height? I was thinking (and hoping) they would be ~24 inches tall when switching to 12/12.

Thanks Again!
Grow Green!
SuperSativa

soil margin · May 1, 2016

Remember those plants are gonna stretch pretty hard once you get them in preflower. They could easily triple in height by the time you get into the middle of flowering. Unless you want them to be 6-7' tall by harvest time I wouldn't worry too much about how big they are when you start flowering them.

Easy7 · May 1, 2016

Prune for air flow at the bottom, don't go wild with it. Like they said above, training and topping has advantages. Those could end up being big shrubbery and I think they look good!

Tonygreen · May 1, 2016

What strain are those? You might not ge much stretch if it is a hardcore indica.

I usually end up with 1/4 minimum to 1/3 lollipopped on the bottom. Nothing worthwhile grows down there anyway. Start of flower and maybe a couple weeks in clean up the bottoms one more time of any suckers then let em run.

SuperSativa · May 1, 2016

Strain

Strain

Tonygreen said:
What strain are those? You might not ge much stretch if it is a hardcore indica.

Thanks Easy7 and Tonygreen!
I got the seeds out of a bag of Grape Stomper from friend. He had a Bubblicious hermie that he didn't catch and it ended up seeding his entire crop... Therefore, it's Grape Stomer/Bubblicious mix. I know I'm taking a big risk with my first grow but I wanted to experiment/practice with seeds that I didn't have to buy.

Tonygreen · May 1, 2016

The more I lollipop the more aggressive i got and the results are always great, thicker denser buds overall on top and better quality.

Next Time I make a seed run I will take at least half off the bottom, those beans down there are tiny and immature and just makes it take 20 more hours to sort em ha!

Tonygreen · May 1, 2016

Should get some stretch out of those.
My guy windy did some bubblicious not too long ago.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?threadid=316806

What kind of light and how much headroom ya got atm? Think where you want em to finish really.

SuperSativa · May 3, 2016

Roots coming out of the bottom of the pot

Roots coming out of the bottom of the pot

I transplanted these girls into 5 gallon buckets about 2 weeks ago and I noticed within 1 week that some of the roots had already reached the holes at the bottom of the bucket. Should I be concerned and is there anything I can do about this?

Tonygreen · May 3, 2016

thats good bro

SuperSativa · May 4, 2016

Thanks Tonygreen.... So it's not a bad for them if the light is getting to the roots? I know it's only a few root tips that will see light. I just wasn't sure if that could become a problem.

mr.brunch · May 4, 2016

Those plants look lovely, I wouldn't worry about pruning except for any bottom most leaves that are not receiving any light. They appear to have a short internodal space so they shouldn't stretch too bad

SuperSativa · May 4, 2016

Good call on the current internodal spacing mr.brunch..... I hadn't thought of that but it makes a lot of sense. We'll see

. I can only go to about 6' in height due to ceiling space so so I don't want them stretching too much anyway.... I'll be sure to keep you all posted. Thanks for the help!

jaayjaay · May 5, 2016

These look great! Subbed to follow grow.

SuperSativa · May 9, 2016

Sexing - I need help!!!!

Sexing - I need help!!!!

Pics of progress below. PLEASE HELP!!! SOMEONE, ANYONE, EVERYONE, PLEASE HELP ME BY ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS BELOW!!!

We're ready to change to 12/12 tomorrow. We have 1 out of 5 plants that I'm sure is female. I was sure I saw pistils on 2 of them but now I'm not seeing them on one of the 2. Meanwhile, the pistils have become more clear and have grown on the one that is definitely female.

The plants are exactly 8 weeks old from breaking soil (between March 7th and March 10th.

QUESTION 4 and 5 ARE MY BIGGEST CONCERNS!
If you can't answer anything else, please at least answer question #4 & 5... Thanks!!!

Question 1. ~How many weeks (max) before they show their sex?

Question 2. Could some of these still be female but haven't shown signs (pistils) yet?

Question 3. Do they sometimes or often wait until changing light cycle to 12/12 before showing their sex?

Question 4. If they are males but I still can't determine the sex; How long can I keep them in the same tent with the females on 12/12 before I should worry that they could pollinate my females?

Question 5. Can anyone give me any advice or tips on anything that should be done differently during the flowering stage than what's done as standard practice during the veg stage (besides changing the light cycle lol)?

Thank You All!!!
Grow Green!!
SuperSativa!

mr.brunch · May 10, 2016

From the look of those plants you are doing everything right- don't be changing your method now ! I find the biggest mistake is to pamper and fuss over them too much- most of the time they will be better off doing their own thing.
Most plants I've had show at around the 7 week Mark , so you may just have pistils you have not yet seen. Sometimes just looking from a different angle so the light hits different can reveal them, or a small eyeglass or magnifying glass can help.
Believe me , if they are male you will spot them, the balls look very different.... No white hair, and once seen never forgotten.
They won't bust their balls as soon as they grow so you should have plenty of time to remove them.
Hope this helps a little

Sexing and Pruning.... When do I start pruning and how much should I take off?

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