if you had problems with plants stretching and tipping over with this method of growing what would be an easy way of tieing down the plants so they only reach a certain height. ive seen people tie plants down using pots and dirt. they tie the branches to the top of the pot when they want the plant to stop stretching. i cant picture doing this with rockwool cubes. how could someone tie a branch to the top of the rockwool somehow? i think i read a while back that you can just tie a upper and a lower branch together. is this true. anyone have any ideas. thank you. i miss cw so much.

[10k]

yes its true, you can tie the plant back to itself.
One simple method is by using those large plastic covered paper clips bent into a "S-Hook or ornament hook looking configuration. You can then link them together to form a chain of appropriate length, or use them as hooks on each end of some soft string.

Other methods include tying down to the edges of the tray the big rw cubes are sitting in, or by hanging weights (like large "river rig" fishing weights) on the given branch or stem to make it hang lower or downwards.

Christmas ornament hooks, preferrably dipped in plastidip coating, also work great for these methods btw.

great info 10k. what branches do you recommend tieing together. the top to the bottom? and also the second i tie them will it stop all vertical growth immediately? i should just wait untill the height i want them then tie them correct?

[Mjguru]

hook the top of the plant with one side of paperclip then add several paper clips, as u look for a lower branch protruding to hoook the bottom of the paper clip, u will be bending the top of the plant down to the bottom. u will end up making a loop with one of your top branches, well almost a loop.

second, this will not stop vertical growth, this only causes the "suckers" or the small leaves growing up the stem on the sides...they will begin to branch up. and the top of the plant will stunt. this will cause the suckers to grow as branchers makingg more kola buds. some say as u tie it down more to make more kola buds the kola buds shrink with each tiedown. i dont think so at all. it only takes longer to bud, like 80 days...but this is if u really tie it back heh.
like if u tie it back so much u get like 20 kolas

3rd tieing down is like a art u have to learn whhen to do it at the right times.if u want bushes its best to begin to train the plants after u see 4 sets of nodes. bend it back, then wait after a few weks u will see the branches going upward....then u can tie them back after time..and then again


ps- u can only tie it back so many timesb4 there will be to many future "branches" or "budsites there called" b4 u end up crowding the p-lant and branches and only a few will produce buds. i found u can tie back like a good,34 times b4 it gets to crowded,

doing this outdoors makes monsters its best to tie it down every 1-1.5 feet.

if your plants are toppling over there is a problem

if its a finicky system whatever id say dont start tying shit down in all directions

how can anybody give advice without knowing his setup?

how are the plants growing tree king is this a tree/bush style bucket grow in 1 site buckets, or are you in a NFT...big difference

if sog just top them and keep it even

if your growing bushes, and the plants have support, bust the stems between your thumb and forfinger iuntil you fel the hurd break..avoid broken flesh

let it hang or tie it down, the lateral branching grows upwards into main tops and the stems are strengthened

[10k]

yes, good info mjguru

Tree King,
Like mjguru mentioned, tieing down will always encourage upward growth of all the side shoots and more branching along the tied down stem or branch. Plus the growth tip of tied down stem will always turn up and grow towards the light(s) again.

AF has had several plants where the main stalk ends up with all sorts of goofy looking curves from all the re-tieing by the time its finally finished.

[10k]

Captain jack has good points too.
A big "duh" as far as the hydro system being used, or the method employed ie: sog vs growing individuals for yield as in a dwc bucket grow.
Large rw cubes are for the most part a bitch as far as "plant support" goes.
AF personally hates using large rw for sog and much prefers a growrock medium.
(for several reasons I'd be glad to elaborate on further such as its tendancy to be too wet, not to mention its horrible ph drifts and poor plant support)

However, if you have the cubes supported in a planter of lecastone, or growing into a slab, then you shouldnt be having much plant support problems, since the root system will grow into the supporting medium and provide sufficient "grip".

this is getting confusing. im doing sea of green 4 inch squared rockwool hydro with no veg time. i only have this problem with seeds. clones dont stretch like the seeds do for some reason. this is pretty much a 1 time thing because im going to have mothers after this and i dont have the problem with clones. i dont want my plants to be more than 2 feet and i dont want to top them. i dont really understand what you guys are saying.i dont want to bend the plant down from the tip i just want to keep vertical growth at 2 feet. so will tying the top branch to the bottom branch stop vertical growth completely? when i say vertical growth i just mean the main stalk. i dont want the main stalk to be more than 2 feet. i dont care how the branches grow.

[.♠.]

Tying the main branch down to a lower branch will basically stop the main branch from growing vertically, but what everyone is saying is that the side branches will continue to grow and surpass your "tied off" mark.

Therefor creating a plant that has grown larger than the two foot limit you have set.

Keep the Peace

[highonthechroni]

you could use fishing weights.