I think I have girls... too late to top?

[jsn9333]

If any experienced grower wants to answer these newbie questions, I'd appreciate it.

I have these two plants outdoors. Here are some pics of the pre-flowers. I had all males the first time I tried to grow last year, so I've never seen females... but this sure looks like the telltale "two white pistils" that I've heard indicate females.

I have not topped this plant yet. Do you think it is too late to do that (now that it seems flowering has begun)? I don't really care about the plants getting too high, but I figured topping would give me more buds.

I've been giving the plants 5-5-5 and some extra nitrogen up until now. Do you think now is a good time to start giving bloom nutes? Or should I stick with the nitrogen heavy nutes until the flowers are well into development? I read that the flowering time is around 8 weeks for Afghan (which is what I believe the strain is). I first saw what I thought were signs of female pre-flowers starting about 1 or 2 weeks ago (around July 15)... so I suppose I should expect a harvest mid-September or early October, if that helps.

thanks,

[middieman440]

looks like ladies to me, i would just let them grow the way they are. doin anything now would stress them out and make your harvest later in the year just let mother nature do her job just my thoughts. good luck

[zebulon]

Do you think it is too late to do that (now that it seems flowering has begun)? I don't really care about the plants getting too high, but I figured topping would give me more buds.
IMO if you top you won't get more buds....the plant will just be more compact...
and i think topping is not a good thing so late, you should do it during veg...
it's also good to top so the plants stay short, so during storms the main stem won't break....

Do you think now is a good time to start giving bloom nutes?
Yes...start feeding soon...

Or should I stick with the nitrogen heavy nutes until the flowers are well into development?
High N is not good for flowering plants, they need phosphor and potassium during flowering, but stop feeding a few weeks before harvest...

[MasterBlaster]

I wouldn't top them. If anything, break them over...