Topping is a little controversial to many growers, because some people absolutely swear by it (more colas = higher yield), while others claim that it only stunts growth and that one single fat cola is the better producer.

If you're going to use the topping method, I'd wait until the plant has at least 4-5 nodes. Do it too early, and you may shock your young plant...causing it to grow irregularly, or slow. And if you're going to do it, get it done long before you plan on flowering...so that the plant will have had time to recover. You shouldn't top during flowering at all. This will stress the plant and cause it to expend energy trying to repair itself, as opposed to trying to produce buds.

About topping multiple times, maybe someone else would be able to answer this better. I've heard it can be done, and multiple colas are the result...but I've never tried it, and don't want to give you any bogus information. Another method to keeping plants short & bushy, and adding surface area for buds to receive light later on would be low-stress training (LST). This I do often...it seems to be much less stressful for the plant.

Hope that helps. :jointsmile: