To do LST properly, you really do need to top your plant as early as possible (after 5 nodes have formed) so that you have plenty of branches to work with later. You can also let it grow a little tall without topping, and then bend it in a horseshoe so that the highest point of the plant is pulled lower than some other nodes. This is actually topping too, but chemically; you are manipulating the hormones in the plant to favor side shoots that are now exposed to the light.
Topping without LST produces a bush- GREAT if you have multiple points of light and running HPS.
Topping WITH LST allows you to form the plant to suit the type of light you have.
stinkyattic Reviewed by stinkyattic on . Need Expert Advice CFL Grow Ok so I'm planning on a CFL grow. The lights I am thinking about using are: For Vegging: 5 42w 5700K cfl's For Flowering: 5 42w 2500K cfl's They'll be in soil. I will have a pretty big fan in the grow space. I will give them fox farm nutrients the big bloom and grow big. I will have the cfl's on them 24/7 for about 2 weeks or so then cut it back to 18/6 for about another 3 weeks, so a total of 5 weeks in vegg. I might go longerin veg becuase I want to make the Rating: 5