Yeh I realize there are going to be differences between our grows ( ex. light, space, ect. ) But 12 in that space is going to be cramped. I can't fit more than 9 plants in 5 gal. buckets in a 48''x48'' space under a 600 watt HPS.

Also when you say bottom branches do you mean the small weak looking ones that grow from nodes facing the dirt or the ones that form from the first nodes? Reason I ask is the branches that form from the lower nodes produce the largest colas except for the main cola that forms from the main shoot.