I topped a plant about a week ago, the lower branches are already taller then the plant was when I topped it so topping doesn't seem to do much in regards to stunting the height of the plant it just gives you four new tops.

Bending has pretty much the exact same effect, on the plants I bent down the side branches took over and were as tall as the original top within a week so between topping and bending I haven't realized any benefit in terms of slowing the rate at which my plants are growing vertically.

I'm at the absolute maximum height I can let some of my plants grow so I'm having a bit of a dilemma here. I'm going to bring two inside and finish them early and a couple others I can probably move around in the back yard between my redwood trees keeping them pretty hidden.