Simple Topping Question

[foggylondontown]

First, I would like to apologize for the seemingly pointless questions I have been asking lately, but it has really helped me get a grasp on this process as a whole. I really appreciate the time you guys take for answering my questions. I was just wondering, I heard not to top until the 5th node forms. If you top at an early enough age will the new growths grow nodes and form branches? If they do can you top again for even more colas?

foggylondontown Reviewed by foggylondontown on 08-28-2005. Simple Topping Question First, I would like to apologize for the seemingly pointless questions I have been asking lately, but it has really helped me get a grasp on this process as a whole. I really appreciate the time you guys take for answering my questions. I was just wondering, I heard not to top until the 5th node forms. If you top at an early enough age will the new growths grow nodes and form branches? If they do can you top again for even more colas? Rating: 5

[latewood]

there is only one main kola...if you top do it for height, not yield...yield is about the same, but if you top you are cutting off the most potentially potent part of your plant and the 2 that grow back will not be main kolas...remember every time you wack off a fruitful part of your plants you are stressing shocking and sacrificing yield and possibly potency due to the "Shock"...hope this helps

[foggylondontown]

Yes, that sheds some different light. I have read that there is a posibility that the colas could become bigger, or even smaller depending on strain, but topping, even though it creates stress, is still a popular thing to do, and I have seen it done even by the pros. I am still wondering if you top at an early enough age will the new growths grow nodes and form branches? If they do can you top again for even more colas?

[latewood]

yes, you can top top top if you want...experts that top, only do so because of limitations to grow space height or SOG...goodluck...

[foggylondontown]

Thank you, sir, but I wasn't planning on topping. I just want to know if it would work. Could it theoretically work?

[the fox]

ive done this quite a few times on grows ....you wait till you have about two weeks left to finish flowering, then you dead head your main cola..!...dead head means simply to pinch out the top of cola,....what ive found is that it increases the size of the cola (makes it fatter)...

[Garden Knowm]

ive done this quite a few times on grows ....you wait till you have about two weeks left to finish flowering, then you dead head your main cola..!...dead head means simply to pinch out the top of cola,....what ive found is that it increases the size of the cola (makes it fatter)...

umm.. fox...
thats balls to the wall dude.. have you ever accidentaly "lopped" instead of "dead head"

?

you should explain this dead head technique more... I have never heard of waiting until the last 2 weeks of flowering... and I think you are one brave mother to be messing with BIG "C" 2 weeks before she's ready!!

: )

topping... make sure, that if you top the main cola.. you turn that sucker into a clone... that's your meal ticket!!

Why do you want to top? Have you considered just bending her over... using a twist TIE... the reason for this is so that you can bring the light closer to the rest of the plant, balancing it out with the extreme hieght of the main cola... rather than top it... you bend it and then bring the light down..

: )

[bluehue]

foggylondontown: When you top, everything below it will starts growing and trying to be the meristem. So to answer your question, you can top below the 5th node though it isn't really recommended fo the most part. Only the nodes that are present below the topping will grow out, then nodes on tose branches will grow out if you top those as well.

To top or not to top is really a question of strain and growers preference. As said above, another great option is LST. I have height restrictions so I have always used LST, but I recently topped the current grow I have going as well. Some strains will bush out more with a topping-especially strains that aren't all that branchy to begin with. I was recommended to top my blueberries by the breeder I bought them from, and I am glad I did.

As for the statement that you will sacrafice yield by topping--I personally don't agree--in fact topping can increase yield--but again this strain dependednt and also depends on your growing set up (I know...single cola SOG ).

Of course topping a plant while in the flowering stage (not deadheading/pinching) but taking the whole thing would not be too smart...

hope this helps a little,
bluehue

[bluehue]

this is an example of topping at the 5th node:

here's the first blueberry I topped and tied. Actually a bit of a mistake, as I was just trying to LST her using the crushing technique and I offed her head. Woops These pics are in succession. The final pic is of her in the beginning stages of flower. I'm harvesting this sunday--she's ok but I have my eye on two others as potential moms...