Looks like you should have started your LST a while back, how far along are you? Btw, what kind of light are you using? How far away? Etc
Its a 350 w MH about two feet away ( now I think about it I can lower it since the plant isn't 6inches away now) I know I started late on LST ha should I just do it on next grow since I'm starting flower aleeady
I'm doing my first LST right now so I'd wait for a more experienced member to guide you, or check or the how-to thread on LST
My buddy recently called me to his house where he had about 4 plants in his backyard that are pretty close to flowering and asked if I'd help him lst them....lulz. Little late, but I gave them a bend and dropped them down to get more sun. For yours, I'd try to poke some holes in the top sides of those pots, take some string or paper clips and put them through the holes and then take two fingers and squeeze the stems so that they don't break as you bend them and bend them down. The goal is to grow the stem around the pot to expose the lower branches to light. As the plant grows up, bend it down. Also, if you bend the top of the plant down, it forces any branches that are now higher (after bending) to think the part that is bent is dead. This forces the plant to reroute hormones to other parts and force them to become tops, it's pretty crazy. Lsting is better than topping/cutting because there's no healing time for the plant, it just reroutes hormones instead of experiencing shock and a delay before continuing growth.
Well it doesn't actually trick the plant into thinking the bent part is "dead" so to speak, but it does as you said, trick the plant into diverting it's Auxins (which are the hormones that tell the plant where to grow). The benefit of this vs. topping is that you are diverting a majority of the Auxins that are already there into the rest of the plant. When you top you are removing some of those so not only does the plant have to heal itself but it also has to create new Auxins as well. Lst'ing can be very beneficial especially for micro grows, it is although easier to do the earlier you start and can greatly increase branching early on in the plants life. It isn't really ever too late to start but the sooner the better. Either way the idea is all the same, to increase your light coverage to lower parts of the plant that might otherwise suffer from low light levels... Anyway I hope this helped a little bit, I have some decent experience with lst'ing and would love to help in anyway I can, feel free to ask me questions if you have any and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge for you. Happy growing
Yeah I know but saying "tricks it into thinking it's dead" is the way I tell people who aren't really familiar with the lingo. Since I run into a lot of friends and family who want help with grows but don't know what to do, I end up talking like this all the time, which is notta gooda. Hehe, but thanks for the clarification. It's a valid explanation.
okay..lol i read the threads after i posted...i see why the late start...i've pretty much got the LSTing part...im wondering the after affect...lol..like how much will they stretch from this point...being a sativa dominant strain..2 to 3x's....cant wait to see..good luck
Consider supercroping, It'll fill out a spindly plant. I went from this to this in like 2 weeks. Just get it as tall/short as you like and keep catching the tops that get taller untill you fill your space. I'm new and the idea of breaking branches sounded crazy but on the plant in this picture the the breaks are soild in 24hrs.
wow such a great response to this thread! Thanks everyone... @ kaboose420 i will keep you in mind if i have any questions! @buddogmutt do you think i should just wait for the next crop to start lst'ing being as i am so late in the game, i mean i only have 3 plants in a 3x3 area i have plenty of height (7feet) but more kholas = more meds ha, @scab Herb ....wait are you saying that the diff between the two pics is 24hours or are you saying the breaks heal in 24?
Thats 2 weeks, if you are still veging you can keep doing it even on your plant till you fill your space at a height you choose. The breaks heal in 24 not fully but firm enough I can get the next set of tall tops to take it down gradualy. I did it just because this one was getting tall enough and was shocked at how it filled out, 4 dominat tops to 20+.
Glad that I could be of some help! Just a couple thoughts I want to throw out there, once you start flowering it is still ok to lst just be careful not to break anything. I would avoid any kind of physical damage at this point like topping or supercropping because of the amount of stress on the plant. Great to do in veg but even tho i am still a firm believer in lst from the start. Anyway if you lst when you flower you will get to a point where it is no longer necessary because eventually the plant will stop growing up and completely focus on development of the flowers. At this point you can let it up or if your like me I keep it tied down so all the tops are at about the same height. Anyway good luck can't wait to see how everything turns out!
i'll keep ya updated on progress, i have a few clones that im going to start tie'n down today while the adults are in the dark
Pic of my very first grow ever, let alone first attempt at LST. She's about 2 months old bagseed UFO in organic soil. Any pointers from any of you more advanced growers would be appreciated. I thought I'd get it in to flowering in another week or so
OK so I have no clue what's up with this plant...it is Hindu kush the stems are purple and leaves show N dificiencies but I put some nutes in and didnt get better so I stopped watering for 3 days n still hasn't got better ....any ideas? So I transplanted it into a better pot and noticed the roots have not gotten anybigger from when I got it....how would I excel root growth? Sprinkle root hormone just below plug?
I can't get the full pic, dialup but it looks like you've got it. It also looks like your running out of room, you might want to think about 12/12 I'm shocked how mine bushed out in just one month of flowring. That whole it'll double or triple in size thing is crazy I'm glad I'm doing outdoor cause there is now way I would have been prepared for whats happening to my baby. Your pot looks kinda small though?
I'm no expert and I'm doing outdoor so I want mine to get as big as it can without restricting it, my mine are 10-20+gal total overkill. I thought it was one of those micro grows but looking harder I'm guessing it's about 3 foot across. It doesn't look 6 gal in the thumbnail like I said dialup, rain, wind, old phone lines it'd take an hour to load your full size pic. Anyways you don't disturb roots that late for any reason sorry to get you excited.