I was looking at giving topping my autos a go for the first time but have been convinced against it from other threads. I’ve heard that bending the fan leaves down to promote direct sunlight into the new growth is a great idea, could anyone show me some pics of how they’ve done it or what they have used? And how far along they have done it?
I don't know whether you can tell by the pics. 1st pic is at 3 weeks from sprout before lst. 2nd pic is at 4 weeks from sprout after lst - you might be able to see the soft plant ties holding it down. 3rd pic is at 5 weeks from sprout - you can see the plant ties holding the branches down.. Hope this helps - good luck.
Awesome thanks, are plant ties just a generic thing or is there a specific type you use? Also do I bend down one half of the plant one way and the other half the other way?
I buy my soft plant ties at Ace Hardware - you can use anything as long is it won't cut into the stem - some people use yarn. If you haven't topped yet and still have only one top, just bend it over and tie it - it will promote lateral branching. As the branches grow, tie them down as well to spread the plant out as opposed to growing tall. If you have topped, wait until the two new tops have grown enough to tie them down. You have a ways to go before you can do any topping or lst'ing. Also, I missed your statement about bending the fan leaves in your OP. You don't bend fan leaves, you bend grow tips and tops. Good luck.
don't believe it! you can do any kind of training on an auto you want, you just have a shorter time period to do it in is all. I only grow autos currently and i now regularly top them and LST them. Others go even more extreme and mainline and supergroup them. Oh, you can defoliate them also. on the other hand, even just a simple leaf-tucking or pony tailing is very helpful. as examples if they are helpful: this shows a Blue Dream auto on the left that was topped at the 4th node and a LSD25 auto on the right that was not topped but had the main growing top bent over and the rest of the plant LST'd to spread the branches out to open it up to the light. this is the Blue Dream just being getting chopped for harvest Here is the LSD25 showing her staked open and than just before harvest: 2 Ghost Toof's topped at the 5th nodes: I would suggest doing all training as early as possible. once she starts to flower I usually stop the training and just worry about any needed defoliation. Key is to keep light on the budsites. hope this helps!. don't be scared of doing any type of trying or topping you want on an auto. they are durable plants!
you sure can - i bend fan leaves out of the way all the time if they are blocking bud sites that need the light. it's called leaf tucking hey, i do understand the point you were trying to make... but I'm also just mentioning you CAN "bend" fan leaves too. just a different reason is all
I'm aware of what leaf tucking is my friend. My statement about bending fan leaves is because the OP was interested in training the plant, not providing light to the bud sites. Peace.
Smokey has given good advice. I too have only autos, and you can do almost anything with them that you can with regular strains.
Velcro Green Plant tie. You buy a whole roll of it, but a 6 inch strip lasts many years. They get wrapped around everything and you always find one when you need one, so you never need to cut any more from your untouched roll that you bought ten years ago. Velcro and jute, not good friends. One little piece of velcro can unwap a whole spool of jute in about 2 seconds if you get them mixed up in the same basket. Don't forget the 4 ft bamboo stakes. Use your anvil pruner to cut them to perfect length.