I decided to LST my Chronic plant. BUT, after doing it, I decided to undo the strings and cancelled the procedure. Why? Well, I remembered what the seed bank I got it from said about this particular strain. They say: "Do not top plants to encourage multiple big buds, as this strain does not respond well to topping. " I understand that topping is considered "High Stress Training", so it is different. However, LSTing in a way mimics topping in the sense that it is redistributing hormones to lower parts of the plants, by tying down the higher stems. So I was wondering if I should not LST this strain, because of what they said? Has anybody here LSTed Chronic?
I have not LST'd Chronic, but topping and LSTing are quite different in many significant ways. LST doesn't really do anything that should actually harm the plant. I would think LST would not be a problem for Chronic, if it were the seedbank would have said so.
low stress training is the shit,unless you dont think that a nice even canopy with many major colas is as good as 1 major cola and a bunch of minor ones,
Yes, I believe LST is very nice, even though I have not done it myself yet. I had been planning to do it on my chronic plant, since it is still small, but then I remembered what the seed bank said. In fact I mailed them about LSTing chronic, and this is the reply I got: "just leave it as is.. why low stress when it will perform better on it's own? ..Keep it simple.. too many people write books on techniques that do more harm than good, but people want to believe. Anyway's that's my 2 cents. Thanks for emailing us." So now I am more confused than anything
The plant will not perform better "on its own" than with LST, as long as the LST is done right, especially for an indoor grow. Don't know why they would have told you that. LST is no big deal, and the plant is adapted for it. Actually, the other way around -- LST takes advantage of a natural adaptation ability within the plant. In a natural environment there are all kinds of things that could keep the plant from growing straight up and out in all directions unfettered, so the plant is adapted to growing around those things and then bending back up towards the light.
I tend to agree with you. LSTing makes sense in many ways. It's just now I have doubts because of what they said about this particular strain (Chronic). I don't know why it would react differently that other strains, but that is what they seem to believe. Considering this is my first grow, I'm debating whether to just let this plant grow naturally, then on my next grow do LST, then I can compare the yield between both methods. Ah, decisions decisions...
I do understand some strains react to topping with great results while others do quite the opposite but i have never heard of any strain responding in any way other than positive with LSTing. If a breader says topping a specific strain wont gain better results i would not top it,they do it and know which strains will produce bigger and more colas and which ones wont. All in all id say yes a little,LST makes the plant shorter while dding more sq. footage which will always lead to more colas and more yield. Theres a fine balance between how tall a plant can become and the type and wattage of lighting used to achieve an even maturation,large HID reflectors over a shorter plant with a larger footprint would be ideal for an even maturation of dense tops with the highest possible yield.
Im' not trying to hijack your thread but I have a question on odor. Does the Chronic plant put off a strong sent during flower cause I want to order it but I need a low odor strain I am growing Northern Lights now but I want more than 1 strain
Just be sure you are not FINDING things to-do to your plant. If you do not have a height restriction or the main cola has not TAKEN off I see no advantages to LST. I went crazy LST on the mother in my current grow. With only one space these days I need to allow the clones time to catch up. My mother has over 15 tiedowns, at 2 ft tall my arms reach about 1/2 way around.
Thanks Oci! Yes it seems from the breeder's experience "topping" Chronic is a no-no. According to them it doesn't respond well. I am not sure what happens exactly, but I'll take their word for it considering "high stress training". However, like you say, I don't know why it wouldn't be ok to LST it. It probably would work, but I might just let it grow normally this first time, then in the future I will trying LSTing the same strain, and compare the difference. Doing a little research on LSTing, I found out that LSTing in a way mimics topping, in the sense that you are redistributing hormones to the bottom parts of the plant, that would otherwise go to the top. Hence it is "low stress" as opposed to high stress. I'm not sure if the density of the buds have something to do with how a plant could better handle stress, but since I'm a noob, I wouldn't know either way I want to try LST because of the convenience factor, plus it makes sense for CFL use. How tall do you think I should let it grow "naturally", before switching to flower, considering CFL usage.
According to the seed bank, it is a low oder plant. I can't say from experience since I am still in veg stage though.
I don't have height restrictions at the moment. It's just that I am using CFLs, so I can see how LSTing would make the most out of CFLs. Would you still see no advantages considering CFLs as your light source?
I don't find it surprising to receive information suggesting not to TOP a plant, because it'll obviously throw a picky strain off the bridge...but you can absolutely LST any plant regardless of the strain. The only think I could think of is possibly a warning of the explosive growth you're about to experience (if limited space) For example, you start an LST on a pure power plant you better watch out, heh
Check out my grow and tell me if you think I would be better off without LST. Don't think so! They call it LOW stress training for a reason. Topping stresses the plant a hell of a lot more. Than just tying it down.
Two feet with 42watt and 30-40" with high power cfls.EDIT-Sorry,this would be the final flowering height.