I will be growing northern lights indoors in a few weeks and I wondered if I should top the plants or let them grow? Any suggestions?
Welcome to the forums. If it would be your first time growing that strain or your first time topping, go ahead and grow some plants each way. You'll see first hand & be able to compare not only the differences between topped & untopped plants, but exactly how it affects your particular strain.
agree, its good to experiment. There is really no right/wrong answer. Generally speaking, if you are limited on space/height then topping/fimming will definitely help to fill out the plant and turn it bushier. From then you can LST + Supercrop and really bush it out.
Same here I like to do 1 topped 1 not and the compare yeilds and sizes I like to keep my plants shoort and busy. It's really all up to what your looking to do in your space.
as mentioned, topping is good for controlling height, or for more tops, lol. personally, i never top. i tie down in early flower and get better results than topping, and w/o the slow down in growth after topping.
Yea LST worked better on some strains for me too some pepole told me thay do both I never have myself though.
I like the idea on experimentation. I'll be growing 4 to start. I'll keep two all natural and top the other two. I really want to LST but it takes a bit longer to complete a life cycle so I'll wait until the next grow. Very excited! Its been too long since my last grow!!! I'll post a journal when the time comes.
Actually LST takes the same amount of time as any other grow. Topping does give the plant a little stunt while it recovers from the loss ot the top. I have done one on one topping verses LST and think LST gives you better results. I would be cautious about the "experiment". you will have plants at radically different heights. So you won't be able to keep the lights close to the shorter ones and they will stretch out. LST/SOG is the only way.(IMO)
"Actually LST takes the same amount of time as any other grow." Cool! I was under the assumption that it takes a bit longer since you are slowly taming the plant to grow against its will. I'll definitely do LST then! I've been researching about the method for years, and I can't wait!!!
Great! Go to a nursery and get some green wire to use for tie down. I have punched holes in the side of my green plastic containers and put in permanent loops to use for tie down. But you are also going to need wire anchors for the early days. I make them from tying wire (construction) or large paper clips bend into a narrow U shape. A small tent stake sort of. These anchors you need when it is young cause the plant will not reach the edge of the pot, and you can't tie them down, to the sides just yet. wait til the plant has 4-5 nodes and new growth at the junction of main stock and leaves. This is important! once you get to this point (should be around 3 weeks in from seed), bend the baby over flat to the ground. Within a day all the new growth (at the stock) will turn up and try to be the top guy. This competition is what creates lots of colas. You have to keep them under control too. The goal is to keep a level canopy of growth, regardless of whether you have one plant or 20 under lights. The tallest plant dictates the height of the light. So if they are all the same height, then your light is always at the optimum height.
Dalars, Thanks for the advice! You speak as if you are completely aware of what you're talking about, and in turn I trust in your comments. I'll try the method, and ideas. Look forward to a thread of my grow journal soon!!! Once again I'm really excited!
i think a lot of folks tie down much too early. when a plant has only a couple nodes, it seems to me that it would be under more stress than if you waited until it ha d a few more. as i said, i tie down in early flower. don't get me wrong, it works in the early stages too, but i like to let them get a little bigger/stronger. if you're really limited in the vertical space dept., seriously think about a scrog. also a great method with a smaller wattage light...
Well put GrowBot. Thanks for the information. Luckily I don't have limited space, and I'm going to be running 1000watt bulbs.
My 2 cents on a scrog is: the screen is too hard to work around. my plants never grow bigger than a foot to 16 inches tall in veg (due to LST). I pick them up and work on my tie downs at a "workstation". better light, AWAY from the "sun" in the room, easier on the back. a screen (used in scrogs) would prevent it. I tried it once, cause it sounds good in theory, but getting to the plants themselves was a bitch. IMO I agree with growbot on NOT too early. wait till you have lots of new growth at the main stock, like I said, about 3 weeks in, a week before I go to flower.
I have always heard a topped plant will be as less potent. Just kinda like how they say MH produces more resin than a HPS bulb. Guess it depends what you are going for. Myself, I think I have decided to go for trophy colas under MH for maximum resin. Forget the yield. I got people for that. I want some top notch enter the cannabis cup shit from my micro grow. If you are out doors i say top away. Go for that yield but me, myself, I wanna go for the thc content % they advertise opposed to the yield potential. I topped one, tried to fim one, let two grow normal my first shot here. The topped plant turned out male but I got to see how it worked ^^.
Id have to disagree with the first part of your comment. When tying down earlier(let it grow to about 6") your sending the hormone that tells the plant what the highest part of the plant is to the rest of the stem and branches, and while the main stem of the plant keeps growing as you tie it down, more branches grow fast, evenly, and strong. Iv never done what you've done but it seems to me you want to take advantage of your veg. time for LST growth, more bud sites. As for the last part of your comment, scrog is a good method.