Hey all I know topping a flowering plant is a big no no. Last time I did it and the bud size was affected. But other then that, is it too late to top say at the 6th or 7th week of vegging?
they've started to show sex by what do you mean alternating nodes? preflowers? They have preflowers already...
Why would you want to top it now? It would probably be too late for topping to force new budsites to grow.
not at all mate top away. only thing i would suggest is if your toppin leave for at least 1 more week before flickin the switch to a 12/12 cycle ,give it time too recover & will benefit your bottom to side branches. can top,prune,pinch,fim, all in veg state as your not into flowering yet ,but just cause you flick the switch to 12/12 the flowering cycle it wont show preflowers for around a couple of weeks ,therefore the floral hormones will divert to another part of the plant,the parts which toppin will benefit,so top away mate happy growing
OK topped away. BTW, I'm taking the topped off part of the plant and transplanting it like a clone, next few days will tell if that worked
Alternating nodes - look at a main vertical branch, look at where a branch/leaf grows off the main branch (thats a node), is there another branch/leaf growing at the exact opposite side of the main branch or is it alternating-(the opposite side branch/leaf is higher/lower) if you are trying to get extra colas by topping and u stated its already flowering/past the growth spurt, then its too late, maybe you can try LST to get fatter buds bud i wouldnt stress it while it flowering, lets see some pics
oh, nice pic im an iddiot and i thought alternating nodes meant when the stem from nodes point at different directions
Well it seems like the plant has alternating nodes from the very start of it. Maybe because its a clone? What does it mean that the plant has alternating nodes? a sign of maturity?
yes cuz its a clone from a plant that was mature, alternating nodes means its mature and ready to bud when you let it or when it wants to(auto-flower strains)
well then whats wrong with topping now? I do know that topping after flowering will give the plant quite a trauma, and that the buds will turn out much smaller cause of that.
if you top, you will stunt the plants growth, so it'll almost be useless if you're planning on flowering soon. i would assume topping earlier, rather than later in the veg cycle is better since the point of topping is to make 2 "main" stems since it'll "double" the length of new growth since there are 2 main stems.
If you bend the top as much as possible to almost back on itself, GENTLY, then tie in place, a wire hoop made from a paperclip is good. This will encourage branching at the node below the bend, in 10-14 days the stress can be relieved and the growtip will raise a little but carry on growing laterally to a slight diagonal tangent and those branches from the node below the bend will be developing as your main colas. As a late alternative to cutting the plant, this is viable and will not traumatise it at all. It will continue to grow for a while after entering into 12/12 so will bud up as two colas and you'll still have the main one as a third with more budsites developing. I have read this on a couple of guides now so you may want to give it a try.