Age old question, when to top.......

[jbcCT]

Buddy of mine & I were talking today about topping the crop for the outdoor season. He told me he believes if you top too early, below 16-19 inches, it actually kills out any further growth of the tap root, creating thin vein like roots to spread out, limiting the yield.

I usually start topping four to five nodes in anyway so never really had a plant stunted by an early top.

Anyone out here agree with the premise topping too early can stunt the growth? A wise man once told me top early & often......I think just not too early myself.

 

[backtracker]

the tap root doesn't feed the plant it's for stability to keep the plant from falling over if they are staked and supported they don't need a tap root. Clones don't have tap roots just lateral feeder roots. If they are topped to early they are too close to the ground and that can make it hard to work under them. 16 sounds about right but you can train them to do what ever you want.

 

[haloman420]

I would say no topping, unless you need to keep it short for space. I just like how the plant looks without topping.

 

[Dr. Who]

Buddy of mine & I were talking today about topping the crop for the outdoor season. He told me he believes if you top too early, below 16-19 inches, it actually kills out any further growth of the tap root, creating thin vein like roots to spread out, limiting the yield.

I usually start topping four to five nodes in anyway so never really had a plant stunted by an early top.

Anyone out here agree with the premise topping too early can stunt the growth? A wise man once told me top early & often......I think just not too early myself.

It does not stop root growth in any way.

That's rather late (16 inch's)! 3rd to 5th node is the first place - I like the 4th, some one or the other. The way your doing it is spot on...