A 15 gallon container is a good size container. Just make sure you get all the soil possible into it, and don't skimp. 15g is great. Will produce a productive plant. But always remember. More Soil = Bigger Plant potential.
NO. All of the secondary branching will form huge colas. IMHO topping only slows them down, and mutilates them. Not a fan of topping.
I also Shake my plants vigorously, but not ebough to damage them. I try and make them as strong as possible.
I run fans 24 hours a day, and all plants have to have movement. Not beaten to death, and wind burned, but they have to be moving. This also makes the plant much stronger/bigger stalk/stems, which = bigger buds.
#1. Us a strain that's known to be branchy.
If your plants weren't rootbound its no wonder they didn't get much.
Even in a 30 gallon container, my plants are rootbound, but theres so much root, it causes no problems.
If it wasn't rootbound, it couldn't have been using much water, or food, which equals low production.
A plant has to be really using water, and visually growing daily, or IMHO you've got the wrong strain, or something is off.
We wont use any strain that wont produce at least 1lb per plant/1000w Hortilux/20 gallons soil.
Strong light early on brings out secondary branching early on. I start seedlings under 1000w Hortilux, at 24 inches. So theyre exposed to bright light from day 1.
I also wont use a strain that shows no early branching pattern.
I look into Dominion Seed Company Dominion Skunk, from SeedsHereNow. POTENT, Fast growing, easy to bend, and huge production. But theyre not cheap.
If you correctly Bend/Train your plants, you will also manipulate the smaller secondaries and bring them around the main stalk to orient them UP.
After you get the plant(s) trained, when theyere bigger, theres no way in hell you will be able to find the Main Tip, as it will be 1 big Beachball Hedge/Forsythia Bush looking plant. If not, its not trained right.
All the secondaries with turn into... MAIN TIPS.
Bending has basically the same affect as topping. Bending forces the hormone Down, and energizes the Secondaries. And bending 1/3 down vs just bending the tip, will allow the tip to keep growing, and adding secondary branching, whcich will turn into mains. If you cut the tip, the main stem is GONE.
Its also possible to mess with the tip so much as to slow forward growth. I generally mess with the top 1/3, and lower, but be careful, or youll snap it.
Heres 1 of the secondary branches from 1 of my plants.
This branch weighed in at 53 grams dry, . This is just 1 branch off of a 5 foot long plant.
Plant produced 25oz. That's my guitar case, so you can see how long the bud is.
Again. Use a strain that is known to have strong branching system. I have other recommendations, but that Dominion Skunk is a really great place t start.
