Help! Big plants need support / pruning in early flowering

S

StinkyPinkyWhiteHead

Member
This is my first grow since my closet in high school. The plants I had then only grew to 6 feet or so and I wasn't expecting much more than that. Two of my plants are now probably 10 feet tall and super bushy and they all just started the flowering phase. I'm wondering how to rig up some kind of support this late in the game, and how hard I can prune them so late. I had been plucking some fan leaves and feeding to my rabbits (hey, the rabbits feed the plants so it's only fair), but I've been busy and hadn't done much. Today I took some of the smaller growth off the bottoms and clipped some more fan leaves, but the plants are so big and bushy. I just looked into pruning online and see that some folks will take nodes off in veg but I never did that. They are just wild.
As far as support goes, I may try to find some 10 foot T posts and trellising netting and just put that on the sides? But we have a lot of ledge here and it will be hard getting them in the ground. I have some cages and metal posts up already but they've tripled in size since then. Now I have to laugh at the little tomato cages at the bottom, that's not helping a whole lot.
What can I prune into the flowering phase and how much? Anyone here ever had to set up a large support late in the season?
 
DustyDuke

DustyDuke

Well-Known Member
StinkyPinkyWhiteHead said:
This is my first grow since my closet in high school. The plants I had then only grew to 6 feet or so and I wasn't expecting much more than that. Two of my plants are now probably 10 feet tall and super bushy and they all just started the flowering phase. I'm wondering how to rig up some kind of support this late in the game, and how hard I can prune them so late. I had been plucking some fan leaves and feeding to my rabbits (hey, the rabbits feed the plants so it's only fair), but I've been busy and hadn't done much. Today I took some of the smaller growth off the bottoms and clipped some more fan leaves, but the plants are so big and bushy. I just looked into pruning online and see that some folks will take nodes off in veg but I never did that. They are just wild.
As far as support goes, I may try to find some 10 foot T posts and trellising netting and just put that on the sides? But we have a lot of ledge here and it will be hard getting them in the ground. I have some cages and metal posts up already but they've tripled in size since then. Now I have to laugh at the little tomato cages at the bottom, that's not helping a whole lot.
What can I prune into the flowering phase and how much? Anyone here ever had to set up a large support late in the season?
Click to expand...
When I’ve had big plants I’ve just added cages but I’m talking about rebar mesh just the thin stuff. I just make it as high as the plant or a bit higher depending on if you have finished stretch. Make it a bit tight so the branches come threw half a foot on average. Once those buds get weight on them you will struggle, if the start sagging tie lift them up with some string or thin rope and tie them back on the cage. Hope it helps
 
JimmiP

JimmiP

Well-Known Member
Yeah I have to keep supercropping and tying them down too. It is a great problem to have though.
If you use the tposts (or anything else for that matter) you might also want to add some pvc or wood cross braces to the tops. You can just ziptye them to the top of the posts. They give your trellis netting a stronger anchor on top and more places to tie extra supports for heavy branches.

Now I have to go out and do some tying down on the tops myself. Plants are hitting the hoop house ceiling already!
Good luck friend!
 
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