How soon can I H/LST my plants

I have a limited arena of 2x2 lighting and want to maximize the amount the plants absorb the light. Can I start trimming and super cropping a few weeks before flowering or should I wait and let them just die off naturally. The one closest in the first picture is bent at a 90 degree so the lower branching reaches the same height.

Sorry for the lighting it is difficult to pull the plants out and put them back In for better lights.

Why are you asking? you've already started.

Wait...what do you want to let die off?

And to answer your question about how soon, you can start at week 2-3 if you want.

Johiem said:

Why are you asking? you've already started.

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I am asking because I have been told not to until a week prior to flowering and also told I could start whenever I wa just trying to uncover what the real answer was!

Dank Bongula said:

Wait...what do you want to let die off?

And to answer your question about how soon, you can start at week 2-3 if you want.

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I was referring to the lower leaves and and branches about dying. Thanks for being such a helpful person too man I see you posting all over on this page and it truly means a lot my dude!

Bluethunder98 said:

I was referring to the lower leaves and and branches about dying. Thanks for being such a helpful person too man I see you posting all over on this page and it truly means a lot my dude!

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You want to open up the middle, break apical dominance and let light and airflow in there. This will allow the lower branches to get their shit together and get growing. You don't want to remove lower branches yet and you certainly don't want them dying off. I don't think you need to cut anything right now. It looks good...just trim here and there to keep good airflow going forward and if you do any supercropping to help level out the canopy, give it about a week to recover before flipping to flower.

LST is low stress training. Being a low stress technique you can use it through the entire grow. I continue to pull branches down even after flipped to flower.

Wasn't trying to be a dick, just was trying to clarify. You are already using one LST technique with that trellis net(Scrog)
If you wait till just before flowering to try to start training them, the result will be... sad. I start LST once their 4th node is established and continue through till harvest. Topping? I wait till the 7th and cut to the 6th. Until recently, like you, my lowest 3 branches always died. I got more lights (still not to optimal levels) and that stopped.

Johiem said:

Wasn't trying to be a dick, just was trying to clarify. You are already using one LST technique with that trellis net(Scrog)
If you wait till just before flowering to try to start training them, the result will be... sad. I start LST once their 4th node is established and continue through till harvest. Topping? I wait till the 7th and cut to the 6th. Until recently, like you, my lowest 3 branches always died. I got more lights (still not to optimal levels) and that stopped.

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Thanks man I appreciate your input. I just added some cfls to the light array and already have great results. I just wasn’t sure if I should take it all down because I started “too early”. Everything I was reading was really just saying make sure I do these things a week prior to flower, nothing on when I could start it though.

You can try any technique on any plant you think is healthy enough to take the stress, even low stress is some stress.