low stress training or top

hi all ,
or can i do both ?

been thinking of trying LST on some of my young clones ,these plants have been in for 1 week on 18/6 veg i have just trimmed the bottoms up ,im planning to keep them in veg for 3 weeks only then flip to 12/12 .i want to top but iv only ever topped a couple of plant before as im not sure how far to go ,just only cut the main stem in middle but thats it .
but iv also seen some vids on youtube on LST where they tape the leaf to the side of the pot so the plant is bent ,what does this do to the pant ? ,does it produce more bud sites .has anyone done this ,what do you think ?

jay

IMO you should TOP when you have around 5-8 nodes.


As you know I top and perform a little LST too.



J

thanks mate .
j... you have give me some good advice on LST & other things ,what your doin is bang on pal .im going to try get mine like yours if i can but i will have to send you some pic you show me where to chop lol .im a little scared of over doing it lol .

pic above ? 1 week on veg ,give them another week then start thinking of topping yes ?

1 more week of veg.

Then top.

Then we can select some specific branches on a couple of plants.

Then 2weeks veg to LST a little.


Talk more in 1 week.



J

yes. I like to to a week or 2 before flower. This will give the plant a chance to recover and continue vertical growth before flower. If any shoots start growing faster, tie those lower (LST) and allow the other branches to catch up. with topping you take at least the very top node off the plant but can to lower if you want. Sometimes, I will to like 4 nodes from the top and use the top for a clone...

This is my experience with topping in this second indoor multi-strain grow. If you LST the strains I have grown without topping, you get a lot of side shoots later in veg that are excellent for propagation. Without LST or topping you get a plant with one main cola.

This photo is one I have of two girls that have been topped once, now in the 5th week of flower.



The plant circled in red was simply topped with two resultant main colas. The plant circled in blue was LST'd first then topped once later in the veg cycle. You can see one additional main cola there, but not show are multiple smaller shoots excellent for taking clones if so desired (in veg of course).

I have a sativa in this same grow that was not FIM'd but topped twice, resulting in 4 main colas. I would like to take an individual photo, but the girls are kind of sensitive now in their 5th week of flowering and I am reluctant to disturb trichomes and move her for photos. She needs a little support now and I don't want to make things worse.

This picture is of a plant that was not LST'd but FIM'd.


Look how many colas are developing from this one cut on an mixed indica/sativa performed in the 4th week of veg, more or less.

A closer look at the same FIM'd plant:



My experience dictates more LST and FIMing in my future, with the added top for interest's sake.

Regards.

thanks all for your comments ,past times ,much appreciated .j mate will speak soon ,thanks kiss-ass

thanks ganjacito ,them look sweet plants mate ,you to are doing ok looks of thing ,good post

jay

I top most seedlings around the 3rd node...that way I don't have all that extra growth and what not. I also lst most plants...doesn't make sense not to. I top the plant and then I take all the branches that result and move them away from each other and then I usually top those too and then lst them back down as well. I want a short and wide plant with a lot of tops.