The infamous trimming question...

Hello all,
I am a first time grower and have a question due to my limited growing space. I have done a LOT of reading on this but havn't found the answer to MY specific need. Because of my limited grow area, i just started my 12/12 today. My plant is about 8 inches tall and has been growing taller rapidly in the past few days. I'm worried that it will become too tall midway thru 12/12 and i'll be screwed. My question about trimming the fan leaves is, by doing this, will the plant slow down in heigth growth at all? If no, is there anyway to slow the vertical growth besides certain growing methods (i.e SOG)? Any info would be appreciated..i want my baby to grow safely and not hit the ceiling. Thanks in advance

read this
https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/288122-few-thoughts-reducing-stretch.html

DON'T CUT LEAVES

Thanks for that. I was using FF for veg so i guess that makes sense. Also was planning on using the FF bloom, maybe i shouldn't...not sure now

Don't cut the fan leaves, they are the engine that is converting energy through light. Use LST (Low Stress Training), its easy to do and easy on the plants stress level. Look it up in the forum section.
GWN

is it too late to do lst, if im in flowering?

jboard said:

is it too late to do lst, if im in flowering?

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No, it is not too late - I use heavy copper ground wire bent into a hook & will use them into about 4 weeks of flower.

Dont be affraid to tie it down . the only problem was the buds kept streching for the light and pulled out the rods (problem yea right)

you could still top/fim. you could also tie down or a scrog.

jboard said:

Hello all,
I am a first time grower and have a question due to my limited growing space. I have done a LOT of reading on this but havn't found the answer to MY specific need. Because of my limited grow area, i just started my 12/12 today. My plant is about 8 inches tall and has been growing taller rapidly in the past few days. I'm worried that it will become too tall midway thru 12/12 and i'll be screwed. My question about trimming the fan leaves is, by doing this, will the plant slow down in heigth growth at all? If no, is there anyway to slow the vertical growth besides certain growing methods (i.e SOG)? Any info would be appreciated..i want my baby to grow safely and not hit the ceiling. Thanks in advance

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You can stunt your plants growth by keeping it in a 2 gallon pot.
An 8 inch plant going into bloom should be only 32 - 36 inches tall at harvest
if it's kept in a 2 gallon pot.
Plus, give your plant some B52 made by Advanced Nutrients for weeks 2 - 7.
This will also help with height issues as well.

Thank you all for the help....if i were to try the lst method, it seems crazy to bend the stem that much. The stem wont break if i do this? My stem is extremely healthy and thick, but it seems so crazy to me (a newbe at this) to bend down the whole stem....

jboard said:

Thank you all for the help....if i were to try the lst method, it seems crazy to bend the stem that much. The stem wont break if i do this? My stem is extremely healthy and thick, but it seems so crazy to me (a newbe at this) to bend down the whole stem....

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You pinch the stem first, then bend it.

Ok thanks for that info on pinching first. I am reading this thread http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/122936-how-lst-low-stress-training.html and it didnt mention that....maybe becuase they started it in veg instead of flower..?

BongJuice said:

You pinch the stem first, then bend it.

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Pinching the stem and then bending is super cropping and is much more stressful to the plant. I'm not sure I'd do this once in the flower stage as it adds more stress than I like this late in the game.

yeah lst that beyotch

smokebros said:

yeah lst that beyotch

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Thanks for adding intelligent information - I'm sure jboard will pitch you a rep bone for your enlightening input.

Thank you greatwhite. Much appreciated. IF it will indeed get to be over 30 inches without lst, that will definitly be too tall for my area. Being a first timer at this i didn't know that this thing would shoot up quite like it has. Do you recommend beginning lst immediately?
By the way, im using T5 HO lights...ive heard these are rather new and i see people asking how they are. Id say they are doing very good. I just switched the bulbs to the "red" spectrum for my 12/12.

jboard said:

Thank you greatwhite. Much appreciated. IF it will indeed get to be over 30 inches without lst, that will definitly be too tall for my area. Being a first timer at this i didn't know that this thing would shoot up quite like it has. Do you recommend beginning lst immediately?
By the way, im using T5 HO lights...ive heard these are rather new and i see people asking how they are. Id say they are doing very good. I just switched the bulbs to the "red" spectrum for my 12/12.

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By its very nature LST is easy on the plant - start when ever you like, it won't hurt her & your can control your canopy easier if you start early.
I am not familiar with your lighting - I'm pretty much a 600w M/H, HPS guy.
GWN

good info, thanks. I will give it a try tomorrow.
T5 is a flourescent...and since ive joined here ive read some posts where people have asked about them..so just thought id give out my 2cents.

Hese's a quick example of LST during flowering. The strain is Purple Power which is a sativa and will easily quadruple its height during flowering. Since I grow in cabinets with very little overhead room, LST is essential for me, especially with stretchy sativas.

This plant was put under 12/12 at about 3.5 inches as soon as she developed roots. Training was started immediately using coated wires and twist-ties. The main stem is now about 25 inches long. No trimming or pruning was done to this plant. As you can see, the bottom of the lowest bud is only 3 inches from the top of the highest.

This 'pinwheel' training method has worked very well for me. The plant will show no stress or stunting and light will cover the entire plant evenly. This girl is about 4 weeks along and has stopped her vertical growth, I will keep her tied up until harvest as sometimes sativas will try to straighten themselves out, but no further training will be needed.

A note regarding bending: Kinking the stem should be avoided. If you need to make a tight bend, find something small and cylindrical, like a pill bottle, and try to use that to 'roll' the bend into the stem. This will prevent damaging the vascular system and stunting growth.

jboard said:

Thank you all for the help....if i were to try the lst method, it seems crazy to bend the stem that much. The stem wont break if i do this? My stem is extremely healthy and thick, but it seems so crazy to me (a newbe at this) to bend down the whole stem....

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this is a plant that's about a week in flower. the stretch has started and the stem is fat/thick. i "always" tie down like this to get a bunch of tops working. just do it slow and easy and there should be no problems. even if it does break, in a few hours the top will turn back towards the light. also, the break in the stem will turn into a fat knot and be think and strong!