To top or not to top??

jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
I have a very healthy plant that is 35 days old and 9" tall and I'm planning on veggin for 60 days. I have not topped her yet and have and mixed opinions on whether to do so. Some say if I want dankest bud to NOT top it. Some say the multiple colas you get from topping are much smaller than the big one if you don't top and they don't see much of a difference in yield. Was told also that lots of dutch passion don't tolerate it well. Some tell me it's too late. It just got it's first preflower today and I just don't want to upset it... Lots of things I've read said that if I don't have a height constraint (which I don't) then let her go normally no topping. The plant is Dutch Passion Mazar fem seed. It's pure indica and I have 10ft of height to work with. Thanks for all the opinions. I have 2 of them going was going to top one and not the other but any suggestions would be great. View attachment 2906175ppp.jpg
 
Silky Shagsalot

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
jackm420 said:
I have a very healthy plant that is 35 days old and 9" tall and I'm planning on veggin for 60 days. I have not topped her yet and have and mixed opinions on whether to do so. Some say if I want dankest bud to NOT top it. Some say the multiple colas you get from topping are much smaller than the big one if you don't top and they don't see much of a difference in yield. Was told also that lots of dutch passion don't tolerate it well. Some tell me it's too late. It just got it's first preflower today and I just don't want to upset it... Lots of things I've read said that if I don't have a height constraint (which I don't) then let her go normally no topping. The plant is Dutch Passion Mazar fem seed. It's pure indica and I have 10ft of height to work with. Thanks for all the opinions. I have 2 of them going was going to top one and not the other but any suggestions would be great. View attachment 2906175View attachment 2906176
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i never top, slows things down, and really doesn't help all that much as far as yield goes, imo. tying down will do as much or more without slowing things down much at all. i've never heard of topping affecting potency, new to me, lol.... also, growing a bit tall plant isn't a good idea. even a 1000 watt light isn't gonna penetrate down the length of the plant that much. i never end up with plants much taller than about 3 feet...
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
Silky Shagsalot said:
i never top, slows things down, and really doesn't help all that much as far as yield goes, imo. tying down will do as much or more without slowing things down much at all. i've never heard of topping affecting potency, new to me, lol.... also, growing a bit tall plant isn't a good idea. even a 1000 watt light isn't gonna penetrate down the length of the plant that much. i never end up with plants much taller than about 3 feet...
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yea i'm going for around 3ft max height. Will veg this she's about 16" hopefully at the 2month mark will flip to 12/12 and end up with 2.5-3ft. I have a 400 watt mh right now and a 400 watt eye hortilux hps for flower. Will that penetrate the canopy ok if she is 3ft tall?
 
Silky Shagsalot

Silky Shagsalot

Well-Known Member
16" is pretty tall to flip, especially for 400 watts. i use 1000 watts and flip at 12" and end up with 3' plus. 400 watts won't go real deep. you end up with a lot of pop corn type buds down lower.
 
jackm420

jackm420

Active Member
o wow ok i'm learning what do you recommend i should do? i do have a high output t5 that's 4ft long and 4 bulbs i can possible use for supplemental lighting or should i tie it down right now lst i could possibly get that t5 in there with 2000k bulbs in it to shine on the lower branches or do you think tying it down is good enough and how will tying it down effect the top cola??
 
DoseThemAll

DoseThemAll

Active Member
I run single strain rooms, regardless, they each grow at their own distinctive rate.
I aim for an even canopy,
So I top and supercrop my tallest branches until the smaller ones on the lower parts of plants catch up to the top.
I agree that it does slow down growth, stunts the plants for 2-3 days (if you get aggressive), so I train my plant as early as possible, so that the last 1-2 weeks of veg It goes through no stress.
I know of many growers in Colorado that 'lollipop' (<----Aggressive) their plants days if not the same day they flip their ladies, which is a bad start to flower if you ask me.

Every time you top you are splitting the the plants energy from one spot into two. Hence, 2 x buds should produce the same as the 1 top bud. But when light distribution comes into factor is when yield gets boosted by proper training and topping.

OgKushOg's---> http://i.imgur.com/ggdojFK.jpg, <--- thats 30 odd days into flower, he hit 700 grams off of the one 1k HPS and 6 plants. He mentions that is his average (.7 grams per watt) but has made it up to 30+oz from a single light with some kush genetics.

Im not saying its the BEST!:fire: strategy, but it is one worth experimenting with.

Just my opinion from my experiences.
 
C

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
DoseThemAll said:
I know of many growers in Colorado that 'lollipop' (<----Aggressive) their plants days if not the same day they flip their ladies, which is a bad start to flower if you ask me.
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Lollipopping is done to make space for more plants. It's pointless if you have a small number of plants. The point of lollipopping is to reduce the energy the bottom branches waste stretching to make it to canopy level. Lots of smaller plants is more efficient than fewer large plants because you don't have to spend as much time in veg to completely fill your canopy.


DoseThemAll said:
Every time you top you are splitting the the plants energy from one spot into two. Hence, 2 x buds should produce the same as the 1 top bud. But when light distribution comes into factor is when yield gets boosted by proper training and topping.
Click to expand...
The amount of energy the plant takes in has to do with how much canopy area she fills. Topping makes it easier for a small number of plants to fill out an even canopy.

If that's your only plant, I'd actually top if you're having a problem filling out the area. When she's ready to flower, cut the suckers (what would be popcorn) off the lower 1/3 of each branch.

(Never top after you've gone 12/12 or you will just lose the main cola and significantly lower yield)
 
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