This is my 5th grow season. I’ve always grown “trees”, but this year decided to try topping at 5th node before transplanting outside in an effort to keep plant height lower. It doesn’t seem to have slowed them down and looks like I’m going to end up with monster plants again. The problem is the September winds in my region (N. Cal) wreck havoc on big plants. Would a second topping at some point have helped keep the height down? The tallest is already about 13’ and has barely started flowering. I build my own organic soil and don’t add any nutrients other than compost. Just water/sun/good soil. The strain is Big Bud (fem seeds from ILGM), which is known for getting huge, so I might need to try something different next year but I really like these plants. Just trying to figure out what I can do differently for next year. I don’t have any nosey neighbors to worry about, just the wind. Any suggestions are welcome - TIA!
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Beautiful monsters you got there!
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Wow, those ARE monsters! I cannot imagine the stretch those ladies will get when they really start to flower.
Too much to do some LST, HST is looking like the best, and maybe only viable option, at this point to get them smaller.
13 feet tall…wow.
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Solid work! Beautiful plants.
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Looking good my friend , you may need a bucket truck in the end.
Good luck !
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Thanks! At this point they are what they are and I’ll just ride it out till harvest. Last year I got hit with heavy winds which caused 2 plants to pancake on themselves. Then a few weeks later I got hit with a very destructive atmospheric river that blasted the trichomes off them just before they were ready to harvest. I still got 20 lbs off 4 plants. Maybe next year I’ll try autos 
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High winds I prefer to let em grow naturally as they bend with the wind.
Planting later would have kept the size more manageable. They look great to me, if worried about the winds get some scrog net and drape it over them and put 4 stakes. What strains are you growing?
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Any issues with rippers out there?
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I would probably just start the plants a little later. These are a thing of beauty though.
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Dammmmmmit Boy!!! Them girls be large!!! (In my best CB Radio voice!!) you got one hell of a pickle here. Almost need a second horizontal trellis around them to help support and keep them from snapping in the wind. But good luck feeding the branches through. You’d need like 6 people to slowly move everything in place and that bucket truck.
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Thanks! The Sept winds can easily hit 30mph here which is hell on side branches. I’ve got heavy duty 7’ T posts/scrog netting on them but I couldn’t reach far enough from the top of the ladder to get a net over the tops. It’s my fault - I waited too long and the tops got away from me. The outer wire cage reaches to 8’. I’m working on my own with no extra pair of hands and I’m just shy of 70. Had a small stroke last year so gotta be extra careful with the ladders. I think planting later is probably a good idea. I usually start seeds indoors April 1, so backing off a little would sure save me some electricity.
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What are rippers - thieves? There’s so much weed grown in my neighborhood that nobody bothers, LOL! The garden isn’t visible from the private road I live on.
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No your ladder is to short beautiful women you have there
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Is that ceder mulch… i what to mulch the top of my pot but dont now if ceder is good i have natural undyed nuggets?
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The top layer of my mulch is decomposed wood chips, which is a mixture of oak/pine/cedar from my property. Cedar breaks down very slowly - a thin layer over the soil would probably be fine as long as your soil nutrients are adequate. A top dressing of composted oak leaf mulch is great for feeding soil microbes.
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Thanks for the dressing tip @shugg! I have a ton of composted oak leaves on my property and could use to dress mine now.
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Consider yourself one lucky dude. Composted oak leaves are a crucial part of my soil building program. Feed the soil microbes first and the microbes will feed your plants. 
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Well from the look of the monsters you got going, I’m taking your word sir! 
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I’d supercrop or just plain old bend them over and tie them down. Starting them later is a good idea as well
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Thanks! I’m going to get brave and try some more advanced plant training techniques on next year’s plants. I’ve got a lot to think about between now and then. I’m learning a lot from just observing these plants as they hit the stretch and seeing how the side colas hold up. Next year will be fun!
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