Here is the situation. The 2 AK-47 fem. plants were topped to the 3rd node on the main stem. 1st and 2nd nodes on main stem were removed. Then they were topped again to the 3rd node on each branch. That’s it. I see 12 potential main colas. The plants are 5-1/2 weeks into veg. They look beautiful. Question. Would you leave the plants to flower in a week leaving them at the 2 toppings, or would you top again and extend the vegetative period another week or two?
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I’m not to sure on what your exactly asking. But just some advice, I would keep track of how long these plants are in their final pots. You dont want to spend weeks and weeks vegging just to get root bound in the middle of flower. For your topping, that’s just all personal preference. If it was me they would need longer then a week for the topping to actually grow up and make a difference.
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Thank you imSickid. Interesting point I never considered with pot size. After a morning of thinking about it, I decided to leave them alone and get ready for the flip next week.
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I run some of the longest Veg cycles most growers wouldn’t do. I’m averaging 3 months on a 12/12 cycle.
The thing I worry about your topping is this…the plant needs to strengthening those main branches as more than 1 Cola can cause the plant to drop over sideways. And yes, I’ve also grown plants sideways and I don’t recommend that at all.
This is the first time I’ve grown indoors to term. The last time was out doors and I had a noise neighbor t grow normallso I had to keep it at 6’. However I had no side restriction so I took it to 12’.
My question is (indoors), is it better for harvest volume if you prune for branching or let grow naturally.
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It’s a personal preference.
Welcome to ILGM.
You have 2 options and they are both somewhat restricted to strain. Some strains are very bushy from the start, others are not. Assuming an average cannabis plant that would look like a small pine tree, if left to grow naturally, would have its main cola closest to the light fixture. The rest of the plant would be progressively farther away and not receiving the same light. Unlike the sun which is powerful all the way from the top of the plant to the bottom, a light fixtures radiation drops off pretty quickly the further away you get. Therefore, the ultimate goal is to put as many colas as equidistant from the fixture as possible. This should be the goal of the prunist. It is the main reason for the scrog net, to spread the colas apart and offer some support.
You dont need to prune however, other techniques can be employed, such as bending or supercropping.
Thank you!
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