Topping w/o knowing sex

Grow Cycle Seedling
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Hey all, hope youre having a wonderful Monday.

Running some new strains and looking for top Phenos of each. So have some regs that started 2 weeks ago and most are nearing their 5th node.

I would be getting ready to top now, but couple variables.

Any issue topping them all, I’ve read that the pre-flowers will show near the top of the plant, not sure if topping will delay those pre-flowers to show. Can I do this in their solos? Roots are showing at bottom of cup, but nothing crazy quite yet. Main veg room won’t open for a couple weeks so space is tight and can’t transplant for 2 more weeks.

So, top when they’re ready, or wait till after xplant which would be week 4/5 and they should start to show pre-flowers.

Thanks!

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You can top now. You’ll have plenty of time for them to recover before transplanting. The males will still show themselves after topping. Just like the females do.

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Thanks @BobbyDigital as always. Other than the lookout for the stamen I’ve read males tend to grow taller with more intermodal spacing. If there’s anything else to look for I’d love to know

Happy growing!

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Technically that should be correct as males would want to be taller and have less nodes so it can spread pollen easier but it’s not always the case.

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Thx as always @BobbyDigital for the timely insights!!

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Any thought to leaving them go natural to identify true growing patterns?

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Not until you asked lol. Curious, why would I if I have no desire to mess w/ males in the future (breed) and time is always of the essence. If I can top and save a week or two rather than wait, sex, then top, etc.

As always ill learn a new thing today on this forum!

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It would be for your learning experience to see if you can identify different growth patterns between males and females.

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It’s hard for the pollen to fall upwards onto the buds ;)… why the male tends to grow bigger

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Multiple ways you could look at, and I don’t believe any of them are wrong. Sexing the plant early has some value, just not sure how much. The grow is going to continue on with or without male plants right? So sexing early doesn’t really change dynamic of grow much, but you could potentially pull some valuable information from. Seeing how plants grow naturally may also have some value. If you are pheno hunting, I would expect growth rate and plant shape to be important characteristics. Would just be a matter of what is more important to you at the time.

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This makes a lot of sense esp the pheno hunt angle. Thanks for the education gang

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you could top them, clone the topped piece & force into flower to see their gender. Make sure to label each one so you know who’s who.

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