Topping a clone

[Boco2017]

So I have tried to top this clone 2 times already and I just topped it again it seems to mostly want to grow up. I am starting to see signs that it's taking but my question is should I continue to top it as it has some time before it goes to flower and I'm concerned with it getting to tall. The clone strain is called ICE and now that I have gotten it to hold moisture and the pH is finally coming down (was at about 8 now run off is about 6.5 ish) there is a ton of new growth all over. I am hoping this can end up with 4 good colas.

I have it under about 250 watts of t5 lighting in a virtual sun tent that's about 2x3x5. I give it desert nectar yucca extract (the soil seems to finally be holding water) with peak harvest Cal/mag and I have started it on about 25% age old grow. And I have the PH for water at 6.5 and the run off is now getting to be around 6.5 I'm going to try and get it down to 6 but I didn't want to drop it to quick and cause stress on her.

[oldjarhead100]

good morning Boco you are the only other person that I have seen using age old organics. I top my girls as much as I can ,you can get them to have as many colas as you like, topping gives your plants lower branches a chance to catch up to the top so you have an even canopy, If you have a specific question on cloning get back to me and I will try to help. this is a picture of my last grow the plants in it were topped several times.

[Boco2017]

Thank you for the picture! Yea I was just concerned that the top seemed to be growing up constantly so I wasn't completely sure if I had topped it at the right point. And now this morning I can see even more signs that it is in fact working I will just need to keep topping it to let the rest catch up. I found alot about topping seedlings but not so much on clones so I wasn't sure. My seedling should be good to top hopefully this weekend I am going to top it at the 4th but I need it to grow a little more so I can snip off the top. I was between the age old and another brand but the guy at the grow shop suggested age old as it's a simple nute and very effective and what won me over was he claims the PH is relatively uneffected by it. Witch seems true so far there hasn't been a noticeable difference in pH when I'm testing it. I also just dropped my watering pH down to 6 so another week and my pH should be balanced out and hopefully good from now on.

[GanjaGed]

Your clone looks like it's from an older plant, after it no longer has opposing nodes.

The trick is to top at a point where 2 nodes are as close as possible to try to break single cola dominance, basically as soon as you have any growth above 2 very close nodes top that growth off. You can also top and bring the top node down to the level of the second node, to break dominance.

At least that's how I do it

[Boco2017]

That's what I was wondering the clone shop I got it from claims it's off a second generation plant at the worst. But I noticed it didn't have opposing nodes and I wondered some. Where I'm topping it the nodes are off by a little more then an 1/8 inch so I'm hoping that's close enough.

[GanjaGed]

The generation doesn't matter all plants do it after about 6 weeks or so in veg. You get the same thing when keeping a dedicated mother.

If the top one keeps dominance just supercrop it or tie it down a bit and let it grow uo with the lower node.

[Boco2017]

That is really good information to know! I didn't know they did that. I'm looking forward to this one flowering I have been told it's supposed to be nice and frosty. I ordered seeds for my next grow when I can do bubbleponics it's from seedsman and it's the frostiest strain I have ever seen a picture of so hopefully it lives up to the picture.

[NebulaHaze]

Your plant looks great so far! The only thing I'd add to what others have said is you can also bend the plant over and tie it down to control the shape. Topping is just one tool of many to keep the plant short/wide/flat

[Boco2017]

I was just reading your article on LST and I was going to ask if it will still be young enough to do that with. I will pick up some soft flex tie tomorrow and start bending it over gently. Thank you very much for your suggestion and your amazing support with this site! My question is if it's gotten to be a little less then flexible what's the best way to bend it over a little at a time?

[NebulaHaze]

I was just reading your article on LST and I was going to ask if it will still be young enough to do that with. I will pick up some soft flex tie tomorrow and start bending it over gently. Thank you very much for your suggestion and your amazing support with this site! My question is if it's gotten to be a little less then flexible what's the best way to bend it over a little at a time?

Yes, you just need to take a little more time to prepare before bending a stem that's already stiffened up. Grab the spot that you want to bend, pinch it between your fingers, and gently wiggle back and forth for up to a minute until it naturally starts bending without breaking the skin. You kind of want to "crunch it up" on the inside so it bends. Never force it or the skin will break. If you do break the skin by accident, put the injured ends together and tape it up like a cast with duct tape or electrical tape.

I copy and pasted some of the info from this tutorial about simple LST:

Bend Stems the Right Way

Whenever bending stems out of the way you want to try to bend only the flexible parts of the stem, which are usually located near the ends. Avoid bending any part that has already become stiff or woody, as these tend to snap.

Bending technique - try to bend only the flexible parts of stems, which are located near the tips



If for whatever you have to bend a stem that’s already become woody, you need to take a few extra precautions to prevent the skin of the stem from splitting.

How to prevent the skin from splitting: What you need to do is take the part of the stem you want to bend between your fingers. Squeeze it tight, and then slowly and gently wiggle it around, squishing the stem as hard as you can while you're wiggling. The stem will start to become more pliable as the inside gets kind of crushed. You're basically "crunching" up the inside of the stem without breaking the skin so it doesn't offer as much resistance. Once the stem actually feels flexible, that's when you try to bend it. Don't try to bend it if it still feels stiff! Some people call this "supercropping" but basically, it's just a way to bend a stiff stem.

To bend a really stiff stem: Pinch the stem tightly between your fingers(not nails), then squeeze firmly while wiggling the stem gently back and forth where you want it to bend. Continue until you feel/hear crunching from the inside of the stem (may take several seconds of wiggling) and the stem gets flexible. At that point slowly bend the stem at the new joint you've made, and secure in place.



Recovering from bending/supercropping gone wrong: If you do accidentally snap a stem and break the skin while trying to bend it over, never fear! Vegetative plants can recover from a lot and if you quickly wrap up the injury with duct tape or electrical tape, like a "cast," your cannabis plant will actually be able to repair the broken stem. After a week or two, it will form a "knuckle" at the place that was injured, and you'll be able to remove the tape. Good as new!

[Boco2017]

Thank you!! I will post a picture once I have done that! It will also allow me to lower my light as I'm using a t5 set up for this grow because I don't have anywhere to be able to vent to right now and I have to be sneaky at the moment because the apartment folks seem to frown on it here my next place I will hopefully have a lot more room to work with and can at least upgrade to LED lights.

[Boco2017]

This is my first attempt at training the clone hopefully I'm doing it right I am using the flexible ties as recommend.

[NebulaHaze]

It looks good to me, you've basically cut the plant height in half, and you will have way more colas/nodes/bud sites close to the light now.

You'll see all the leaves will have turned up to the light by tomorrow, it's pretty cool

[Boco2017]

I was wondering how fast they would turn. I am a bit addicted to the plants already.. and I love the site and how helpful everyone is. I did also test my run off today and it's still high so I lowered my watering pH down to around 5.5 to 6 somewhere in hopes of getting my run off down to at least 6.5 or lower. I am considering looking for a ph meter as the drops are not as exact as I would like to be. And I was also able to lower the light and raise up the seedling a little closer to the light I'm waiting for the new node that's growing to get tall enough to top it then I'm going to let that one go and see how fast I can get it through the veg stage. The seedling is about 3 weeks from sprout I want to try and have this grow wrapped up by mid to late January as I need to moved February. But I have plans when I move to go to bubble ponics and to look for an inexpensive 250w hps or similar light I have the grow shop near me telling me I want a 315 LEC but I want to research more because I know disapating the heat is always going to be a challenge for me. Thank you for the feedback and I'm glad it looks good I thought I may have done it wrong.

[Boco2017]

It is pretty cool in less the 24 hours the difference it made.

[NebulaHaze]

I agree. I love how anything not tied down points up.