Will having more colas per plant reduce strech? I am growing same strain as last grow but through better LST have more colas this grow. Strech was minimal compared to last grow when colas stretched into lights. Will wait until harvest to judge total weight but it seems that more colas would require more energy for plant and possibly less strech. True?
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Colas and strech
- Thread starter PuravidaC
- Start date
Tika
New member
Did you do topping as well as LST? My personal experience...the stretch happens no matter what and may depend on strain also. LST helps to control canopy for receiving light to more bud sites = more buds. I LST and top early on x 2 to 4x. When I top and LST I get more collas and along with defoliating I get more uniform sized/density of buds. They are not huge buds like when doing xmas tree grow but more power to more buds.
Yea, I topped once and defoliated 4 times up until second week of flower. It seemed like I removed a lot each time but she bounced back strong immediately. I didn't want to defoliate too much at one time and was reluctant to remove too many secondary colas as this was the first time defoliating. I learn more with each grow so I guess this is just part of the learning curve. Just trying to understand why this strech was different from last. Same strain, same nutrients but better lights.
Grower-Aaron
New member
In my experience they stretch no matter what just know the genetics and plan for it. I follow the manifold tutorial and it has been very predictable
ZigZag
New member
Carisoti is of the same opinion as I_ Light and training are large factors (besides genetics,etc.). When growing photoperiod plants I train them using pruning, FIM and LST. to keep the colas as close in height as possible. For auto's I use LST only but have to really stay on top of that making adjustments as needed_ last grow two of them got away from me while I was gone for 4 days only. With these methods I get an average of 6-12 main colas with less than 4" height difference.
One thing I've found that seems to work well in a limited space where you may not have the room to train too far to one side or the other is to get some of those circular wire screens that can be found at almost any gardening store. They fit down into the pots on wire posts and the height can be adjusted as needed. The screen makes it easy to open up the plant as it grows, helping to keep the colas nearly the same height. They also provide points to anchor LST ties to. I got them initially because my grow space doesn't work well for SOG done in the traditional method. This works well cuz you can move the pots around without disturbing the LST screen. As the plants grow taller you can move the "screen " higher to keep better separation. The plants that I've grown with LST, FIM and pruning all seem to use more energy to produce more colas than height when compared to an untrained plant during the growth phase and during the flowering phase this is even more pronounced. Having more colas nearly the same height also keeps the maturity of the flowers more consistent and maybe even helps them to mature faster..but could just be wishful thinking?.
One thing I've found that seems to work well in a limited space where you may not have the room to train too far to one side or the other is to get some of those circular wire screens that can be found at almost any gardening store. They fit down into the pots on wire posts and the height can be adjusted as needed. The screen makes it easy to open up the plant as it grows, helping to keep the colas nearly the same height. They also provide points to anchor LST ties to. I got them initially because my grow space doesn't work well for SOG done in the traditional method. This works well cuz you can move the pots around without disturbing the LST screen. As the plants grow taller you can move the "screen " higher to keep better separation. The plants that I've grown with LST, FIM and pruning all seem to use more energy to produce more colas than height when compared to an untrained plant during the growth phase and during the flowering phase this is even more pronounced. Having more colas nearly the same height also keeps the maturity of the flowers more consistent and maybe even helps them to mature faster..but could just be wishful thinking?.
ZigZag
New member
Oh yeah, and 4" height difference isn't a big deal for me since I'm using LEDs and they need to be at least 12" if not 18" above the plants to keep them from burning. LEDs also have better penetration. I haven't used lamps before but it seems like having the colas as close in height as possible would be of more an advantage since the light is much closer.