I'm growing grapefruit at the moment, a plant that just wants to grow and grow. I've found that by bending the plants you can mould them almost any way you want... turn them to give normally lower shoots extra growth. The plant will take on a look as though it has been topped, with several branches stretching up as though they are all the main branch.

I've taken a couple of pic's and I'll post them up later.

My mission with these 2 plants is to keep them at 4 foot tall without topping, bear in mind this is a sativa dominant strain.

Keep in mind this is also not bonsai.

Topping your plant is 90% of bonsai. You top it and top it and top it and top it and end up with mad colas. Though they will be small.

If you'd read my post you would see that I'm not topping, merely bending. In doing this it is giving the same appearance as being topped.

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Here's a 2 week plant in dwc, also had a bit of bending...

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Haha, bending and contorting the main stem and branches can be lots of fun as well as provide you with a nice overall yield boost to the tortured plant's buds.
I generally prefer bending to topping because I don't think it stresses the plant as much as cutting, growth does not appear to slow as much as when topped
Skunky, you can make your plants like a horizontal "s" shape to fit under lights nicely...

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My camera's not too good but I've already done that to one of the plants. It thickens the stems too.

I've got them in 10litre buckets. Sativa plants, i'm going to try and grow like an indica.

I've already got some flowering but they are in soil. They were topped several times and are still over 4ft just over half way through flower. I'm bending them too now, and there's only 6 plants but it looks like a forest. I'm hoping the bending is going to maximise my yield on a plant that is notorious for stretching.

Once the colas are properly formed I'll take some pic's. I don't want any space between the nodes not covered with bud.

You misunderstood me. I told you that what you are doing is NOT bonsai. Twisting and bending your plant is a miniaturization method but certainly not the art of bonsai.

I personally will be using hooks to lash my plant around the inside of my box so i can make it think it is 4 or 5 feet tall. I am going to try to create a double helix on the inside of my box so i can make the plant circle the CFL for best light exposure.

i am really slackin
i have enough light penetrstion thay the tops of my plants actially have 3-5 colas along side the king cola of the main stalk.

how much more sqare floor space do you sacrafice for this bending method??

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None if you put a frame up and weave it through.you could then aim your leaves down and grow your plant down then back up if you want.

well, bonsai is a far as i know the art of topping and binding branches so they grow small and appear older than they are.

with what do you bind down plants, and is it just the top you lower down by this or do really bonsai and do the branches too?

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