LST When to start what height stem size??

**kathleenbilly** · 05-31-2008, 08:13 AM

Hello to those looking in,

I'm doing my first LST and have read the guide to which i would like to follow.

However from the start it said to wait until the 3 or 5 leaf set. Well i waited until the 5 leaf set and bend them over they didn't take too kindly to it.

I have five, and one just bend in a L shape rather than a smooth bend.

So basically my question to you is what height do you grow them to before you start to bend them? (Mine were about 6 inches tall and 3-4mm thickness of stem when i started)

And secondly how thick is the stem before you bend them?

This will help me alot next time as i've clearly done it too early on this occasion.

Any info greatly appreciated, KB

**bfq** · 05-31-2008, 08:35 AM

i start bending mine as soon as they are big enough... this is generally about the fifth node, or at about 4 inches tall. the stems are not that big at all... first plants i ever tied though were almost fully grown 3 foot beauties with a stem like a small tree... basically, unless you are crushing the stems or breaking them you can tie them at any time.

i have had some hard L bends and some soft S bends and all sorts of stuff in between and they all seem ok unless you pinch the center of the stem... think of it like a straw... you can do some bending and it will be ok, but if you pinch the center closed, it is over.

hard L sounds to me like you did it after the plant got fairly beefy... no worries, unless you did damage, it will be fine

you might have wanted to done the tying down a bit slower though. instead of going for the lowest possible tie on the first go, you tie it and bend it a couple of degrees today, add a couple more degrees to that bend tomorrow, and so on till you finally have it where you want it.

it is called training because it can be a slow process.... done fast it can be pruning

**Twistyman** · 05-31-2008, 08:55 AM

I noticed this year, (1st cfl start) that the stems get a little to hard to bend. My stems got tough quick....guess thats a good thing. So I started bending my all sun
plant at about 6", or 4th set.....it's easier than the tougher stems.. In the FAQ the diagram of the plant going around the pot is a little bit more than I want to do..I'm just looking to increase growth near the stem and keep a lower profile.....

**kathleenbilly** · 05-31-2008, 12:51 PM

Yes and thanks for the replies i'm happy to hear they will live and recover that's the main thing.

I will grow them a bit taller next time and wait until the stems are a little bit stronger and able to take the bending better.

**fiender** · 05-31-2008, 12:57 PM

you really want the stems to be pretty soft when you bend them. strong stems can snap or even uproot the plant if the root ball isnt well anchored.

i started training my clones as soon as they growing in there new pots.
prolly at about 4 inches.

then every few days or couple of inches, bend again.

GL
f

**kathleenbilly** · 05-31-2008, 01:13 PM

Right i understand so i think i bend them over too much in one go that's why i had the problem or the L bend will do it slightly differently next time, thanks for the advice. KB