Plants growing Too Tall, Too Fast, Best way to stop them?

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curseddice

Active Member
I have a grow room that is approx 8 feet tall. With the Flood Tray and Table, and the Reflector and Hangers, I can support plants up to 5 feet tall.

I am ten days into flowering, and 2 of my plants have exploded in growth, growing 1.5 inches every day. They just hit 4 feet tall with no signs of slowing down. I need them to stop growing so that the top Colas don't grow into the heat zone under my 600W light.

What is the best way to accomplish this (while maintaining these nice budding sites at the top)? I expected them to not grow as fast (or as tall) after switching to flower, so I didn't plan for this. I am assuming this is going to involve pruning the main stems somewhere around where I want them to stop growing. I still need to leave room for the top colas to grow, without fear of them growing into the heat. Any suggestions on where/how to prune? Any other methods to get them to stop growing without pruning?

I can raise my lights one foot higher. So I have maybe ten days before they will grow too tall.

Here are some pictures:

 
dgaf757

dgaf757

Active Member
eh man, i went thru this. well first of all what strain are they? if they are indica, it just mich be the beginning flower stretch and they may possibly stop soon. if they are sativas or a sativa dominant they may triple in size.

you could top them. it stops upward growth to a degree, but they eventually start growing up again.

if youre on a budget, what i would do is to top them (cut the top of them) and then try to tie down the side branches. to do this just get some twine or soft yet strong string and drill holes in the pots theyre in so as to tie them branches down so they grow out not up. just be very careful not to over stress them or break the stems. you just want to go a little bit and from there you can pull them down more and more every week.

if you have the money to spend (this is what i would do) buy dutchmaster phosphoload. this stops all verticle growth in 2 days and instead of the plants growing up anymore, they grow out. this stuff isnt cheap by any means, but i have seen amazing results with it. my buddy grow GHS arjans haze #2 and it kept them at around 5-6 feet throughout flowering, while also stacking on the weight in buds.

there is also a less expensive product by humboldt (nutrients or emerald triangle i forgot) its called bush master. it is suposed to do the exact same thing, be cheaper, and available in as small as 8oz sizes. i have not used it and i havent seen its results first hand, but its more budget friendly and if you arent constantly needing it that might be your best bet.

hope that helped :)
 
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curseddice

Active Member
Thanks for the reply.

The two plants that exploded in growth are Purple Urple (80% Indica). I will look up the two products you mentioned and will try that route first if I can get my hands on some in the next two days. I already have the main stem of tallest Purple Urple tied down, and don't know if I can pull it down any further, I will go and try after the 49er game is over.
 
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Imno1

Member
I had the same issue with some sativa dominant Strains and I hit them with bushmaster like week 3 of flower, they stretched like anoth 2 inches then stopped after one application of bush master
 
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curseddice

Active Member
So after reading about Bushmaster, it seems that its generally recommended that you use it before switching to flower. I am ten days into flowering already.

Does anyone have experience with using bushmaster after already switching to flower?
 
dgaf757

dgaf757

Active Member
curseddice said:
So after reading about Bushmaster, it seems that its generally recommended that you use it before switching to flower. I am ten days into flowering already.

Does anyone have experience with using bushmaster after already switching to flower?
Click to expand...
well i know that with phosphoload it also says to use to a couple weeks before flower, but youre only a couple weeks into flower. me and the rest of my growing community use it and we usually hit it the first week or so of flowering and it never really does anything negative. it may set you back a few days but thats about it. use it only once and then go back to your normal flowering routine. after i replied to this post i looked more into bush master and i cant find anything different between it and phosphoload. except about $70.

(edit)- the reason we usually do it in the first week of flowering is because 2 weeks before flowering and about the first couple weeks into flowering is when a sativa shows you how much its really gunna stretch. so you can guage whether or not you need it. i just moved into a house with 12 foot ceilings so i didnt use it this grow.
 
Oldgrowth

Oldgrowth

Well-Known Member
just bend the longest branches over and tie them in place. you will slow vertical growth and increse budding sites and lower branches will catch up and have a lot of bud in good light
 
karr

karr

Well-Known Member
it may be too late for this, but in the future when they are younger you can pinch the stems (crush slightly) this slows upward growth and can help bush them out.

This happened accidentally when my cat nearly chewed one in half. It was paper thin but came back, just never got that tall.

But as with above i would just tie the tops down as best you can. lower a little more each day, just careful not to snap and also tie to the ceiling to provide support for the weight.
 
Mota Vated

Mota Vated

Member
Ya karr is correct there is a method called F.I.M. not sure what it stands for but if you pinch the top growth partially not the stem the top growth of tallest shoots the plant can branch into as many as 6 tops per branch. I use it religiously to control the height. It doesnt always take the first pinch but usually with a second time will. good luck
 
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snwbrder03

Member
take the top part and bend it down as much as you can, whatch for an even bend all the way throught i had the same problem, and ended up with 5-6 more large colas.
 
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