Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to Get 2 or 4 Main Colas

Here's mine. Jackhammer from Sannies, (Sannies Jack X Amnesia Haze), with 2 more to follow. Peace UB, thanks!

Uncle Ben said:

Fellers, read the thread beginning with the first page before posting such a redundant question which has been answered a million times.

UB
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Alright, well you never explain what a cola or a node is. You never explain at what stage you started topping(like how many days or weeks into growing). You never said at what point it would be better to NOT top. I did just go back and realized that because I was not a member some of the pictures and links were dead, so sorry about that one. Without being a member i got nothing from the first page which is why I questioned. So, I'll look through the dictionary here to see what a cola and a node are. But can you please tell me timeframes? Is there a point where it is advisable not to top?

Irie22 said:

Alright, well you never explain what a cola or a node is. You never explain at what stage you started topping(like how many days or weeks into growing). You never said at what point it would be better to NOT top. I did just go back and realized that because I was not a member some of the pictures and links were dead, so sorry about that one. Without being a member i got nothing from the first page which is why I questioned. So, I'll look through the dictionary here to see what a cola and a node are. But can you please tell me timeframes? Is there a point where it is advisable not to top?

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Why not become a member so you can view the pictures? Page 291 has a nice diagram showing nodes and top (cola). The 1st 5 pages of this thread answer your question of the "timeframe".

Larry

larry956 said:

Why not become a member so you can view the pictures? Page 291 has a nice diagram showing nodes and top (cola). The 1st 5 pages of this thread answer your question of the "timeframe".

Larry

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I obviously joined now, indicative of me posting haha. Thanks, that picture helps and I understand what colas and nodes are now. I read through most of this thread. I see where it is recommended to top(after 5-6 nodes). Can I top after 7-8 or did I wait too long? Or can one top at any time, but just do it above the 5-6 node(meaning, I have 7-8 nodes but i cut after the 5th taking off a big chunk)??

God damn that 5th node question man just search the thread for 5th.. lol

Irie22 said:

Alright, well you never explain what a cola or a node is. You never explain at what stage you started topping(like how many days or weeks into growing).

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Not to try to talk for Uncle Ben but at times those of us who have done this for so long sort of take it for granted that others growing know what a cola is and what a node is, etc. Because of that they are not fully described and explained in a way that would be totally clear to someone new to growing. It is like when you said; "You never explain at what stage you started topping(like how many days or weeks into growing)," well you cannot predict at what age, as in days or weeks the node you want to cut above will suddenly be there, so only the node is mentioned.




cotyledon leaves





Cola

Jesus, BT. Now that is a Cola to drool over. Didn't show the new guy a cola, you showed a COLA. Thx.
Daniels

BT I appreciate the post but I feel like nobody is reading what I'm actually writing. I understand the definitions now and I stated that above your post. I read the thread as well.

MeJuana, thanks for adding nothing. I'm just trying to get a simple answer but everyone tells me to search. Isn't this a thread for questions? I read through everything and it is not conclusive to the main question I'm posing.

If my plants have 7-8 nodes, can I cut it above one of these or can I still cut it above the 5th?????? I'm not trying to clog this thread with meaningless stuff, I just wanted a little help. If this isn't the place to find it, let me know.

You know for UB's 4 tops you have to cut it above the second node, right? I guess I'm saying that I'm confused about the 5th node thing. I know that it is suggested that you wait until your plant has reached at least 5 nodes in height, but that's just to assure that the plant is strong enough to take the shock, which is minimal in my opinion anyway, but you still cut above the second. I didn't wait til I had 5, I cut mine as soon as the 4th was out and the 5th was starting. I hope this maybe clears up some confusion. No?

I cut mine at the second node when they had 9 or 10 nodes and ended up with 2 strong colas, for some reason the bottom two didnt develope as well. I also did it with a clone that had asymmetrical node growth and still got 2 dom colas.

i usually top mine and take a clone at the same time. if i have more than 4 branches i have more clones i can take. you dont HAVE to top it at any one place. ideally you want to do it early so your spending less time in veg.

it all depends on your preference, some plants have 2 some 3, some 4 some 5...personally 3-4 is usally the best. plus you can tie them down so they inter cross and cover the entire space.

when i am doing perpetual, i usually have to keep things cut back as they grow faster than i need to keep my numbers below Medical minimums.

I thought of the same thing after I posted, that if you've spent that much time vegging and you still want to to this method, you should at least get a cut or two.

Thank you very much guys. That does help a lot. I just really wanted to make sure I wouldn't be hurting them if I did it now.

someone remind me as to why this is better than supercropping ( bending the main cola ) allowing the lower nodes to get light? I believe cutting your plant in anyway would lower yield.

findme said:

someone remind me as to why this is better than supercropping ( bending the main cola ) allowing the lower nodes to get light? I believe cutting your plant in anyway would lower yield.

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Pruning has been used in horticulture and agriculture for many, many years to improve many aspects of health resulting in better yield. It will not alone cause issues like you describe. I think you may be confused between Supercropping and LST. LST (low stress training) is the gradual bending and manipulating of the plant. Supercropping, I believe, is when you pinch, and essentially bruise and damage, parts of stems and/or branches, to create new shoots. I think that's close.

Cheers, Duchie

Oh, by the way. I don't know if it's better than anything else, but it sure is fun to try!

UB your tech works like a champ.

I cut between 2nd and 3rd I got 4 colas, between 3rd and 4th I got six colas...just like you said...perfect. Thanks for the info!

Im also using Dyna Grow. Love that stuff and so do my plants...anyway I have DG root gel. It has a sticker that says "not to be used on plants intended for food or feed puposes" what are thoughts on using this on MJ? Im affraid to use it now...

You mentioned "flushing like you are supose to" in a previous post. I am growing in soil and thought people only flush at the end of flower. Should soil plants be "flushed" durring the grow like between veg and flower? Or did you mean just getting a good "run off" with each watering / feeding?

Thanks for all your threads. Helped mt a lot.

Her are my girls...BK1 is a six and the rest 4...just like advertised....

View attachment 1306466

duchieman said:

Pruning has been used in horticulture and agriculture for many, many years to improve many aspects of health resulting in better yield. It will not alone cause issues like you describe. I think you may be confused between Supercropping and LST. LST (low stress training) is the gradual bending and manipulating of the plant. Supercropping, I believe, is when you pinch, and essentially bruise and damage, parts of stems and/or branches, to create new shoots. I think that's close.

Cheers, Duchie

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Not sure how chopping living plant matter off of a plant = pruning = better yield but I will leave that one alone.

I know topping doesn't cause issues but the facts are this, untopped plants yield more than topped plants.

Another thing is, I would rather pinch and bruise the main cola instead of cutting it off completely. I suppose it would be better to LST but I like to supercrop because its much easier and the plants have no issue recovering within hours, not to mention it creates a stronger stem.

yeah sure, you get 2 - 4 ( and it multiplies if you keep it up) main colas with using Ub's method but it will yield less than untopped for reasons that are... or at least should be obvious to anyone. idk, maybe the majority of the people in this thread do it because they like the illusion that they believe they are getting more bud by seeing 2-4 main colas.

SL2 said:

UB your tech works like a champ.

I cut between 2nd and 3rd I got 4 colas, between 3rd and 4th I got six colas...just like you said...perfect. Thanks for the info!

Im also using Dyna Grow. Love that stuff and so do my plants...anyway I have DG root gel. It has a sticker that says "not to be used on plants intended for food or feed puposes" what are thoughts on using this on MJ? Im affraid to use it now...

You mentioned "flushing like you are supose to" in a previous post. I am growing in soil and thought people only flush at the end of flower. Should soil plants be "flushed" durring the grow like between veg and flower? Or did you mean just getting a good "run off" with each watering / feeding?

Thanks for all your threads. Helped mt a lot.

Her are my girls...BK1 is a six and the rest 4...just like advertised....

View attachment 1306466

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I can only speak from experience but... I never flush. I believe the whole flushing idea is silly. Too many people have too much time on their hands.

Irie22 said:

BT I appreciate the post but I feel like nobody is reading what I'm actually writing. I understand the definitions now and I stated that above your post. I read the thread as well.

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I apologize for attempting to be of help. I did not read every post right to the last one before I responded to what you said;

Originally Posted by Irie22 Alright, well you never explain what a cola or a node is. You never explain at what stage you started topping(like how many days or weeks into growing).

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That was the last message of yours I had read before responding so I had not seen where you said you finally were able to figure out what a node was and what a cola was etc. when I attempted to be of help.

I will make every effort to not make the same error with you again and attempt to be of help just in case by then you somehow managed to figure things out.

FINDME i think you need to go research some horticulture books and educate yourself