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

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TheChemist77

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i think bad genetics or week females hermi easily wile strong good ones very had to get them to..i have a nl i tryed light dep, ph fluc, leaving in flower way past done, cant get a herm..i guess im going to need coildal silver cause this plant will just not herm..wile my berry bomb hermed just by taking it out of light for 2 days, put it back and had floweras in a week..
 

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
hey ben, do u think a light leak in flowering is a good way to get herms?? ive had a couple plants herm from a light leak, that i did purposely, left a led flashlight on under the plants for about a week, worked for a few strains, not all. im guessing the ones it does not work on are my strong,good genetic fems right? i wonder if the ones that do herm that easily, probably not good to use their pollen as the seeds produced would herm easily too corect?
 

TheChemist77

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Like I've said in previous posts, no I can't. Only potroast can do that and he doesn't accept emails. Go back about 10 pages or so. I have posted many examples.
just went back annd read the first 10 pages then jumped here, im just started topping recently, why does it seem topped plants dont stretch like untopped plants in flower? and if i use ur tec topping to get 2 tops at the 2nd node wen do i top, wile still in veg? shouldnt it have time to heal itself before flower? and will those 2 tops stretch like an untopped plant will once in flower? i guess i seem to like untopping for that stretch reason, i can put a plant w only 1 week of veg after rooting into flower at say 6 inches tall and end up w a 3 ft plant with many branches,,if i can top it at the 2nd node, give it a weeek of veg, and end up with 2-4 3 ft colas im sold!!
 

Sativied

Well-Known Member
Topped plants still stretch. They just don't get as tall as a single cola plant would.
In total, the actually branches actually do elongate more when topped because you remove the top where the most grow inhibiting auxins are produced. Kind of the whole point obviously, but this is why it's imo important to veg for at least a few days or a week to let it rebalance instead of switching to 12/12 straight after topping else it won't just elongate but actually stretch unnecessary. Might be just perception on my fast vegging hydro setup :D
 

Lucifder

Well-Known Member
Howdy!

Based on quite a few questions about topping I've received here: https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/13820-fimming-topping-101-a-12.html I decided to reproduce a thread on my favorite topping method published at cann.com about 10 years ago. Even though I've got much better photos from many latter grows both indoor and outdoor, I'm gonna stick with the old photos from the original thread. Lighting is HPS from start to finish with the exception of using 4' long shop fluors from germ until about 2 weeks. Some pix were taken outdoors for better resolution thanks to an old camcorder I was using.
Selecting the point for topping to get 4 main colas -

To get 4 main colas, let your seedling or cutting (clone) grow to about 5-6 nodes and pinch out (cut) the stem just above the 2nd true node. The node where the cotyledons attach doesn't count. The result will be a redistribution of the auxins and other hormones that normally collect in the tissue of the terminal leader's tip. These ho moans will be redistributed to dormant buds that reside in the nodal axis where the leaf petiole attaches to the "trunk", below the cut. The new foliar output response will be quick (within 24 hrs., see photo below) if you have a healthy growing seedling and will be your future main colas - 4 instead of the usual 1:



Here's a photo of the same plant about 8 weeks into flowering. The plant is about 42" tall, has 4 main colas with an abundance of large, healthy fan leaves.



This is an indoor shot just prior to harvest showing the colas bulking up quite nicely. Notice how the weight of the heavy colas is naturally pulling them apart, which opens the plant up so that light can penetrate the interior of the canopy. This is the same principle used by fruit orchard managers who create an open vase profile for their trees in order to increase production. This profile also has a side benefit of providing good interior air movement which reduces fungal/rot pressures.



The plant after harvest showing the branching scaffold and dominant 4 main cola "trunks", opposing nodes one right above the other. Smaller secondary branches also provided good bud production. This plant yielded over 10 oz of cured bud.



~ Topping for 2 main colas ~

Pinch out the seedling above the 1st true node to get 2 main colas:





Any questions, fire away.

Happy gardening,
Uncle Ben
Hey ben i know this is kinda of far back but i would appreciate some help. I topped my skunk haze for two mains but i dont want any side branching just wondering how i would just keep single colas.
 

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
In total, the actually branches actually do elongate more when topped because you remove the top where the most grow inhibiting auxins are produced. Kind of the whole point obviously, but this is why it's imo important to veg for at least a few days or a week to let it rebalance instead of switching to 12/12 straight after topping else it won't just elongate but actually stretch unnecessary. Might be just perception on my fast vegging hydro setup :D
hey satieved, sorry i havnt posted lately,. i wanted to get ur opinion on topping for my room as uve seen it..insted of topping and lsting. should i do like ben said in page 1 or 2, wait till my clones have 6 or more nodes and then cut it down at the 2nd node so there is only 4 branches?? if so, i have 4 weeks till they go to flower so if i make that cut next week those bottom 4 branches will have 3 weeks of veg to recover before they go in bloom..or w so many plants in my area shouls i cut it at the 1st node and get 2 branches per plant?..i stopped posting pics as this gro has been fd up by the lemon kush, they have stretched so bad there is a foot between nodes and they have overgrown all the other plants,,i added a mh to try and slow stretch w/ no success, i had to bend the tops of all the lemon kush and 1 top even snapped off..ill put up pics in a few days but its a mess!! other than that the other strains are producing multiple colas..
 

Sativied

Well-Known Member
insted of topping and lsting. should i do like ben said in page 1 or 2, wait till my clones have 6 or more nodes and then cut it down at the 2nd node so there is only 4 branches??
It comes down to the same thing, except that with the first you use some wire to spread them out, keep'm low at first. Some people use tomato cages or w/e to keep the bud together, I use wire to pull some branches apart initially, help it a little to spread it's colas uniform. If you time UBs method properly that sort happens automatically. As for how many branches, see your thread (I think we discussed it there) about plant count and bud site / cola count. I think 4 should be doable, if not I would use less plants. There's no law against using 3 though... (or picking the best 4 branches from the first 6 instead of just first 4).

will have 3 weeks of veg to recover before they go in bloom
That's way too long in your setup with your plant count. Hard to say in advanced but in your case I'd go for 5-10 days max (after topping it).
 

TheChemist77

Well-Known Member
It comes down to the same thing, except that with the first you use some wire to spread them out, keep'm low at first. Some people use tomato cages or w/e to keep the bud together, I use wire to pull some branches apart initially, help it a little to spread it's colas uniform. If you time UBs method properly that sort happens automatically. As for how many branches, see your thread (I think we discussed it there) about plant count and bud site / cola count. I think 4 should be doable, if not I would use less plants. There's no law against using 3 though... (or picking the best 4 branches from the first 6 instead of just first 4).

That's way too long in your setup with your plant count. Hard to say in advanced but in your case I'd go for 5-10 days max (after topping it).
thanks satieved
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Hey ben i know this is kinda of far back but i would appreciate some help. I topped my skunk haze for two mains but i dont want any side branching just wondering how i would just keep single colas.
Not sure why you would want to do that but if you must just prune the side branches back with hand pruners.
 

Lucifder

Well-Known Member
Not sure why you would want to do that but if you must just prune the side branches back with hand pruners.
my grow space right now is small because im moving, maybe ill bend the branches straight down so they kind stay centered and then maybe pull em back a bit to give the brwches space and wont be all crammed
 

jkstraw79

Member
Depending on your grow area, you can get more colas. I trimmed my White Widow to get 8 colas and it took about same time as a normal grow. I had limited space so I opted for trimming to get the colas in lieu of just letting her go.There's one more thick cola in back you can't see in this pic.FtBenPreGrad-59.jpgFtBenPreGrad-65.jpg ]
 
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jkstraw79

Member
Lower bud sites thicken. She has about 3 or so weeks to go from here and will take tops off and keep growing it out and let lower bud site finish. It has worked well for me in this small area. The bigger plants don't come till summer. She got a bit close to the lamps and the tips of fan leaves got crispy but they will be trimmed off. :cool:
 

dbdweller

Active Member
just went back annd read the first 10 pages then jumped here, im just started topping recently, why does it seem topped plants dont stretch like untopped plants in flower? and if i use ur tec topping to get 2 tops at the 2nd node wen do i top, wile still in veg? shouldnt it have time to heal itself before flower? and will those 2 tops stretch like an untopped plant will once in flower? i guess i seem to like untopping for that stretch reason, i can put a plant w only 1 week of veg after rooting into flower at say 6 inches tall and end up w a 3 ft plant with many branches,,if i can top it at the 2nd node, give it a weeek of veg, and end up with 2-4 3 ft colas im sold!!

If you want your nobes to grow side by side, ALWAYS top at an ODD nobe. If you top on even then your nobes will grow like a ladder. one at a time.
I prefer to have them side by side. Some people would rather have the stack to make a longer bud. Although in my opion i would rather have the fater one then the thinner one. thin does dry faster lol
 
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dbdweller

Active Member
The title is getting colas and topping. I did not read in anyone's thread about the number of the nobe and if its odd or even.
I am a mainline/super cropper and more and that is 101. You want to stagger your colas you top on even and virsersa.
Just after reading 75% of this whole fucking thread lol no one said it. You can design it in so many ways by this rule of thumb.

So dont hate lol just trying to help peoplebongsmilie
 
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