What is the Best Method to Keep Plants Short outdoors?

So this outdoor season I’ve decided to grow some Dutch Passion Durban Poison and G13 Hashplant by 710. Last year my plants were peaking over my 6ft fence and I had to harvest a little early to keep them from catching too much attention. And I didn’t even use nutrients, just plain non Ph’d tap water. Now that I’ve got a few more grows under my belt I’ve started to use nutrients and have noticed my auto sizes have doubled since the non Nutrient days. I’ve read how some African strains can reach 20 ft tall. This is my dilemma. I’ve read into topping, lst, and mainlining to keep bushier and shorter but I want to hear from your guys’ experiences. What would you do? Any extra strain info is appreciated too to let me know what I’m in for.

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

So this outdoor season I’ve decided to grow some Dutch Passion Durban Poison and G13 Hashplant by 710. Last year my plants were peaking over my 6ft fence and I had to harvest a little early to keep them from catching too much attention. And I didn’t even use nutrients, just plain non Ph’d tap water. Now that I’ve got a few more grows under my belt I’ve started to use nutrients and have noticed my auto sizes have doubled since the non Nutrient days. I’ve read how some African strains can reach 20 ft tall. This is my dilemma. I’ve read into topping, lst, and mainlining to keep bushier and shorter but I want to hear from your guys’ experiences. What would you do? Any extra strain info is appreciated too to let me know what I’m in for.

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You answered your own question. Lst and topping. It's that simple.

HarryCooter said:

You answered your own question. Lst and topping. It's that simple.

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Idk man that’s why I’m asking for help. When I’ve topped I wouldn’t lose much height. Just gain bushy-ness

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

Idk man that’s why I’m asking for help. When I’ve topped I wouldn’t lose much height. Just gain bushy-ness

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That's when you start pulling the branches side ways. Keep it low and stretched out as much as possible before you go into flower so your stretch is much more manageable. I don't have to worry about being discreet where I am but I do lst only on my plants. When I put them in ground I bend them back as far as they will let me, usually around 45 degree angle. Then I put fencing around the plant and train everything out sideways through the fencing and add more layers of fencing around the outside as needed to keep pulling it outward. Try that.

If you don't need the quantity, just plant them later and they won't have time to get as big. Or instead of putting them in the ground, plant them in pots that are under 20 gallons, that will keep them smaller too.

HarryCooter said:

That's when you start pulling the branches side ways. Keep it low and stretched out as much as possible before you go into flower so your stretch is much more manageable. I don't have to worry about being discreet where I am but I do lst only on my plants. When I put them in ground I bend them back as far as they will let me, usually around 45 degree angle. Then I put fencing around the plant and train everything out sideways through the fencing and add more layers of fencing around the outside as needed to keep pulling it outward. Try that.

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I’ll make sure to try that. Do you think there’s such a thing as too much lst? Like getting my plants to grow horizontally. And I wish I didn’t have to be discreet, I mean I’m from SoCal so it’s not the law I’m worried about. Just a lot of low life neighbors who would try to rip me off. But I’ve also been looking into booby traps this year too

Top and tie down.

If that isn't enough, if you are not already planting in the dirt, sink your pots. That will gain you a little bit.

Humanrob said:

If you don't need the quantity, just plant them later and they won't have time to get as big. Or instead of putting them in the ground, plant them in pots that are under 20 gallons, that will keep them smaller too.

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I would still like to yield as much as I can but I know there’s gotta be a trade off at some point for privacy.

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

I would still like to yield as much as I can but I know there’s gotta be a trade off at some point for privacy.

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I've done outdoor scrogs, they work. Being in Oregon, this one was covered. The hoops start at about 3 feet off the ground, but you can set them even lower if you start them earlier, just make sure you have access to the whole plant for trimming and maintenance.

Humanrob said:

I've done outdoor scrogs, they work. Being in Oregon, this one was covered. The hoops start at about 3 feet off the ground, but you can set them even lower if you start them earlier, just make sure you have access to the whole plant for trimming and maintenance.

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I’ve been reading into it more and seems like you’re right. My best bet would be to Scrog. Do you have a diary or journal on how you did it? Or would an indoors scrog How To work just as fine? Thanks man

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

I’ve been reading into it more and seems like you’re right. My best bet would be to Scrog. Do you have a diary or journal on how you did it? Or would an indoors scrog How To work just as fine? Thanks man

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I don't recall if I had a thread on this one. I had to build it like a tank, because where I live we can get some serious wind in the fall. I'm pretty sure I just used the same logic as an indoor and scaled it up. That's probably the biggest factor, how long are your arms? LOL, as long as you can reach the center, then it's not too big. And sometimes you might reach it by crawling under the screen and reaching up threw it...

Here's another pic I found from before I put the hoops on. You can see the one in the middle is in a pot, it's actually in a SIP, and I buried the Home Depot paint bucket res in the ground to make it lower and keep the water cool. I decided to go with a scrog late, and that one was really too tall. That plant took a beating, it was a GG4 that I had to bend too much to get under the wire and a bunch of main branches broke. Some careful application of electric tape, and that sturdy girl healed up and finished really well.

I'm not sure what else I can tell you, it's kind of one of those things that you figure out as you go.

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

I’ll make sure to try that. Do you think there’s such a thing as too much lst? Like getting my plants to grow horizontally. And I wish I didn’t have to be discreet, I mean I’m from SoCal so it’s not the law I’m worried about. Just a lot of low life neighbors who would try to rip me off. But I’ve also been looking into booby traps this year too

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Never too much. In fact, if you look at my grow last year I actually partially broke off some branch's. I secured them so they wouldn't move any further and they healed up as if nothing happened. I posted on the whole security thing earlier. Get yourself an electric fence kit from home depot and run the wire about knee high around your garden with no lights. They will think twice before ever stepping into your yard again.

Humanrob said:

If you don't need the quantity, just plant them later and they won't have time to get as big. Or instead of putting them in the ground, plant them in pots that are under 20 gallons, that will keep them smaller too.

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My Blackcherry Soda got over 6' in a 15gal. pot last year

Sir Napsalot said:

My Blackcherry Soda got over 6' in a 15gal. pot last year

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I guess nothing works in every situation

I put some seeds in pots and others in the ground, I found the ones in pots were smaller. But true enough, I was topping them, and you never can tell when a plant will put a lot of energy into stretching, especially if its stressed by being in a pot outdoors. Just being in a pot lifts it at least a foot off the ground, so there's that.

Humanrob said:

Just being in a pot lifts it at least a foot off the ground, so there's that.

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That's very true- I hadn't really considered that

My goal is to grow the biggest plant while still being portable, so I can move them around to maximize sunlight and also move them behind a locked gate at night

Humanrob said:

If you don't need the quantity, just plant them later and they won't have time to get as big. Or instead of putting them in the ground, plant them in pots that are under 20 gallons, that will keep them smaller too.

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I think HR is spot on with his suggestion. I plant in raised beds so I lose a foot of height right off the bat.
I battle this problem each year with plants 3' over the top of my fence...I'm fortunate to have cool neighbors.
This last season I started my seeds April 1st a month later than usual, and tried some hardcore LST and scrogging and still had height issues. I trained the main leads to grow out along the bamboo. Then set up a double scrog and topped the shit out of all of them.


I'm gonna scale back this season and stick with my GH plants.

slow drawl said:

I think HR is spot on with his suggestion. I plant in raised beds so I lose a foot of height right off the bat.
I battle this problem each year with plants 3' over the top of my fence...I'm fortunate to have cool neighbors.
This last season I started my seeds April 1st a month later than usual, and tried some hardcore LST and scrogging and still had height issues. I trained the main leads to grow out along the bamboo. Then set up a double scrog and topped the shit out of all of them.
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I'm gonna scale back this season and stick with my GH plants.

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Do you think starting in July would give me problems?

slow drawl said:

I think HR is spot on with his suggestion. I plant in raised beds so I lose a foot of height right off the bat.
I battle this problem each year with plants 3' over the top of my fence...I'm fortunate to have cool neighbors.
This last season I started my seeds April 1st a month later than usual, and tried some hardcore LST and scrogging and still had height issues. I trained the main leads to grow out along the bamboo. Then set up a double scrog and topped the shit out of all of them.
View attachment 4136797
View attachment 4136827 View attachment 4136806
I'm gonna scale back this season and stick with my GH plants.

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These are some excellent problems to have!!! LOL I never would have thought that I'd be working out strategies to have less pot growing... gotta love it.

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

Do you think starting in July would give me problems?

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I think it's going to depend on the strain, how much direct sunlight you get on your grow area, etc. If you're starting from seed, I'd probably start them mid-June -- but if you can, stagger the start, start a few groups 2 weeks apart. Some might get too tall and require more topping and training, others might become nice mid-sized bushes that can hold their natural form. You'll find the sweet spot.

Srgtgriffdonutt said:

Do you think starting in July would give me problems?

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That might be a bit late, most of my plants start to show sex 3rd to 4th week in July. They would be fairly small with only 3 weeks of veg. Excellent advice from @Humanrob.