Should you top a indica plant

?#1:Should you top a indica plant at 2 ft for bigger yeild
?#2:Is it better to let grow to maximum height for bigger yeild
?#3:Is thier a way besides the two options above, to obtain greater yeilds
 

Jogro

Well-Known Member
?#1:Should you top a indica plant at 2 ft for bigger yeild
If the question is, can you improve yield by topping indica plants, I believe the answer is "yes", though by how much (if at all) is going to be highly dependent on individual grow circumstances.

IE, are you growing indoors under lights, or outdoors? Do you have room to train your plants? What are the growth characteristics of this particular strain, etc?

Note that topping plants will, at least temporarily, stunt their growth, so consider this as part of your equation.
Its not just yield per plant, but also yield per plant per unit time that matters if you're growing indoors.

?#2:Is it better to let grow to maximum height for bigger yeild
In general, the bigger you let your plants get, the more they'll yield.

But there are practical limits here.

For example, if you're growing indoors under lights, you've probably only got so much vertical space to work with.

Outdoors, the limiting factors to size are going to be strain type, pot size, and length of season. The biggest plants are started indoors under light, so they're already well-established into rapid vegetative growth by the time they're put outside in the spring.

Also, in terms of yield, absolute height of a plant isn't as important as number of flowering tops and strain. A short fat 3 foot "bush" with 5 tops may yield more than a 5 foot "beanpole". You can bend/train plants to reduce their vertical height without any practical decrease in yield.

?#3:Is thier a way besides the two options above, to obtain greater yeilds
Yes.

The easiest is to use a higher-yielding strain.

Second easiest is to grow more plants in the same space.

If you're talking about indoor grows, "sea of green" is a way of growing large numbers of small plants to create a forest-like canopy to maximize light usage by flowering tops and therefore yield.

"Screen of Green" ("SCROG") is a way of accomplishing effectively the same thing by training the tops of smaller numbers of plants into an even canopy using a large mesh screen as a trellis.

Outdoors, I'd consider topping more than once.
 
my plant is 7 inches tall but has nodes on each side just as wide. It is 4 weeks old and has 5 nodes, close now to 6. The width of the leaf fingers are extreamly fat. It has a skunky smell to it, and resembles the G13. Short, bushy, fat finges.. i believe it is dominate indica strain.. I dont know if i should prune or top if she looks extreamly healthy. Or at what height is prime to top.
 

stoned cockatoo

New Member
Top it and tie down the 2 new tops that come out until the lower branches are even with the main tops that you tied down. Will give you an even little bush
 

scroglodyte

Well-Known Member
i would have topped a while ago, not now. super-crop would be more appropriate at this point. in my opinion.
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
fimming is more effective if done correctly and actually topping can be done well enough you would never know it was topped. if you can cut as close as possible to the node it will rise up to that point and grow as if it was the main cola the whole time. i have several pics of plants in different stages of this process i will throw them up later is you remind me. (where i have topped them and they(branches) are becoming or are the main cola now)
 
"polyarcturus" i appreciate the help with the fimming. I looked it up, and have chosen this over topping. I am still wondering if i should wait to fimm until my plant is 2 ft. tall, or do it now at 7-8 inches
 
what is sea of green.. Also i was trying to figure out my strain, but all i can do is describe my plant and its characteristics!!! Can you determain whether the % of indica/sativa, by just a very percise description??
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Dude, visit You Tube. It's all there in short easy lessons. Like "Topping marijuana". Try it. Same with femming/fimming, Sea of Green.
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
toppped. forst one Woody have cant even tell it was topped.2nd one a plant in flower and the third a WW,
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these are all fimmed. the first plant has three tops. reveg fimmed and 2 seedling fimmed first one fimmed on the second node, 2nd on the third node.
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Jogro

Well-Known Member
what is sea of green..
As I said, "Sea of Green" is growing lots of small plants in a mini-"forest" like arrangement to create an even canopy of flowering tops. "Google it".

The idea is basically just to optimize light usage under artificial lights. In a good SOG grow, the only place light hits is flowering tops, so not only is all the light used, but its all used for flowering.

Note that Sea of green is typically done using numerous clones (cuttings) from one plant. That way they're all the same size/age and grow/flower at the same rate.

Also i was trying to figure out my strain, but all i can do is describe my plant and its characteristics!!! Can you determain whether the % of indica/sativa, by just a very percise description??
No description is going to give you a refined idea of the plants genetic background. Someone who is REALLY knowledgeable may be able to make some pretty good educated guesses *IF* your strain is a "classic" one or shares traits with a classic one, if they see it in person.

The best way to identify your strain is to figure out its provenance (ie where did you get it from?), and track it back that way. Note that in many cases, this may not be possible or practical, so you may be stuck.

In terms of indica/sativa, small bushy plants are typically indicas. Indica plants will also have wider/fatter individual leaf blades that tend to be a bit darker green in color than sativas. Typically sativas smell "fruity" in flowering, and indicas a bit more "skunky", but this is most definitely NOT a hard and fast rule.

Note that most plants from commercial stock are neither indicas nor sativas; they're hybrids of both.
 
polyarcturus:: Thanks for the info bro.. The pics helped a lot. I believe i am gonna fimm. The only issue i have now after reading your last post, is that you fimmed your laddies at 2 & 3 nodes. My girl is just now begining its 6th. Can i still do it now? If so is a smart idea?
 
Jogro:: I appreciate the feedback man. I am sure a have a dominate indica strain now. When is the best time to clone her so that i can start the sea? She is 4 weeks old, 8 inches tall and is workin on her 6th nodes... I am also planning on fimming her!!
 
polyarcturus:: The forth pic you have under the fimmed plants, the one with the white stake with the number 12 on it, looks identical to mine... What strain is that..
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
polyarcturus:: Thanks for the info bro.. The pics helped a lot. I believe i am gonna fimm. The only issue i have now after reading your last post, is that you fimmed your laddies at 2 & 3 nodes. My girl is just now begining its 6th. Can i still do it now? If so is a smart idea?
the pic of the first FIM with three tops is about 8" tall about 13 nodes before it got fimmed. so why not? do it my friend it wont hurt. any more than the initial cut.
 

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
last 2 plants are bag seed.


strains in the order in the pics, Woody Haze,Cream, white widow(2pics, my own breed), PurplexBubbleGum(2pics), purple(my own find out of highgrade bagseed) and 2 regular Mexican bagseed sativas at the end.
 

bennyy1

Member
Thanks bro, i will
Hey Kentuckynative and everyone How is everybody and really nice to meet you.I am new to the forum and would like to share this with you.I seen that the topic was can you top a indica plant? Yes you can.Crazy Miss hyde is about 80% indica 20% sativa 20% thc.Have not grown for a long while so I thought I start again.I started my seedling in fox farms ocean forest.It's been said that starting it in this soil is too hot for some of them.It is the first week or 2,but once the plant needs the nutrients it starts taking off.I tried alot like this by seed in organic soil and never had any problems.The key is just water the baby girl for 30 days or so and thats it.Then just judge it later.You will tell later what it needs.Like more fertilizer or whatever.I usually grow it in fox farms for about 55 days then put in flowerinig stage then add big bloom in filtered water every 2 weeks and stop the last 2 weeks before harvest.I think sometimes alot of people make mistakes fertilizing and putting it this soil, it's a little to much then.Anyhow Fim a plant which means Fuck I Missed is good in early stages.I usually start it at about 3 weeks or fourth node.When you fim instead of topping.you are slicing with a razor blade the little new shoot not the whole thing.Instead of two shoots it makes 4 shoots fimming it if done right.2 from the fimmed part and 1 on each of the nodes beside it which makes it 4 shoots from one top.Topping can work the same way done at the same time but only produces 2 shoots and 4 shoots and so on.Super cropping is done in early stages.It is squeezing each individual branch or main stem slightly and twisting it slightly or bending softly but not breaking it.It will wilt for a 3 days or longer depends on the plant.While this happening the plant thinks it's topped but it is not.It is just injured basically.Then all the energy is going to the rest of the shoots now.When you squeezed the branch the plant produces a thicker and stronger stem in time and brings alot more nutrients and water from the thicker stem to all the shoots.The only thing about this method you will have to grow it longer in vegetative stage it take's a little while for the plant to repair it's self.With more and bigger bud is alot more patience and waiting time.It's all worth it at the end.This Crazy Miss Hyde plant was topped at 20 days and plus I topped 4 of the side shoots afterwards one the others started growing.It is a fat stocky bush now with alot of nodes and shoots at 30 days it is at about 15 inches tall now but like 16 inces wide.I will let them grow a little more may 2 weeks the shoots then bend each branch down so all the shoot at the lower part of the plant come up to the light.Almost like a sea of green with one plant.I counted on this plant about 22 shoots which would be 22 cola buds at the end and being mostly indica being big buds at 22 spots.I could keep going but I have limited space like 2 feet by 3 feet by 48 inches tall which is only about 6 square feet or so but for one plant which is plenty of space for it to get a nice size if it is trained right.Oh yeah never cut off the big fans leaves they give the plant its energy and in the long run produces fatter buds.If they are in the way from getting light just bend them down underneath the plant so the shoots are showing.Notice the fans leaves on her.Each leaf is about 8 inches wide.I have a half gallon milk container on the sides to show size I would like to share my Crazy Miss Hyde photos with you at 15 inches topped 8 times 30 days old in a 5 gallon pot.Everyone have a really nice merry christmas and a happy new year!!!!

25 days Crazy Miss Hyde.jpg




30 days Crazy Miss Hyde.jpg
 
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