To pinch, or not to pinch......(pics)

My canopy got outta control, and I have about 1/3 of my tops that are significantly taller than the rest. Do I leave them be, or pinch them and lay them over (super-crop)?






They are about 2 1/2 weeks into flower.


TLP

ya shud tie them down. done it to one of my plants that got abit out of control and has worked amazin and i reakon i have doubled my yeild for that plant .. i have pics ill try in find them for ya ..

I'd LST/super-crop at this point. Remember, though, I've only done outdoor and am just starting my first try at indoor. But, height is the issue, you're not in the midst of a vegetative stage and thus don't want to remove bud sites. Just make them as even with the lower branches as you can.

Your horizontal space looks to be a little slim as well, so hopefully you don't get explosive growth once laying those tops over. Just be careful with the woodier stems!

Seamaiden said:

I'd LST/super-crop at this point. Remember, though, I've only done outdoor and am just starting my first try at indoor. But, height is the issue, you're not in the midst of a vegetative stage and thus don't want to remove bud sites. Just make them as even with the lower branches as you can.

Your horizontal space looks to be a little slim as well, so hopefully you don't get explosive growth once laying those tops over. Just be careful with the woodier stems!

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Yeah, My horizontal space is 7' wide. I have them arranged in rows of 3 (side to side), 4 deep. Ya think thats too crowded for bud development under the canopy?
So I'm OK super cropping the mains? I "fimm'ed" them at about 1 month, and most of them have 4 or more mains!

You gonna wonder why in gods name you didn't move indoors long ago!!!!

With the bug problems I've been having, not quite yet, pirate.

The thing with the bud development is that the plant "knows" that its different branches are at different heights, so it puts different amounts of energy into development. Auxin seems to be the key here. How it actually behaves once flowers are set and begin development, though, I don't quite have a grasp on just yet. Since I do have some good experience with LST, I know it's possible to tie branches not just down, but bend them to one side or another in a way that will allow lower areas to get good light. Super-cropping I haven't done, but it may be easier since you do have space limitations (I'm thinking of you having to get around all these strings or wires if you LST). I did accidentally "super-crop" a couple of my girls, now that I think about it, and the buds finished up just fine (stems broke, buds hung upside down).

tie em down thats what i would do and they will be much happier then if you pinch or cut or top or fim or whatever you wanna call it. i know i would love to where a necklace rather than getting my head cut off

dont cut anything now that you have started to flower them.
mtself i would just leave them. it realy dont seem like you have the side room to lst, even though that would be the way to go.

you say your about 2.5 weeks into flowering so i dont think you will get much more hight out of them.
i would just trim a bit of the fan leaves to allow light to the lower bud sites.
what strain are they??
neer harvest time you could take the main colas when ready and then leave the lowers to ripen a bit better. taking the mains willl allow the light and food to the lower weeker sites

bonz said:

dont cut anything now that you have started to flower them.
mtself i would just leave them. it realy dont seem like you have the side room to lst, even though that would be the way to go.

you say your about 2.5 weeks into flowering so i dont think you will get much more hight out of them.
i would just trim a bit of the fan leaves to allow light to the lower bud sites.
what strain are they??
neer harvest time you could take the main colas when ready and then leave the lowers to ripen a bit better. taking the mains willl allow the light and food to the lower weeker sites

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i would not cut any healthy leaves during flowering its just bad advice and belive it or not contrary to what everyone thinks a plant ripens the other whay around from oldest to youngest which means from bottem to top

im not talking about raping the poor thing, just a few of the leaves.
actualy a plant will ripen with the largest buds first, they take the most nutes from what you feed them. i have done this several times and have had verry minimal loss from the trimming and taking of largs buds.

I wouldn't have been able to make it through the beginning of harvest season had I not been able to take sample buds. You would have seen me on CNN as the crazy woman who tried to run but fell down.

bonz said:

im not talking about raping the poor thing, just a few of the leaves.
actualy a plant will ripen with the largest buds first, they take the most nutes from what you feed them. i have done this several times and have had verry minimal loss from the trimming and taking of largs buds.

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ok man but ive done it a lot too and everytime the plant ripens from bottom to top and cutting leaves slows growth and if you cut the wrong one could decrese yeild but thats just in my expiriance that ive gathered over the last 8 years.... not tryin to start sumthin just puting what knowledge i have out their if you really want i can ge and find some lituriture to back up my statements but it will have to wait cause i gotta go out for a bit

Bonz, I aint exactly sure of the strain, it's that same bagseed I started out with. That last grow produced some of the best bud most of my friends have seen in a while. I'm pretty sure it's a Sativa, or a high sativa content hybrid. What ever it is, it changed my mind about ordering genetics.

I ain't gonna cut any tops off, no way. I can see pulling a fan leaf here or there, but I will probably leave them alone anyway. If I'm about done with the vertical growth thing, I'll just leave em alone. I keep thinking that my last grow got a good bit taller. I really don't want them to spread out and block any more light than necessary to the undergrowth.

Thanx for all the replies guys and gals. I'm gonna have to stew on this a bit, and keep an eye on the growth.
I just want to know if pinching the stem and laying the top on it's side will inhibit bud development.

Not that I've seen with my accidental pinchings.

like i said in pm. if you have the room to tie em down then that would be best.
there is no need to pinch them to lst, just tie them over.

i dont take what you say as an attack there tussel. i also have done most ways of doing this and have my stuff tested for contents with dr hornby and his companyt aside from advanced nutes. so i can get the real results, sure it does do a bit of harm....but not enough to worry about.

ya i would like tp see what you can get....when you have time. still dont make sence that a bud that has liught blocking the phtosynthisus and is smaller than the mains will ripen faster.

I have enough room to raise the lights another foot or so, do for now I'm just gonna watch em. If they aint gonna get any taller than another foot, I'm good with that. I woke up this morning and a few of the tops were up INSIDE the parabolic reflectors. Kinda gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Wake and Bake"!!! LOL

thats ok as long as they dont get to hot, they will stop growing. just watch for the leaves to curl up. the closer the better. mine are only about 6 to 10 inches away from my glass.

Arrange them in a stadium grow fashion by height so the short ones are in the middle and the tall on the outside and drop the light closer, then it'll all work out ideal. That will ensure they're all getting as much light as close as possible and that the tall ones aren't shading short ones.

yea arange them stadium style. *from the light* smallest to tallest. i pinch mine. or pinch and then tie it down so it doesn't grow backup. whatever works for you. but try to get an even canopy.....

OregonMeds said:

Arrange them in a stadium grow fashion by height so the short ones are in the middle and the tall on the outside and drop the light closer, then it'll all work out ideal. That will ensure they're all getting as much light as close as possible and that the tall ones aren't shading short ones.

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I really would, but I tried my hand at FIMMing about a month or so ago, and the result is that I now have 4 or more mains shooting anywhere from 6 to 10 inches taller than the surrounding plant. They ALL have mains that are way taller than the rest of the plant.
Funny thing, when I did the deed, I thought i had completely fucked it up, but as they matured, I could see the distinct 4 (or more) heads. From the top it looked kinda like the 4 circles in a moon jellyfish.

TheLastPirate..... If you can move your girls around.... Move all the tall chicks to one side... short chicks to the other. If using two lights, adjust each for the group underneath. If using one light, run support lines across the field of tall chicks and bend them at the weakest / most flexible point (the tops). Cut not - pinch not
.
Finish your run as is - just make the tall chicks bend to your will...... Bondage...not just for the bedroom.... LOL .....
.
Hope this helps...
Keep it Real....... Restrained......