first timer needing help on topping

[tablelegslim]

Good Evening, I was wondering when do I start topping my plants. I have a few plants all starting to grow at a decent pace. Where do I top them. Some people say above 3rd node then others said 5th node. I'm a little confused about which node and the age of the plant. These are just some mid bagseed plants all photo plants i believe. The last 2 or same plant a little mutated so , really not sure how to approach that one

 

[skirk]

One way.

 

[013]

Hi table,

I like your avatar but I think I used to date her...

The first pair of round leaves are cotyledons, they are part of the energy source to help get plant started. If plant runs weak she will drain mobile nutrients from her cotys to stay alive. The cotys really don’t count as pairs tho. Everything above the cotys are symmetrical pairs of leaves on a seedling grown from.... wait for it...grown from seeds. Symmetrical pairs join the stem at the very same height on the plant stalk. So count the pairs above the cotys. If you top when you only have 3 pairs it will slow down / stall out the plant. Most skilled growers don’t top or fim until there are 5 pairs. Typically by waiting until after 5 pairs are visible & healthy the plants will recover quickly from the cut. Don’t top or fim a weak plant. Most wait until 5 pairs and chop back to above the 3rd pair.

Clones typically have alternating leaves and growth tips. They join the stem at different intervals. The growth tip is the branch just above a fan leaf, but the growth tip is what will turn into a bud when it matures. If clones are taken from the lower branches of a host plant then it’s possible they will have symmetrical pairs of leaves, but when taken from middle or top of host then usually alternating pais is the norm.

Hope this helps!