Should I top?

[zSaber]

Oooookay so I have this auto flower gsc by fast buds. It's now day 31 and this is where I'm at right now.

It's about 3 inches tall, 7 inches wide and has 5 nodes but being that's it's pretty short the nodes are right on top of each other just about. I was planning on topping tomorrow but I just noticed some pistols are starting to form. What should I do? I think its flowering time was 8-9 weeks from seed.

 

[187Blacka]

I don't think you should, i heard some ppl do it but it was like 15 days in veg and even then the result was not that great.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I do not like to remove mass from my plants, and I generally grow phototropic plants, lol, not auto-flowers. If I throw way part of my plant, I can simply leave it in the vegetative phase longer so that it can grow more mass. That is NOT an option with an auto-flowering strain, so...

It looks to have a heavy percentage of indica in its genetics, so it'll tend to be more compact. A good way to promote branching is to tie the uppermost tip down in such a way that it is no longer the highest part of the plant; the plant will then redistribute the auxins which control such behavior. I suppose that's not really an option with a plant that is only 3" tall.

People generally use a higher color temperature (such as 6,500K) for vegetative growth, because it helps keep their plants more compact, then they switch to something like 2,700K for flowering. Maybe you would see more vertical growth if you added a healthy amount of 2,700K lighting? And we try not to keep our lights too far from our plants... because that tends to cause them to stretch towards the light <HINT HINT, lol>.

 

[zSaber]

I do not like to remove mass from my plants, and I generally grow phototropic plants, lol, not auto-flowers. If I throw way part of my plant, I can simply leave it in the vegetative phase longer so that it can grow more mass. That is NOT an option with an auto-flowering strain, so...

It looks to have a heavy percentage of indica in its genetics, so it'll tend to be more compact. A good way to promote branching is to tie the uppermost tip down in such a way that it is no longer the highest part of the plant; the plant will then redistribute the auxins which control such behavior. I suppose that's not really an option with a plant that is only 3" tall.

People generally use a higher color temperature (such as 6,500K) for vegetative growth, because it helps keep their plants more compact, then they switch to something like 2,700K for flowering. Maybe you would see more vertical growth if you added a healthy amount of 2,700K lighting? And we try not to keep our lights too far from our plants... because that tends to cause them to stretch towards the light <HINT HINT, lol>.

Right now I'm using a 136w light and sometimes I'll use my other light which is 200w and I'll just use the veg switch on it. They are both 31in away from the tops so I would think they would've stretched lol it just might be the genetics. Other seeds had a pretty good stretch when I grew them. Some pistils are starting to pop out so maybe I'll see a flowering stretch soon..

 

[TorturedSoul]

Some pistils are starting to pop out so maybe I'll see a flowering stretch soon..

Seems likely. I have read that there are auto-flowering strains that are supposed to be tiny, lol, I assume so that one may hide them in the vegetable garden (wish I'd thought of doing such a thing two months ago). But it looks like many of them these days grow to a more reasonable size.

 

[zSaber]

Yea a lot of grows I seen for this specific strain they have been a little bit bigger; at least about a foot. We'll just have to see in the next few weeks I guess.

 

[Why Doe]

Only time you top is when a branch is getting a lot taller then the others. You don't even have side branching yet it's still growing straight up. General rule of thumb is top every 3-4 nodes. Give it some more time

 

[Planter420]

Reference the autoflower topping thread. It's a completely different animal. But you don't HAVE to top at all if u want a bush just train her out. With autos the rule of thumb that why doe told ya, while it applies to any photo plant, doesn't always apply to an auto flower plant. You have to top earlier. Go check out Ledrf he's an excellent auto guy and has tutorials on his website about ponytailing and bowl training which requires zero cutting or plant matter removal. He makes the perfect sun series led panels, which are tits btw.

 

[zSaber]

I'm already at my 6th node lol and okay cool, I'll check him out. Thanks! I'm going to stick to not topping this one though since it's already showing signs of flowering.

 

[Why Doe]

How is it already showing sings of flowering? I don't even see any bud sites yet

 

[Planter420]

Maybe he sees the stipules?

 

[zSaber]

Starting to look good just 10 days later. It's a little over twice as tall now but still a little small would be nice to see it grow to at least a foot. Says 8 weeks flowering time and I'm at 5 so about 3 more weeks.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Starting to look good just 10 days later. It's a little over twice as tall now but still a little small would be nice to see it grow to at least a foot. Says 8 weeks flowering time and I'm at 5 so about 3 more weeks.

you have alot longer than 3 more weeks to go yet, they will say 8 weeks flowering time from when the plant has started showing sex, looking at this now you still have a good 6-8 weeks left.

 

[zSaber]

you have alot longer than 3 more weeks to go yet, they will say 8 weeks flowering time from when the plant has started showing sex, looking at this now you still have a good 6-8 weeks left.

This is a autoflower though it says flowers 80 days from germination.

 

[nobodyhere]

I have a couple untopped autos in my tent approaching 70 days. one is almost 4' tall.

I don't see how a top would have benefitted either.

 

[AKGrower907]

Not all autos are short and stubby.
This was one of my 3 auto ultimates i grew a couple months back at 1month old. Transplanted twice starting out from a 1gal pot up to a 3gal pot than into this 5gallon bucket, i ran out of 5gallon pots so i improvised lol.

 

[AKGrower907]

These are the same autos a week before harvesting. Flushed them out for 2 weeks. They got to 7.5ft tall, my tent is only 6 feet tall. I had to pinch and bend them over just so they can fit inside lol

 

[HigherTheHigh]

This is a autoflower though it says flowers 80 days from germination.

that is a guide lie from the genetic creators in the up most perfect enviroment.

that is only just starting to she is a female, so like i said another 6-8 weeks.

there is no way in 3 weeks time you would have buds developed properly and mature, i used to run northern lights and from germination to harvest took 12-15 weeks.

good luck with your grow though buddy she looks a healthy plant.