The leaf damage appears to be ancient history in the pictures. Are you seeing any damage on new growth?
Working under Graytail's tutelage has taught me quite a few of his tricks. One of the better ones he passed on was when to top. He used to push the envelope in an effort to get them into the bloom room faster and then he discovered if he waited until they were about 12-14" in height you'll notice, in his words
"She'll look like she wants to make a bolt upwards, but I stop her by snipping off the top."
Waiting until that later moment means the plant has more strength and reserves to recover more quickly from the decapitation. At this stage growth is so vigorous that with diligent bending and tucking alone the plant will establish a level canopy in a matter of days. It was amazing to watch that happen under even my novice hands. It was effortless. I encourage you to wait. If you need any further encouragement I suggest you ask Graytail himself for advice. He's always more than helpful and quite the insightful gardener, too. He has numerous examples of that point in his journals.
Let me share a private teachable moment from the Master himself. We were discussing the cut itself here, but the picture illustrates where he took this cut, and if you look close you can see why he chose this spot. He cut this one at a point between his little finger and his ring finger, but you can clearly see the node he chose to cut above and all the growth located there that benefitted from the freeing up of hormones. This picture was lifted right out of his journal. I can track the post for you if you'd like. That would be no problem for me.
Graytail said:
SweetSue said:
Hey Graytail. Student mode here.
When you top you cut halfway between the nodes? Is there some reason for that? I'm assuming it helps the plant heal better with less chance of disease setting in?
It's not halfway - more like a a tad from the lower node. In my own horticultural trimming I've always made the cut snug with the branch, but I read somewhere that it's better to leave a little more, just to ensure that you're not cutting too close. Maybe I left more than usual on that cut. I usually leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch, I'd say.
I tried to show that clearly when I topped my Carnival, a much bushier plant than the one used in this illustration, but the same principles at play.
Your lovely White Widow is very close, from the looks of her. The JH looks to be a couple days behind.
Give Big Nano a scratch behind that left ear for me. Sweet kitten.
Edit: It's such a tease, trying to root the tip. I'm not sure it can be accomplished yet, although I kept Carnival's, so I'm just as smitten with the dream. The best clones are taken from vigorous side branches, low down (part of the reason I used side lighting - to make those side branches bigger and healthier), cloning the new-growth tips, down about 7 nodes. I write that like I know what I'm talking about.
Best advice I can offer, you already know. When you're ready to do cloning, go directly to TOAST. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Sorry, it just bubbles out sometimes.
Last point I need to make - Atrain and Graytail have both proven that you can't hit them with too much light. Well, I think Neikodog proved you could, but he went waaaay overboard, and eventually scaled back. LOL!