Xlr8's Quest For The Best - 2012
- Thread starter Xlr8
- Start date
UrbanGrower
New Member
how bout I rep you for asking that lol. I don't have much experience but I've gone up to a buddys awesome forest (130 mile trek) and a bunch of huge branches broke at the stalk from wind and I think it was just shy of a month into flower. He just bamboo staked them all up, when I went back a month later it was just the most beautiful 10 ft evergreens i've ever seen, not a single seed or pest/disease.
- Thread starter
- #143
That's because people like you ARE 420
Haha, no - that would be our fearless leader here, and the founder of 420magazine:
Cannabis Warrior - Rob Griffin
I feel that old sometimes, though!
As far as the sentiment, it's appreciated a ton. Thanks for doing what you always do so well - making me smile!
Right back at 'ya Fluffster!
Woohoo! I have 420 likes!
Goose, that's a helluva nice post and one that I really appreciate more than I can appropriately express. I feel like I'm still learning so much about this plant and how to grow it, but I enjoy sharing and discussing the things I have been able to learn and pick up along the way. Sure good to have you around here Goose - thanks again buddy!
Sounds like you live in a really beautiful place, btw!
Oh, and what a problem to have, not enough closet space for all your GDP!!
Thanks Man! Right back at ya!
You deserve the praise! Stating the obvious is the least I can do!
P.S. We sure do love living up here! Especially right now as we head into the cooler fall weather patterns. Big puffy clouds and nice comfortable low 70 degree days. Clear as a bell with 20 mile visibility and air that smells so clean and fresh! It is no wonder that anything we grow up here does incredibly well with very little demands placed on us to keep them that way!
They don't call the Sierra National Forest "God's Country" for nothing!
Fluffy Haze
New Member
Haha, no - that would be our fearless leader here, and the founder of 420magazine:
Cannabis Warrior - Rob Griffin
I feel that old sometimes, though!
As far as the sentiment, it's appreciated a ton. Thanks for doing what you always do so well - making me smile!
But its people with morals, ethics, thoughtfulness and behaviour like yours that makes this place so amazing. So yes my modest friend, people like you ARE 420.
And I love Fluffster...that has made me smile so much my darling and was much needed today.
another great grow then mate, cant wait so ill be following along
- Thread starter
- #147
always happy to be around for another grow from a top grower like you, gives me plenty to read and learn, it helps me with my own grows as i can see differences and ways to improve what i got myself, its a big learning curve, but its something i enjoy doing so im more than happy to learn as much as i can,
Just back in from a long hiatus! I am sure glad to see some of the familiar faces here at 
especially you xlr8! peace and many blessings my friend!
subbed.
especially you xlr8! peace and many blessings my friend!
subbed.
Sending out a bat signal... would love some input!
This is my first grow where I've done super-cropping in flower. I have now super-cropped several tops as a further aid in canopy management at about 22 days into flower. I just did it, no looking back.
In the past I've tried to stick more to LST and defoliation this far into flower and later, and kept super-cropping to veg phase only - so I'm unsure what to expect. I'm looking for real-world experience on this one. I feel like there is a ton of misinformation based on theory out there, making true understanding of the topic somewhat muddled... (IE "Don't do it, you'll hermie your plant!")
As far as how my plants have reacted so far, the tops are already reaching back up to the light, but haven't been knuckling up yet (only been a couple of days).
Here are my primary questions:
- Will this impact bloom production in a positive manner like I would expect if done in veg?
- Will it slow down or speed up flower production?
- Any thoughts on whether this triggers accelerated trichome production (stress can do that)?
- Is there a difference between how a sativa reacts vs. an indica to supercropping in bloom?
- Does this delay the plants flowering cycle at all?
- If this is an effective strategy in bloom, is there a period where it becomes "too late" to do? If so, when is that?
Here's what I expect - maybe someone can confirm/deny any of this:
- Increased growth in second tier colas, taking up the cause after trauma to tallest colas and helping to even the canopy (my primary goal)
- Better bud development further down the stem on supercropped branches now that they run parallel to the lights
- Slowing of bud development for a few days where supercropped, then accelerated development that catches it up later due to the rebuilt, improved healing of the bend
Would love some feedback. I would prefer that it's not based on conjecture or heresay/re-hashing someone elses theory.
Thanks in advance for the input, and +rep to anyone who can really add to better understanding here regarding bloom phase super-cropping.
thats alot of questions x maybe i can help answer a few of them and theres pics to back it up i can take pics of the supercropped area which did heal but not much of a knuckle its the bk i have in my journal did it cause it was touching the lighti have a little bleached top now lol anyhow like i said i can help with a few of those questions and you can look at the journal pics and see how the plant was growing when it got super cropped by the pics and the bud developement at the top.
•Will this impact bloom production in a positive manner like I would expect if done in veg?
i say it depends on the plant the diesel clone i had had a slight different reaction to being super cropped in flower
the bk i dont think did as well
•Will it slow down or speed up flower production
same as above bk isnt reacting as positive as the first diesel clone i had, you can see it in the pics, but the secondary branch is filling up as if it was the top but it isnt getting taller than the top, also when i super cropped it it mighta been too late to do it the stem kinda split on 2 sides when i did the super crop.
•If this is an effective strategy in bloom, is there a period where it becomes "too late" to do? If so, when is that?
i believe you can do it in bloom too late would probably be when the stem has splits in them and just doesnt soften up and bend over
but it still healed itself but didnt really knuckle up ill take a few pics of her before i chop her at the end of the week.
•Increased growth in second tier colas, taking up the cause after trauma to tallest colas and helping to even the canopy (my primary goal)
as i said above the secondary cola is filling up like it was the top but didnt catch up or pass in height i think i did it too late but it can be done in bloom.
•Better bud development further down the stem on supercropped branches now that they run parallel to the lights
this one should work but that could also be done with trimming and not serious defol just every few days take a leaf or two
but i dont see why it wont help to get more light at the bottom
•Slowing of bud development for a few days where supercropped, then accelerated development that catches it up later due to the rebuilt, improved healing of the bend
yea there was a slowing of developement and it stayed slow lol but you know as i stated i think i just did it too late, it might have been different circumstances if i did it a week earlier. the diesel clone did alot better with the super crop for the same reason staerted to touch the light, and had a bleached portion of the top lol.
ok i hope i did answer a few of your questions and hope it was helpful
cant wait for the next set of pics
- Thread starter
- #151
Just back in from a long hiatus! I am sure glad to see some of the familiar faces here at
especially you xlr8! peace and many blessings my friend!
subbed.
Hey Shottafire!
Was just wondering about you the other day - hadn't seen you in a while. Glad to see you back, and super glad to have you subbed to my new journal.
Thank you for the blessings and kindness, Shottafire, it's appreciated greatly. 
Welcome back brother!
- Thread starter
- #152
Aloha Chronic
Thank you for the feedback buddy! Well, I had a hard time getting the stems not to split just a little - some worse than others, but nothing too bad I don't think. I here you on that one though, and it certainly caused me a bit of pause. They were just so thick and the silica I use tends to make them slightly more stiff and less pliable - not always bad except for situations like super-cropping.
I know you mentioned that you thought you might have done it a little late, at least on the one, due to the stem not bending as easy and splitting. How far into flower did you do it exactly? Later than 21 days or earlier?
I know I asked a lot of questions, but I really appreciate you filling me in on what you learned specifically from it. +rep for taking the time to share your experence. Thanks again!
Grow Update - 22 days bloom:
Big changes. As I alluded to in a previous post, I made the difficult decision to cull the Pineapple Express. It wasn't keeping up with the other plants, and things had gotten really crowded. I am really happy with the end result though, as it frees up some space for the other plants, and I have a couple of PE phenos in veg that I'll grow next round. I'm still really excited to grow it, but it can wait a little longer. Meanwhile, the Jack the Ripper plant that was also getting crowded has some space to spread out a little, and I just love how the reorganization worked out in general.
I did a major defoliation. I removed almost all fan leaves except the top levels and a few on the sides/bottom that weren't blocking anything. It's created a TON more light penetration and much better air-flow. It was a lot of work, but I believe it will pay dividends in the end.
Finally, I did some super-cropping to try and keep the canopy more even. I bent about 3-4 branches over, and will probably do a few more soon. The end result was that it's helped keep the canopy more even, and you'll see in a picture below they are already perking themselves back up toward the lights.
Here are some pics - these were taken right after lights off, about 36 hours after defoliating:
Jack the Ripper in Coco Coir:
Deadhead Ripper (Jack the Ripper x Deadhead OG)
OG Ripper (Jack the Ripper x OG Kush)
Deadhead Ripper:
Notice the super-cropped branch in the center of the photo:
Sigh... I told you that those sugar-dusted cookies in the grow room needed to stop... Look at that... You god it all over the plants... Tsk-tsk...
Sending out a bat signal... would love some input!
This is my first grow where I've done super-cropping in flower. I have now super-cropped several tops as a further aid in canopy management at about 22 days into flower. I just did it, no looking back.
In the past I've tried to stick more to LST and defoliation this far into flower and later, and kept super-cropping to veg phase only - so I'm unsure what to expect. I'm looking for real-world experience on this one. I feel like there is a ton of misinformation based on theory out there, making true understanding of the topic somewhat muddled... (IE "Don't do it, you'll hermie your plant!")
As far as how my plants have reacted so far, the tops are already reaching back up to the light, but haven't been knuckling up yet (only been a couple of days).
Here are my primary questions:
- Will this impact bloom production in a positive manner like I would expect if done in veg?
- Will it slow down or speed up flower production?
- Any thoughts on whether this triggers accelerated trichome production (stress can do that)?
- Is there a difference between how a sativa reacts vs. an indica to supercropping in bloom?
- Does this delay the plants flowering cycle at all?
- If this is an effective strategy in bloom, is there a period where it becomes "too late" to do? If so, when is that?
Here's what I expect - maybe someone can confirm/deny any of this:
- Increased growth in second tier colas, taking up the cause after trauma to tallest colas and helping to even the canopy (my primary goal)
- Better bud development further down the stem on supercropped branches now that they run parallel to the lights
- Slowing of bud development for a few days where supercropped, then accelerated development that catches it up later due to the rebuilt, improved healing of the bend
Would love some feedback. I would prefer that it's not based on conjecture or heresay/re-hashing someone elses theory.
Thanks in advance for the input, and +rep to anyone who can really add to better understanding here regarding bloom phase super-cropping.
I have pictorial evidence.
This was a 12/12 from seed experiment of mine. This was done at DAY 90 from seed(day 28 of actual flowering). It's currently flushing, (I misjudged the finish) so that's why there is some browning, not from stress. Plus, I had that pH meter go bad, and that caused some of the browning as well. It's also doing that weird start stop of a sativa, which is weird for a Kush, but whatever. It stretched too far above the main canopy, and I was keeping this quiet in my own journal, but the red arrows show the bend. The green arrows show secondary growth. I'll let the pic speak for itself.
- Thread starter
- #155
Hi Jandre!
First, thank you for bumping the pics forward - they got buried pretty fast!
They are already much frostier than just a couple of days ago. I love this stage!
One thing really cool, is that there is a nice mix of characteristics starting to show from the unique crosses. For example, one of the Deadhead Rippers has started to develop both the super thick, velcro like trichomes on the bramch stems and leaf stems like the JTR - AND, the heavy patterned trichomes on the leaves just like the Deadhead OG. Also, the OG Ripper looks like the OG Kush in a lot of ways, but is making some of these unique fan leaves with the bud in the center ala Jack the Ripper, it also looks like it will have the thick "velcro like" trichomes on the stems, too. The best part? It smells like a bowl full of lemons - a JTR trait also.
This is so fun for me to watch these develop with some of the coolest traits of each parent - I'll definitely make more of my own crosses in the future if these are as good as they are starting to look. Fun? This grow is a riot so far for me - I love watching the mystery unfold!
Mmmmm..... Suuuuugar cooookies....
- Thread starter
- #156
I have pictorial evidence.
This was a 12/12 from seed experiment of mine. This was done at DAY 90 from seed(day 28 of actual flowering). It's currently flushing, (I misjudged the finish) so that's why there is some browning, not from stress. Plus, I had that pH meter go bad, and that caused some of the browning as well. It's also doing that weird start stop of a sativa, which is weird for a Kush, but whatever. It stretched too far above the main canopy, and I was keeping this quiet in my own journal, but the red arrows show the bend. The green arrows show secondary growth. I'll let the pic speak for itself.
I'm having a hard time seeing this in context a bit (doesn't help im using phone screen to view it at the moment). Is that tallest cola a separate branch, or part of the supercrop? Same with the one to the right of it - that's part of the supercrop branch, correct? (the colas with the green arrows). I don't know if there is more to the plant, but it does look like the secondary growth was very good, no? Did the bend thicken up again, or split at all when you did it and then heal? Just looking for as much detail and insight as I can get - sorry for all the ???'s
Thanks for your input and the pic! Reps my friend if I can.
Hi Xlr8
My view on super-cropping. If done right..with out a snapped stem....It doesn't change anything as for as growth of the other parts of the plant. Once snapped, it has to effect the rest of the plant. Simplistic I know, but it is sound thinking.
My view on super-cropping. If done right..with out a snapped stem....It doesn't change anything as for as growth of the other parts of the plant. Once snapped, it has to effect the rest of the plant. Simplistic I know, but it is sound thinking.
Aloha Chronic
Thank you for the feedback buddy! Well, I had a hard time getting the stems not to split just a little - some worse than others, but nothing too bad I don't think. I here you on that one though, and it certainly caused me a bit of pause. They were just so thick and the silica I use tends to make them slightly more stiff and less pliable - not always bad except for situations like super-cropping.
I know you mentioned that you thought you might have done it a little late, at least on the one, due to the stem not bending as easy and splitting. How far into flower did you do it exactly? Later than 21 days or earlier?
I know I asked a lot of questions, but I really appreciate you filling me in on what you learned specifically from it. +rep for taking the time to share your experence. Thanks again!
i think it was later than 21 days i say 28+ bk has a thick stem
Now... to STABILIZE it! that's the *FUN part* lemme tell ya!Hi Jandre!
First, thank you for bumping the pics forward - they got buried pretty fast!
They are already much frostier than just a couple of days ago. I love this stage!
One thing really cool, is that there is a nice mix of characteristics starting to show from the unique crosses. For example, one of the Deadhead Rippers has started to develop both the super thick, velcro like trichomes on the bramch stems and leaf stems like the JTR - AND, the heavy patterned trichomes on the leaves just like the Deadhead OG. Also, the OG Ripper looks like the OG Kush in a lot of ways, but is making some of these unique fan leaves with the bud in the center ala Jack the Ripper, it also looks like it will have the thick "velcro like" trichomes on the stems, too. The best part? It smells like a bowl full of lemons - a JTR trait also.
This is so fun for me to watch these develop with some of the coolest traits of each parent - I'll definitely make more of my own crosses in the future if these are as good as they are starting to look. Fun? This grow is a riot so far for me - I love watching the mystery unfold!
Mmmmm..... Suuuuugar cooookies....
Okay, that was the branch that grew twice as long as the others. I bent it over, and it did get a longitudinal split but it healed in 8 days and got thick as hell. There's no way it will bend back up, now. Those two main green arrow colas were on either side of that bend, the others along the slanted red arrow down would have been above those two main colas, and were much smaller than the nug at the end. That whole stem, had I TOP/FIM'd it would have had a little less growth when I did it because of being in flower when I supercropped. That stem, I don't know if you can tell it from this pic is about 18" long, if straightened, and those two main colas are about 8"-10" tall. Notice how the secondary nugs along the nearly horizontal part also got taller as they developed? The auxins that would have normally been in the terminal end got redistributed to everything above the end once it was bent over, and tied down. It took TWO FRIKKIN ATTEMPTS to get it to stay that way, and still I had to tie it down because it wanted to stand up!I'm having a hard time seeing this in context a bit (doesn't help im using phone screen to view it at the moment). Is that tallest cola a separate branch, or part of the supercrop? Same with the one to the right of it - that's part of the supercrop branch, correct? (the colas with the green arrows). I don't know if there is more to the plant, but it does look like the secondary growth was very good, no? Did the bend thicken up again, or split at all when you did it and then heal? Just looking for as much detail and insight as I can get - sorry for all the ???'s
Thanks for your input and the pic! Reps my friend if I can.
I've snapped, split, crushed, bent, and otherwise mangled branches/stems while supercropping, and only lost 1... Kinda makes me smile when I see how resilient this plant really is. And everyone is worried to the point of paranoia about stressing it. PSH!! It takes a LOT to make these plants show real signs of stress, or even hermie, in my experience.
OG13
New Member
Like Jandre just said, it takes a lot to stress this plant. I feel that keeping an even canopy gets you the best yield total. There's some give and take plant by plant, but the total is the greatest if all the plants get even light. I plant 1 foot taller than the rest will mess up your yield....