It looks like all of the flower sites are exposed so I do not see a need to defoliate now. Those big fan leaves are providing the energy the plant needs now.
Are you going to bend and separate the topped branches? You can bend them a little bit a couple times a day. It will soften them up for when you tie them down. You will have to move the branches immediately below to the side.
I circled what to look for when the plant is mature enough to flower. Little hairs that look like pistils.
I would say once you get branches tied down and had a couple days recovery from bending the top you can then selectively thin leaves. Keep in mind at this stage you want as many leaves as possible. You can safely remove those from the center of the plant, or on the very bottom. I try to keep those big ones on the bottom that are on the perimeter as long as possible. I will not remove them until the 3rd or 4th week of flower. Day 21 is the traditional defoliation day.
Yes I am going to bend in some branches later today. I don’t think I topped right the first time I did it cause I can’t pull down my branches all the way like you show.i can still pull them where I have an even canapy.
How can you tell where my bud sites are? Any idea how many I have? I have topped now 3 times and don’t plan to top any more. I’ll send some updated pictures after I have tied down. Thanks!!
No worries! So here is my first attempt at LST. I used 6 inch garden spikes. How did I do? Is tying down to pot with twisty ties a better option then the spikes? So is the plan that these spikes remain in place and the center fills back in? Sorry for all the newbie questions but I am literally learning on the fly with the helo of this forum and Google.
You nailed it! I prefer to use garden wire since I am constantly moving it. You can use bag or put your bag in a milk crate and use that to secure your branches down with wire.
Week 5 of veg, I’ve topped a few spots and continue to HST and LST. I haven’t trimmed any leaves lately, just pushing and tucking leaves causing shade.
Buds will eventually develop on all growth points. Growth points originate at a node. A node is the intersection of the stem and a leaf where a new branch grows.
Here are some cleaned up cuttings I took for clones. Check the areas forming a V between the stem and the leaf. You see the little growth points.
When you topped the apical stem the little branches in the V of stem and leaf are now the branches you just tied down.
Here is a plant a couple weeks into flower.
Looks real good!! It definitely looks like my plant. I am planning to switch to 12/12 end of month too. How long do you plan to flower for? Also, what is the height of yours from soil to top? Trying to figure out how tall she’ll get since I do have height restrictions to consider. Look forward to next update!
This is the same plant on day 42 (they were very slow to grow / get started). It was around 5 - 6" when I started LST
Same plant, AK#2 when harvested. She is 21" - almost doubled in size
Height is not an issue for me. I have a 7’ tent. However, when I grow 4 plants, which I always try to do, horizontal space is more of my issue. If I needed to keep them shorter I would tie the taller branches down more or super crop them to flatten the canopy and spread the tops out. This may be something you should look into. Super cropping is a HST technique when done at the right time can really produce nice flowers.
The other thing to do to keep them smaller is shorten the veg time. If you are currently on week 5, she is probably mature enough to flip. If you let her go another 3 weeks, size may become a problem. I have not grown LSD, ILGM description says it is compact. Is compact 12" or 24".
As for flower time, I can’t recall a plant that flowered according to its description. If it says 8 weeks I plan on 10. The AKs are described as 8 weeks. I started harvesting on day 73 from flip (so 146 total days).
@Abarnett88 I am planning to flip when my auto goes into flower, about 3 weeks from now, this will make my veg period 8 weeks (60 days). The canopy is currently about 12"x12", height is approx 12" soil to top. It is lights out still but I will measure when I get home from lawyer’s office.
@NavyVet420 when you do flip to flower, how long do you think flower stage will take until harvest?
So being a newbie, not sure I’m ready to tackle supercropping. Maybe round #2. My plant height when tied down is just under 7 inches. Canopy width is 12 inches. I only have about 12 inches left to light so if it were to double, that leaves me only like 4 inches to light. It’s definitely close and makes me nervous. My light is the Spider Farm 100watt and the temperature 4 inches from light doesn’t exceed 75 degrees so I don’t think light burn will be a concern. I am heading out of town for the weekend so will probably look to switch to 12x12 on Sunday. I would have gotten a bigger setup but this setup is in a storage area under my basement steps where I could hide it well from kids.
Last question, I have that little guy in the back. She’s about 2.5 weeks behind. I presume when I flip to 12x12 she will flower as well just with a smaller yield?
So I switched my lighting schedule today to 12/12 to initiate flowering. I read that on day 21 of flowering is when I should look to defoliate some? Anything else I need to change or be aware of with this switch? Also looking for thoughts on my previous posts in regards to plant that is smaller and only veg’d for 1 week. Here are updated pictures of them both.
Great pics! I like the side pics as it give me a better view. Ours are pretty similar, mine seems to be a little bushier. Have you removed any leaves? I see you also have several tie downs for LST. I only have 4 branches tied down but your seems wider so might have some longer branches that I don’t. What is the purpose of that PVC pipe? Keep the pics coming. I’ll do the same. As I enter flowering stage, I’m sure I’ll have my next round of questions coming soon. LoL.
