@MT3 @Missiles Will not topping or fimming autoflowers have a less chance to get higher yeild? I plan on scrogging them but I had found another light I was going to use just for autoflowers and it is LED lights in separate tent. IF I do to them is 2 weeks too early to do that? I can still do frequent maintenance on the autoflowers like defoilating/prune without harming them correct? I had changed my mind about running both in same tent because I will be able to have some more room for my 2 feminized plants to grow bigger possibly get better yeild with 1000watt hps light and I can maintain them easier plus I donāt know anywhere that can fix my other light fixture at the moment. @MT3 I usually do 21 hrs on 3 hours off with 600 watt hps light but only for feminized plants though. So I should be expecting seed to harvest with autoflowers in roughly about 3 months also it is possible to keep autoflower in veg for longer or should I just let them do there thing and just scrog them etc.? By the way which autoflower is better to get Jack Herer or Amnesia Haze? If yāall have grew these which one smells more like skunk aroma?
It can if the timing isnāt right. I know plenty of people who top or fim their autos but I didnāt have good luck when I did it.
Autoflowers have their own biological clock so to speak. You canāt manipulate them in veg like you can a photo plant. An auto will start blooming whenever it thinks it should.
I have yet to grow either one of these to know if one smells like skunk. I know @GreenJewels has grown an amnesia Haze. Maybe she knows 
I hope that helps to answer some of your questions
Good morning all 
thanks for the tag @Missiles
I am currently growing my first Jack Herer autoflower so I canāt say yet as to which I prefer. I have grown Amnesia haze autoflower and I love it for my daytime smoke.
I debated on topping the JH but decided against it. I havenāt topped an auto yet but I do LST some of them like my current JH. If I was going to top an auto, it would have to be a healthy, vigirous growing auto. I would like it have 4-5 nodes before week 3. I imagine one day, when my weed stockpile is much larger, I will top an auto. If you stress an auto sometimes they start flowering early or may turn hermie. I try to baby them in hopes that they veg as long as possible. Iāve seen topping autos done with success and also failure. Good luck with your grow
It is my o2 but that is a lot of light to be giving those. I am with @MT3 on the dark. my normal cycle was 14/10. I have just upped it to a 16/8 since the autos seem to like more light when in flower. I am thinking I am not the right person to give advise as to if some one should top an auto any more. I have never had one slow down for even a day after topping. I have topped more than a few up to 6 times. You just have to top when you see the leaves turn the brighter green. Letting you know it is about ready to stretch. Your plants will basically let you know if they are ready to top I think. As for a scrog. I try to keep every thing under one now. There are a lot of benefits to it in my book.
It keeps the canopy lower and more even. Better for tents with height limitations.
You donāt have to worry about the plant needing to be spread out as much to get light.
You donāt have to worry any where near as much if your branches donāt harden off really good, and want to start bending to much.
I havenāt grown either of those strains yet. They are on my list. just farther dawn right now. My next grow will be a mix of autos and photos,
One thing I would advise though. Start the autos first and give them a couple week head start if they are going to be in the same tent. This way. They will be farther along when you do the flip to 12/12 if that is what you use for the photos.
I am not an expert. but will be more than happy to help if you have any questions to topping. āIf you go that routā or using the scrog. I set the top of my scrog to 13" above the soil in my pot. To give you an idea of how i do mine. I am not on this side as much as I should be. But I am sure if you were to tag @Missiles, @JrsGarden or @MT3 They may not mind telling me to get over here. Should I be lagging again 
If you feel like scrolling through a few pictures. These are autos in the scrog. We, not the Brain killer near the bottom. It is a photo. I will be following your grow here now I think it will be a good one 
I really believe this is the key. Knowing when to top and when not to top is the real focus, and unless you have this sort of experience, it may be better in the beginning to be cautious. I remember my very first photo grow, and I let her grow naturally to learn the plantās growth patterns unaltered. With that knowledge, I now top, fimm, supercrop and manifold knowing what to expect from the plant. Kinda like learning to walk before you run.
How many times did you top 1 auto? I do have a 2000 watt led coming in the mail will that be better to use? I had done research on it and all I have seen is other opinions people saying indica dominate will take it better topped but itās best to leave sativa alone. Iāve topped photo seeds before perfect timing everytime. I was even thinking about getting northern lights auto but donāt know how they will handle a topping. Will topping just once on top of plant stunt the growth of it for a week or so? I will be growing 2 autos for right now. I was also planning on scrounging them too. Also if I do 24 hrs seed to harvest with led light will that hurt the plant? Also I have ordered another tent my 3x3 will have autos and my 4x4 will have feminized ones. So I would still have to flip 12/12 when autos are in different tent? If itās the right time to top how many times can you top them without over doing it? I plan on pruning/defoilating too with scrog will that be too much for the autos? From what I heard that autoflowers begin to flower around 3 weeks so if I did top 1 plant to start with then leave other one not topped I would need to do it before 3 weeks right? Also is it a good idea to put autos in a 3 gal pot or 5 gal bucket right after germination? @Missiles @MT3 @GreenJewels thank you
Iāve used both but prefer the 5 gallon. 3 gallon can get a little root cramped but I still would use 3 gallon if I needed to.
I think @Missiles might remember whoās topped autos. Iāll take a look and see if I can remember
@Not2SureYet and @blackthumbbetty top their autos @GreenJewels
I was a failure at it 
You donāt top an auto, at all, until youāve grown several of the same strain you plan on topping. Even then, itās a gamble, but one that often pays off.
@Painfree has topped autoflower with success
First off I would like to say I have nothing but respect for @blackthumbbetty
I started with autos and enjoy growing them.
First, I will tell what I have found for my self. Almost every thing you are told not to do for can easily be done if you pay attention to them. And I donāt mean to imply on your first plant. I have topped all bu one auto I have grown. So well over 20. And not one has had an issue.
The below are only my opinions and are not to be meant as facts that will work for every one. Most should as long as you are patient. Or that has been the case for me.
One, I grow in coco. To me. it seems like almost every one I have seen with auto issues are in soil. Probably just a coincidence?
I will try to answer your questions one at a time
Should you top For my self. I would not grow any plant with out topping it. Auto or photo. I like the more even canopy. I have topped a few auto more than 5 times. Would I recommend that. No, My plants grew good still. but I felt I would have better of with a single topping in most cases. That is some thing I would only recommend after you are very comfortable with the plants. I have seen a few that just yell, top me here and here and here. Very few though. If you choose to try ad top. Mine normally show they are ready in about week 4. Or right before the stretch. If you want to post a picture when you are thinking of topping. I would be happy to look and see what i think. And I am sure @blackthumbbetty would be as well. She is an awesome auto grower. I have never seen my growth slow when topping.
Indica vs Sativa 
personally havenāt seen a difference. but that is some thing to look
into.
I like scrogs my self. It is just a personal choice.
For the led light. I am not sure what you are asking. I use LEDs from start to finish. I use a 13w led when starting these though. Not my big lights.
You donāt need to flip autos. They can run on the same light, start to finish.
For growing in a 3x3 tent. I am definitely the wrong person to be giving advise there. I can only fit one auto in a 3x3.
Yes you can defoliate an auto in a scrog just like a photo.
Pot size is a user preference. I have grown big autos in a 3 gallon pot. but I use 5s for almost all autos unless I think they will be a small plant.
My autos normally start to pre flower around week 5 or 6 for the most part. I have had some start close to 3 weeks though. If that was the case. I would leave the plant and not top it personally.
So with all the above said. I will agree with the others for the most part. You may be best to grow one auto first. or your pair. And watch them as they grow. When you think they are ready to be topped. Toss up a picture for us to look at. Not so much for us to tell you to top it. but to give advise if we think this would be the right time to do it. And then. You can pay close attention the how it grows for the next week or 2 and get a better under standing of what is recommended to look for.
If you are going to use a scrog. You will be super cropping. So having the longer main cola is not a big issue. You can bend it around the scrog as you like I will tag you over to my grow. It has pictures of a few autos I topped, scrogged and super cropped. Just to give you an idea what you would be looking at if you chose to do any of the above.
In the end it is your plant to grow. I will never recommend you do some thing I have not done first. Or think is best left to those that mainly grow autos. I try to tell the risks as well as the rewards for playing with these. I just donāt think autos should be feared like they are.
Sorry for the long post 
You have some nice ladies there @Painfree
Thanks for the info @Not2SureYet I havenāt topped an auto yet. I did debate whether to or not. I like to hear others experience. Iām sure I will in the future. Iāve already had a couple autos tempt me to top, but resisted 
Good luck @GreenThumb101 with whatever you tryā¦and keep us watchers posted
I have had great luck topping autos, but I still would not recommend it to a first time auto grower.
Okay I get it now. I will most definitely get some pictures in and give you an update week by week! Iām only going to do 2 autos at first if I happen to fail I will just plant more. With photos when I top them they love it. Iām hoping my new 2000 watt led Vander light is a good choice to use for 2 autos. How far up should the led light be on seedling early veg? When I top itās better to top both of them than just 1 is what your saying? I gotta take that risk cause like you said it could be very rewarding. But before I do anything like topping I will post pics up to see what yalls opinion on doing it or not. With scrog method will I be able to use 1 net on one grow tent and the other net on the other grow tent or will I need to use both nets? Reason for asking is cause I have never used just 1 net in 1 tent itās always been 2 nets. Thank you guys and gals for they help! Its okay about long post it helps alot. @GreenJewels @Not2SureYet @blackthumbbetty @Painfree geez!! Your autos look like theyāre thriving!
Iām sure @Not2SureYet has some answers on the scrog nets. I have not scrogged yet. After looking at your light info on Amazon, I would put the light about 30" from seedlings and lower a couple inches daily as tolerated looks like about 20 inches for veg and 10-16" for flower is whats recommended. Good luck with the new girls
Pretty sure @peachfuzz is knowledgeable on scrogging so is @OldSchoolGrower
Thanks @GreenJewels Sorry I am late again I only use one net my self. Or I did. I now either use a bamboo scrog I made or my PVC I just recently made. That one allows me to add or remove lines as I need. I can also put the plant in. And decide after it starts to stretch if I need the scrog or not. Once thing I would personally recommend is to get some of these trellis clips. I use them a lot. I tuck when I start off. And have had to use these when my branches harden off faster than I expect. It is an easy way to scrog too. As you can just bend the branches over and clip them to the net lines. I like the white best. I can use a cheap black light flash light to find all the clips when it is time to remove them. The black ones always hid from me.
This is the new scrog I made. I can move the lines where ever I want. I can also remove them when it it time to harvest
This is a bamboo one. Easy to make and stores flat
