Should I be topping these plants at this point? They’re a month old. The 7th node is beginning to form, read a lot of varying info saying you should top your plants between the 5th and 6th node to get bushier plants instead of tall skinny plants. Is it too early for this? I’m new to this and definitely want to maximize my yield however possible. Thoughts?
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Top above the 4th real node. Do not include the 1st two sets of leaves.
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This is a debatable topic if you are growing auto flowers. I have not topped any of mine and just lst them.
If you are growing photos, it is more common practice to top, but still growers preference.
There are many ways to control the plant, which one works for you? What do you want to try?
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I agree with @Syndrix, topping, fimming and LST are grower’s preference.
I control the height of my plants using LST and very seldom top them.
Here is a link that shows a Blue Haze photo. Only LST, not topping of this plant.
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Just a suggestion if new. First couple plants less is more. Big yields tend to come after you and the room are dialed in. Topping is not necessary to get a good yield. I only top if need to stoppem from outgrowing my tent on auto. Photo being more forgiving i top around where you are. I veg long so my medical photo gets several fimms or toppings.
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It is the size when decisions do need to be made.
What size is your tent?
Maximizing yield means flat and wide like pictured in @merlin44 scrog. He has been at a while. It would be the exception to produce something like that on a first grow. I assume it is a photoperiod plant. I think a good learner form would be a quadline manifold. Top the main stem and let the set below that node grow out. Remove every thing else. This gives you 4 main colas that can be tied down individually to spread them out. Top each one again and you end up with eight main colas. Google quadline for examples. Picture from growweedeasy forum
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Topping plants is grower’s preference , Personally I like to top my photos one time at about 6 or 7 nodes , an focus on spreading the limbs out. I’ve always done this inside or outside grow. More of a Bush style plant. Go for it good luck !
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If I was wanting maximum output you need good lights to make it really worth the trouble. Seen many grows go south since joining here.
For me Lights is #1. Example I ran two Viparspectra PAR600 and max growth weight was just shy of 8 oz dried, cured and no stems.
Now when I switched to HLG 260xl Rspec x 2 and my max yield was over 2 lbs dried, cured and no stems. Sativa dominant of course.
In your position I would FIM. Its to short to say if Mainlining, Scrog and or Lollipop would be the best route. Another consideration is its an Auto, Photo and or Regular. Lastly if its Indica, Sativa and or Auto.
This is when you want to decide which path you want to go. Me? I let my plants do what they was intended to grow. 
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Topping worsens the yield by a little or at least produces smaller buds.
OP be mindful of this fact
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It’s up to you to take the leap. I FIMed my purple kush auto and she did great. First time trying it after watching about 100 videos on how to do it. Haha. This is 25 days after the fim with lots of training. I’m still learning this even canopy thing. I’m hoping to see some good nugs fill in. Good luck to you and happy growing.
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Last year was my first solo grow. I decided to just let them growand mostly just observe. Im an outdoor grower with lots of room i had that option. Growers choice, i was pleased with my choice. This year im topping and fimming. I did do some lst my first grow. Probably the best option for rookies like us. Dont be shy with it if your confident go for it. There tough!
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Very healthy looking plant you got there. @Nev444 what strain is it? Photo or auto?
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Photo, big bud. Thanks!
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Great info, thank you! My tent is a 4x10 and yes, my plants are photo.
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I topped mine a week ago at the 5th node to help keep their height down. Grape Ape is only supposed to reach 3 feet and if all goes to plan they should only reach a little over 2 feet but plans change. I also flipped the light at 28 days and not 8 weeks like normal. A little experiment to see what I get. So far they are doing great. Very happy with results so far.
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Not my experience, specially with photos, I’ve gotten MUCH bigger yields on topped plants then I ever got on natural x-mas tree style not topped plants. But yes the colas/buds can be smaller because they are a lot more of them.
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Different strains like different things as well. Some strains like to be topped and some dont.
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I top my plants really early and then I just trim fan leaves and then very little LST movement just to get it spread out. I have really tall and bushy plants even when I scrog, so it kinda depends on your environment and preference. Every technique actually works, but it depends on if it works for your situation. I used to read 100 posts or google a bunch of different websites and would find: 50 says one thing and 50 says the other thing. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions.
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Provided yield isn’t lessened much, I prefer smaller buds because they’re less likely to grow mold or botrytis.
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