Did you think that topping is related only to cakes and pastries? Well, it’s not quite right if we speak about cannabis cultivation.
Growing cannabis is a fun and exciting journey with various techniques and processes involved in it. A grower with complete knowledge and insight about every technique involved in growing cannabis ensures the best results out of their hard work.
All you need to know about topping the cannabis plant
Here, we will discuss one of the most effective techniques of growing cannabis, which is topping cannabis plants. Topping is one the most crucial cannabis plant training methods, where growers have to cut off the top of the main stem of the plants. The technique may sound easy but involves a lot of details and aspects to follow.
In this guide, we will introduce every detail about topping cannabis plants in an understandable and precise way. You can check what experts have to say on leading cannabis sites like i49.net too. So, tighten your belts for a roller coaster ride to topping off your cannabis plants. Let’s dig in.
Boost In Your Cannabis Growth In Its Vegetative Phase
Your auto-flowering seeds are like a small child that grows fast in quick time. Within a few weeks, your seeds emerge from their germination stage to good seedlings, all set for the next phase of their growth cycle. They then sprout leaves and shoot right up towards the sun in full glory.
The aphids in the seedling stage will be gone by then as nature takes care of them. How so? The ladybugs, my friend. They eat away the aphids to prepare your cannabis seedlings for the best growth. If you’re witnessing summer showers in your region, then watering would not have been a problem for you.
- With the safe placing in the bigger flower pots, your cannabis sprouts are all set to boost their vegetative growth.
- Your cannabis plants will witness remarkable growth in this stage as they receive the maximum amount of nutrients, light, and water.
- Here, the main stem of the plants will grow taller, and the root system will expand underneath the ground soil. Also, the side branches will put on extra leaves to captivate as much light as possible.
However, you may want the cannabis plants to grow wider rather than taller. This requirement is exactly where the topping method is preferred explicitly by indoor cannabis growers due to their limited grow room space.
Topping Cannabis Plants: What Is It?
So, now we get to the crux of the matter! Topping is one of the most common gardening techniques which is applied efficiently and effectively in the process of cannabis cultivation. In this technique, the growers have to prune away the top section of their cannabis plant. They have to simply cut off the end section of the plant’s main stem.
So why should you top your cannabis plants?
Well, topping is crucial if you have a specific preference to make the plants grow wider. This is especially applicable in indoor cultivation.
The topping process will not cause any adverse effect on the cannabis plant’s overall growth if done in the right way. Any wrong measure to cut off the main stem can have severe consequences.
But you have nothing to worry about. We guide you with the best way for topping to witness remarkable results.
Topping Cannabis Plants: Why Do You Need It?
Topping helps the cannabis plants redirect their growth and evolution through their life cycle. If you don’t consider topping, your cannabis plants will tend to grow upwards to become a big, tall plant by producing a single bud, often known as cola.
- A cannabis plant usually produces more than one bud, but the main bud or cola is the biggest for later harvest.
The good stuff like the THC, which develops in the flowering stage, is found in these colas. Now, growing your cannabis plants upwards rather than sideways will lead to the development of fewer colas.
- But this can be counterproductive from a yield perspective. Well, any grower will prefer to yield more and more buds from their single harvest. So should you. With the lateral growth of your cannabis plants, more branches will grow outwards, leading to the production of more colas.
Yes, the size of those excess colas will be smaller than the main cola. However, there won’t be any difference in the quality. So, what’s the harm in getting more buds with similar quality? As a result, your shorter cannabis plants will become much easier to manage and grow.
- Now, moving on to the third point, having broader cannabis plants will help it to attract and captivate more sunlight that can be evenly distributed through the branches for optimal health and growth.
To sum up, most growers have adopted this technique for the reasons mentioned above, and you too should look at topping as a yield maximization method.
Topping Cannabis Plants: Equipment Needed For It
If you’re all set to prune or top your cannabis plants, you will need a pair of pruning snips or gardening scissors.
You will get various online sites that specifically offer pruning snips for cannabis purposes. If you take our advice, it is best to choose a pair of non-sticky pruning snips as they are of immense help while trimming the resinous colas during harvest.
Topping Cannabis Plants: How To Do It In The Right Way?
You have to remember that timing and location play a key role in topping the cannabis plants correctly.
If you’re looking for the answer to ‘when do I start topping,’ then wait for the plants to grow various sets of leaves from their main stem. You may notice the connecting point of the side branches with the leaves in your cannabis plants. These are the nodes, which include several spaces between them known as internodes.
What do nodes have to do in all this, you may ask? Well, you must wait for your plants to have at least three sets of these nodes to start your topping process. You must sharpen your observation skills to notice these nodes and get started with the process.
If you cut the top section of your cannabis plants with improper timing, you may severely affect the quality of the harvest. Your plants can turn into hermaphrodites if the topping is done too early or too severely.
This is why witnessing at least three sets of nodes is crucial. In this stage, they are strong enough to cope with the topping process. At the same time, they ensure the growth of two new side branches just below the spot where you topped them.
Now, you may come to the question ‘where to top them?’
Well, the answer to this question lies within your solution to ‘when.’ If you notice the development of three sets of nodes in your cannabis plants, you can start topping above the third node.
If you remove the top of the stem, you will be forcing the plant to grow two new side branches, which will eventually evolve into two new branches with flowering buds.
Simply take the pruning snips or gardening scissors and cut clean above the node. With that, you’re all done with the topping process. Bravo! You made it this far.
Topping Cannabis Plants: Doing More Than Once
Now comes another crucial question, ‘can I top my plants more than once?’
The answer is “Yes.” You can do topping more than once without causing any threat to the overall growth of your cannabis plants.
However, you have to give the plants enough time to recover from the first topping phase and check for their progress. If everything is going fine, you can do topping again. This will help you develop more lateral branches and yield more flower buds if you succeed in cutting them precisely again.
One thing you must remember is avoiding the technique of topping again in the flowering stage. It is best to plan your topping and do it as discussed in the above section.
Outcome Of Topping Cannabis Plants
This is the most common question asked by growers, ‘what do the plants look like when they are topless?’
After the topping process, the plant will show the topless look for ten days. In this duration, the new side branches start growing from the node with a strong and healthy appearance. This eventually leads to the development of new nodes and leaves that grow outwards and back up again.
However, the growth of these nodes and leaves varies from plant to plant. Some strains of cannabis mat show rapid development while the others may be a bit slow. However, this has no impact on their productivity as the flowering stage brings out the buds from every plant.
Final Thoughts
So, from this comprehensive guide, we hope that you have understood the details and exciting aspects related to the topping of cannabis plants.
I hope these tips help you. So, ensure to get the best result out of your topping and enjoy a rewarding harvest every season.
So keep growing and thriving with a bumper harvest!