Top mother plants or train them?

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EnglishSpringerSpaniel

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I've always used the topping method to prevent inevitable upward growth and to help the side shoots bulk up, but I read somewhere recently that topping should be avoided if at all possible...something to do with stress and hormones, but I can't recall exactly. Is it practical to perpetually train a mother plant to keep the main stalk from growing too close to a light fixture? Or maybe only possible with certain genetics? I'm trying this right now with an abnormally quick-finishing sativa, but I have to tie down new growth every few days, and I imagine it will be more frequent once the root system fully develops.
 
I've always used the topping method to prevent inevitable upward growth and to help the side shoots bulk up, but I read somewhere recently that topping should be avoided if at all possible...something to do with stress and hormones, but I can't recall exactly. Is it practical to perpetually train a mother plant to keep the main stalk from growing too close to a light fixture? Or maybe only possible with certain genetics? I'm trying this right now with an abnormally quick-finishing sativa, but I have to tie down new growth every few days, and I imagine it will be more frequent once the root system fully develops.

I'm speaking purely from hearsay and not experience, but as far as I know topping and training aren't better than one or another, just situational. Some strains apparently HATE topping, but a lot it seems also benefit from it, some can even double their yield or more from one top.

Training is also a very loose term. I think you mean LST (several types, but I'll assume you mean tying down the plant as it grows on a regular basis), and for some strains it's great, and for almost any strain it's worth doing if you're tight for space/height. Wait for the real growers to reply though, they'll help you out a bit better :p.

Edit: Oh, and nice posting time of 11:11.... Spooky :p
 
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I havent experienced any probs by topping or prunning moms , I just think any kind of pruning/training is best suited to healthy plants grown in stress free environment , a stressed plant that has to undergo additonal stress from wounds like from pinching/topping or stress from intense training/tying etc can easily affect a plant in a negative way.

But for healthy plants topping as well as LST has worked great for me.
If you just want to keep a mom small just make sure you keep her in a small pot with as little nutes as possible and with very little light like with a small fluro.
 
I always top my mothers & never had a problem with them if topping is to stressing on them then they will be no good as a mother. Just think how much stress taking a load of cutting will be to them. It just dosent make sence having a weak plant as a mother full stop. Unless its to keep a very inportant plant for breeding of or a bit of the best personal smoke you ever had.
 
Thanks a bunch for the responses! Yes, I was referring to LST when I was asking about training. This thing is really, really viney....the stalk is very malleable, even at points where stalks typically go rigid. The old mom I had of it was topped, but too late (already 6 feet tall, and the lower side shoots had already been pruned so I couldn't top again), and I just wanted to make sure that the new mom gets the best possible treatment.
 
i cut the tops of every mom ,,,, creates side shoots and limits growth ,,,, ive flowered many clones from said mothers and the end results are never much different (topped or not) but i must say my bigiest yeilders were from clones that i topped before flipping to 12/12 ,,, but they were somehow special , typically the clones yeilded the same , just in thier own ways
 
I've linked this thread before, but it's perfect for what you're talking about. I use this same technique and I have around 30 mother plants under 162 watts of T5, and I can pull 7-10 clones of each every 6-7 days. They're "toothpick" clones, but they work perfect for my needs.

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=31919
 
If you haven't read this then you should check out this article on making bonsai mothers. It's great if you have limited space.

Heh awesome, I didn't see this before, pretty much the same exact thing I linked :) I LOVE this technique, I don't think I'd do it any other way, a giant mother plant is just absurd unless you plan to flower it.
 
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