Cannabis plants are generally very strong and robust plants. This makes them able to withstand many different types of manipulations…such as topping. In this article we will discuss topping a cannabis plant, how, why, and when.
How to Top a Cannabis Plant
Topping a cannabis plant is simply physically removing the very top growing shoot, the smaller uppermost one. This will essentially make that one shoot become two growing shoots or branches.
I usually simply pinch off the shoot with a fingernail, you can of course use scissors instead. Be careful to not damage any more of the growing shoot then the very tip…the two tiny leaves that are forming.
Why Top a Cannabis Plant
There are a few reasons why one would want to top a cannabis plant.
- To make the plant shorter. For easier concealment, it’s easier to work with shorter plants, to keep them shorter to fit under your lights.
- Because topping cannabis plants creates more but smaller bud sites…which generally will increase your yield.
One reason this technique works so well with cannabis plants (and some other plants as well) is that all the uppermost growing tips of a cannabis plant are in a competition. That’s right….they all want to be that one upper most growing tip of the plant.
When you top them, this essentially levels this competition, and will create a more bushy plant, rather then the Christmas tree type of plant an un-topped plant will become. You are slowing this upward growth, and creating more side growth. The end result will be a shorter more bushy plant.
When to Top a Cannabis Plant
Generally you would only top a cannabis plant during it’s ‘veg’ cycle of growth. Once it begins to flower the topping should usually stop.
Although there is a technique for pinching just part of the new flower coming out that is suppose to increase yield as well. This technique is called Fimming, but instead of cutting off all the new growth at the growing tip, you remove only about half of this growing tip. This should give you four new growth tips rather then just two.
And, topping should not be confused with super-cropping. This is another technique that is used to create a shorter plant, but you are not actually removing any of the plant. To super-crop you gently bend the growing stem over permanently, being careful not to actually break the stem. You want that part you bent to continue to grow. You roll the stem between your fingers to gently break the fibers, until the stem can simply fall over.
Topping can begin as early as the second node of growth, which will give your plant two main stems rather then one right at the start. I have wanted to experiment with topping every second node throughout the life of a plant, but that will happen in another grow.
In this grow with my volunteer cannabis plant I have not kept good track of it, but would think I have topped this plant 10-15 times. And will continue topping till flowering ensues.
At this point I want to see just how broad and bushy this plant can become.
Conclusion
So there you have it, topping is a much used technique to create a shorter, bushier cannabis plant. A simple yet incredibly effective cannabis plant manipulation. Here is a cannabis plant I have now topped over 10 times…Volunteer Cannabis Plants
I’ve been a grower (vegetables) since Eisenhower was President. I just pinch back the plant and get numerous flowers. The other techniques of topping works but does also old-fashioned pinching back growth. Like fruit tree growers I also try to shape the plant like a bowl with all leaves removes in the center of the plant.
You have me beat I think, I was born in 52. I too have grown large vegetable gardens for most of my life. Once I saw a car full of people in the alley behind my house. I asked if I could help them, they told me no, but that they came every year to just look at my garden.