Make sure to cut just above a pair of leaves, as this will encourage the growth of multiple branches. Know when to top weed plants; it can be done any time after the plant has reached the vegetative stage, but it's typically done when the plant is between 3-5 weeks old.
Non-topped plants tend to develop one strong central stem that grows much taller than the rest of the plant, and becomes laden with flowers during the bloom stage. This dense region of flowers is called a “cola”. Meanwhile, the lower branches of the plant develop lighter foliage and fewer, often smaller flowers.
How do topping and training benefit plants? Topping's main benefit is increased lateral growth that sets your plants up for higher yields. Fueled by redirected growth hormones, lateral branches rush to catch up with vertical growth.
Ending Nutrient Cycle / Flushing
To prevent harsh tastes and unsavoury chemicals making their way into your stash, you can simply stop feeding any nutrients in the last 1.5–2 weeks of flowering. If you are growing hydroponically, you shouldn't stop feeding until the last five days as they will be growing in water only.
It's also important to note that you can see an increase in both bud size and terpenoid production after the flush, because your plants have more energy to devote to swelling buds and terpene production. They're not having to spend energy to intake the nutrients you're normally feeding them.
Weeks 4-6 – Buds swell
Next, in the cannabis flowering stages, you can expect the swelling of the budlets. They will fatten with each passing day. The buds will still have a bunch of white pistils shooting out in all directions. Now that your plant is focusing more on fattening the buds, you can stop training.
Make sure to cut just above a pair of leaves, as this will encourage the growth of multiple branches. Know when to top weed plants; it can be done any time after the plant has reached the vegetative stage, but it's typically done when the plant is between 3-5 weeks old.
Topped vs Non-Topped Plants Produce Different Yields
On the one hand, topping encourages bushier lower growth and the development of multiple colas. However, it also exerts a large amount of stress on young cannabis plants, resulting in slower, stunted growth for at least seven days post-topping.
Plants can't handle topping during the seedling stage.
If you try topping during this time, you risk killing or stunting your seedlings. Similarly, topping during the flowering phase is sure to cause damage to your precious plants. Wait about 1–2 weeks before topping new growth.
You can harvest your plant by either cutting the entire plant down at once, cutting the stems down one by one while keeping the buds attached to them, or by removing the individual buds from your plant.
Topping Too Early or Incorrectly
The first rule of topping is that it is best to wait until the main stem has at least 3 or 4 nodes as topping the plant too early can slow or even stunt the growth of the plant. When the plant is topped at the right size, it often won't slow down at all!
To answer your question—yes, you can cut the mature buds from the top of the plant and clear the branches and leaves to allow better light penetration to the lower portion of the plant. And the lower buds will continue to grow and ripen and can be harvested a week or two later.
Stunted growth – Topping can also stunt the growth of a cannabis plant, as it can reduce the amount of energy the plant has available to put into new growth. When topping is done properly, the result is generally a larger number of smaller buds whose combined yield is greater than it would have been prior to topping.
Your plants need to be healthy before topping so they can heal from the trauma associated with this particular training technique. It is recommended that you wait until your plants have at least four nodes before topping them, and most growers recommend topping the plant above the sixth node.
Most growers will agree that week 3 of flowering is the right time to start lollipopping. After a couple of weeks in the bloom phase, most cannabis strains will begin to display multiple bud sites along shoots. Marijuana will stretch during this phase, some strains more than others.
Important points for topping:
2. Healthy plants usually take 2-3 days to recover from topping. After topping, do not remove the leaves from that node as these are needed to power growth of the branches from that node. Never top during flowering as it causes too much stress – which slows growth and inhibits yield.
Pre Flowering Stage. Most Cannabis plants will become developmentally mature when they reach 14”-20” in height, or 8 to 10 nodes of growth.
This form can be achieved through a combination of topping followed by low-stress training (LST). Topping is effectively used to obtain multiple, even-sized floral sites, while LST is then used to bring these floral sites to the same height to maximize grow lamp efficiency.
The most vigorous growth of plants will be in the summer when the sun is up and out the longest. During winter, the sun is neither as high in the sky, nor in the sky for as long as it is in the summer. For your plants, that means less light. For some plants, this may trigger dormancy.
A major benefit of topping plants is increased yields. By removing the growing tip, you allow more energy to be diffused throughout the plant, which results in more colas. When you top cannabis plants, you can expect to increase yields by up to 50%.
Wait Until Plant Has At Least 4-5+ Nodes – Topping a Too-Young Seedling Can Slow Down Growth. Waiting a Few More Days to Cut Can Result in a Much Faster Recovery. Growers use the plant's natural response to topping to produce short bushy plants with many colas.
Light intensity
To some degree, more light translates to fatter buds and higher yields (you'll need to pay attention to the distance between your grow light and plants or your plant may suffer from light burn). Increasing light intensity is the most effective way to fatten up buds.
The bigger the leaf area, the bigger your buds will be. Nitrogen is the nutrient needed most for this green growth. When plants reach their mature size and begin flowering, they need more phosphorus, the nutrient most essential for budding.
So there are three different times we recommend defoliating during Flower: Right before you switch to 12/12. Once between the beginning of Flower and the 3-week mark. 3 weeks after beginning flower is the last time you'll want to defoliate.