Forum Stomper x NCH

Hello mate, you do the training almost right, you missed the main stem that you must bend it before the other branches. I want add another tips, if you stretch too much the base of the branch you could brake it then. Good luck and happy journey!

ooh, that's an auto? I agree with others, better to let them grow normally with some basic training to spread it out. Shouldn't hurt you though as it shouldn't stall a plant. I'd only shoot for 6-7 branches off that LST spine with an autoflower. The timing when to let the top grow vertically is a bit of a guessing game... even it's a bit behind, it will catch up to some extent. Something you'll get better at guesstimating the more you do it.

"A" for effort? To be honest, you didnt' accomplish much. There's a bend but you aren't sharing apical dominance at all. There's still 1 growth tip taking vast majority of resources, or predictably will be doing so, if left as-is. First, have an idea of what you want out of this. How many primary colas do you want per plant? You should know this before doing it or it's just whimsy and potentially wastes a lot of your time/resources. Don't overcrowd the canopy. You only need 2-4 colas per sq ft to maximize yield. I'd suggest shooting closer to 3 than 2 or 4. This is not necessary to be exact... some of this is best decided by training methods... if topping you stick to 2-4-8-16 colas etc.. or 3-6-12 progression.. doubling each time you top the branches. So, you can't worry too much about exactly 3 or exactly 2.5 per sq ft, lol. LST gives more leeway in this regard. the point is, working backward from an endgoal makes every important decision for you automatic. you simply do what is obviously necessary. You want six? then you keep re-tying down the top until you get 6 branches. You keep manipulating apical dominance to even those 6 branhces out... you grow them into position, then flip to flower or whatever is next to reach your goal. LST - bending her over, lol Anchor the bottom of the trunk to the opposite side that you will bend the plant. This will reduce stress on roots and prevent damage. If you don't, the plant can and likely will drag itself through the medium trying to correct its posture, for lack of a better phrase. This inevitably also damages the roots a bit. With fabric pots, just make sure some tension pulls in the fabric so it doesn't lose tension later on. The plant will resist over time and exert more force than what you see initially. When you make a bend.. try to bend it in a few places very close together near the base with your hand before tying the top down. This will help form a more compact and ~90 degree type bend. Any branch at or below the bend should be pruned off. It'll be trash gauranteed. So you form it first and then tie down at top -- requires very little tension, initially, to hold it there. The plant will resist and pull against it, of course. Over time, you'll have to move that tie-down at the top to keep it level... How long depends on how many colas you want. Don't waste your time over-growing the plant. May need more than 1 tied-down depending on length.. or it will try to bow upward in middle. The goal is to even out growth across several branches. If they are level, they will get similar resources. Higher growth tips will take more than lower growth tips emenating off this level length of stem. You can even out the primary branches by manipulating their height relative to each other.. They won't be even to start, obviously. Just bending the taller ones down a couple times per day can let the others catch up - it'll spend time trying to correct itself instead of growing upward. More extreme differences you may need to temporarily tie down some taller branches for a day or two beneath what you want to grow faster to catch up. Then, release it. It takes quite a while for stem to turn rigid, so it'll correct itself if only bent down for a day or 2. You can help reshape it too by hand -- if it's weak form that, support it for a day or 2 and it'll heal stronger than it was before. You can choose to bend the plant down on an axis or between the axis of growth. So either half the branches facing down or both popping out the side. You may think the obvious asnwer is "more branches good" but again, have a plan and stick to it. More also means it's all tightly packed together. You may still need to thin it out a bit. Having them facing up and pruning off the other half facing down will usually produce enough 'base' branches to work with and more easily spread out to avoid congestion. Keep as many leaves as you can.. if they are down in the dirt, that's a good reason to remove them. ------ Some combination of LST and topping is probably best if you are growing an unusually large plant... just let the primary branches extend out far enough. Using a scrog is also very beneficial for any elaborate training. don't hesitate to mix it up... depending on the context, you may see some options are simply more efficient than others. Don't make this part of your personality.. options for training and manipulating the plant are merely tools in your kit. Apical dominance - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apical_dominance This is why anything at or below the initial LST bend is going to be trash. If it's above enough to be level or mostly level with the rest, it's fine. It doesn't have to be perfectly horizontal, but do your best.. over time it'll almost always become more of an angle upward unless really serious about keeping it's shape, lol. It's not only about height, but with initial LST, it'll mostly be all you have to consider... primary branching garners more resources than secondary branching etc... Doesn't matter what the behaviour is called.. you simply manipulate the plant as necessary to get the growth pattern you want. LST, topping, plant benders etc.. whatever gets you there the most efficient way with the least amount of wasted growth. Save your time and electricity -- the 2 biggest costs by far -- 95% of cost.