Yes, you can top or train your autoflowering cannabis plant. But the result of this might surprise you because according to many experts, topping an autoflowering plant is not necessary. But for other cannabis growers, they assumed that topping your auto-flowering plants will give you better and higher yields.
So what’s the real score in here? Can you really put your autoflowering cannabis plant to training or not? Let’s find out the two sides of this situation to clear our thoughts.
You Shouldn’t Top Your Autoflowering Cannabis Plant Because…
They are fast growing plants and their flowering stage can start as early as 3 to 4 weeks. That means the autoflowering cannabis plants are not usually recommended to undergo the topping or training due to its tight time schedule.
Aside from their fast flowering stage, there are more reasons why you should not train your autoflowering plants. Let us discuss these reasons one by one.
- If your plant is growing slowly, it is not recommended for you to top your autoflowering plants because it will only cause complications to the growth of your autos.
- If you think that your autoflowering cannabis plants are currently suffering from any deficiencies, you shouldn’t top or train them because you are only multiplying their stress. And when a plant is under stress, they become weak and useless.
- If this is your first time to plant an autoflowering cannabis plant, then it is not advisable for you to practice topping your autos because it will only lead to failures and pretty sure that you will regret it.
- If your autoflowering cannabis plant has started its flowering stage, you should not do anything stressful movement to them such as topping since it will only result in loss of yields.
Again, if these things will occur to your autoflowering plants, then training is not for you.
You Can Top Your Autoflowering Cannabis Plants If…
Your autoflowering cannabis plants have 4 to 5 pairs of leaves or nodes after 2 weeks. That means topping an autoflowering plant is also possible to happen because it is true that it can help in the overall growth and yields of your cannabis.
So if you are now ready to face the risks of topping autoflowering cannabis plants, here are some of the recommendations that you should take for you to know if it is already time to top or train your autos.
- Make sure that your autoflowering plants are healthy and green. In that way, you can get an assurance that they will easily recover from the stress that they will encounter which is the topping.
- If your autoflowering plants are always growing new leaves every day, that means they are growing so fast. And when this is the current situation of your plants, you can definitely top your autos because of its growing potentials regardless of the stress that they are getting.
- Again, if your autoflowering plants have 4 to 5 nodes after 2 weeks, then it is a sign that you can top the plant to get a guarantee that the growth of your autos will not be stunted.
To that extent, you can really top or train your autoflowering cannabis plants for as long as they are healthy since healthy plants mean that they are stronger to face any kinds of topping.
Different Toppings Recommended For Your Autoflowering Plants
- Low Stress Training
LST is usually done by bending the new stems of your cannabis plants then securing them using some ties. Maybe you are thinking that this may lead to growing failures but the truth is it will help you from achieving your desires.
So if you bend the new stems, your plant will become flat in shape. Additionally, you can easily grow your autos if this low stress training will be done.
- Fimming or FIM
FIM was discovered by a grower who has a desire to top his cannabis plants but he suddenly forgot to remove the full top growth. Right after that mistake, he was surprised by the end result because the plant produced more top shoots.
And because of this discovery, this topping method became popular and used by many growers up to this very moment because this is less stressful than topping due to the fact that you only need to remove lesser of the top growth.
Overall, topping or training your autoflowering cannabis plants are doable and recommended only if they are green and healthy. But if your autoflowering plants are sick, slow growing, and stunted, then it is not suggested for you to top or train them since it will only give you a big headache.
But then again, training an autoflowering can also be avoided if you want to be safe and stay in your comfort zone. So just to be sure, you should try growing two autoflowering plants then train the first one while the other one will be left without being trained. If you think that training is good for your autos, then go for it, but if you have observed that your untrained autoflowering cannabis plants are growing with potentials, then don’t train your plants.
Your decision is yours now – to train or not to train? Better try it now to see which option will perfectly work for you!