Hi Shed, my two photoperiod plants are 4 weeks old. I have tied down the apical and am spreading the branches out laterally in their 5 L / 1 Gal pots. The apical on both plants is growing very short internodes and bud sites are literally on top of one another. What should I do if anything please? Also, how long do you think I need to wait before up-potting them? I ask this with the root ball in mind. I only just up-potted on 21 June, 2 weeks ago. They seem to be getting too big for their pots but I am concerned that the roots don't agree.Greetings all! I've had members ask about how I do my LST (low stress training) on my plants so I thought I would do a pictorial on it. My pics are of two different plants but don't let that confuse you. It's just easier to demonstrate that way.
Let's discuss the theory behind LST for a minute. Cannabis plants grow up to the sun. They have a top (apical) cola and side branching. Most of the growth hormones (auxins) go to that apical cola, which is why an untrained plant often has a beautiful huge bud on top and then progressively smaller buds as you head toward the soil. Topping a plant tells the plant that there is no longer an apical cola (damage alert!!!) so it needs to send the auxins to other branches to assure its chances to pass on its genetics. You then end up with two tops from that one.
That's great for photo plants which you can grow as big as you want them to be before you flip them, but autos are on an internal clock. Now many growers top their autos and get great results. I don't. I try to stress autos as little as possible so I do LST.
LST is a method for tricking the plant into thinking it no longer has an apical cola without actually removing it. The method involves pulling the top down flat so that it's not higher than the rest of the plant. The plant still thinks it's lost its apical cola and begins to send the growth hormones to the rest of the branches, but there is no recovery time as there is with topping because nothing has been cut.
As each of the lower branches grows in response, it gets tied down toward the outside of the pot, allowing light and air to get to the rest of the plant, and forcing the plant to continue to evenly spread the auxins.
Let's look at some pics!
I used to start bending the plant when it was much younger. Now I wait until the stem will be close to even with the top edge of the pot after it's bent. This was my Blueberry Auto from last summer.
You can see that I used a rock to hold the stem in place as I bent it. It's important that the base of the stem be upright so you don't put stress on the stem/root connection. Now I use a rock as well as a tie holding the stem in the opposite direction to the bend. This is my current Blue Treacle:
Let's watch the progress of the Blueberry Auto as it goes from the first pic to full buddage!
You can see how I have begun to take the side branching and lay it out flat as well - away from any other growth - using the sticks and twist ties. Flattening each branch forces the plant to spread the auxins equally:
Once the branches outgrow the internal size of the pot, I tie the branches to the edge:
Once they get this far into flower there is no more to be done except watch them grow! I do not untie them until I harvest the plant.
Here is the Blueberry getting close to the end. Can you spot the apical cola? This produced over 4 ounces of dried buds. Not too shabby!
Now let's look at an auto I have currently going into the earliest stages of flower. This one is a Blue Treacle, shown in the second pic with the white wire holding the stem in place opposite the bend. Here is a top view:
And here it is from the side. You can see how flat the top is:
This plant thinks there is no apical cola and is trying its damnedest to develop a new one. Not going to let that happen! I want each cola to be the same size in the end, similar to the last Blueberry pic.
Time for a closer look at the restraints!
My main stem no longer has any room for me to get a pipe cleaner in between the bud sites. No matter! I just grabbed a top fan and tied that down!
And here you can see some of the exposed lower sites that get full light and are close to the same height as the rest of the stem...more hormones!
That's the way I do it. Post questions or comments!
I'll update this thread when the buds develop and we can see if they're as even as the Blueberry was!
