Simple LST question

[J Obadiah]

Thanks for stopping by. I have a couple Purple Princess's that are doing phenomenal. Sitting at 5 nodes, coming up on 6th. My question is this: would it be beneficial to simply bend the plant over one way, tie it down, and have the branches along the main stem grow upwards toward the Sun, giving me several colas? How would this affect yield? Is this less effective than just doing topping and normal LST?

I have a picture attached for reference. Theyre about 30 days old, planted on the 17th and 18th of February.

 

[Emilya Green]

That IS LST... there is no rule that you have to keep bending the plant and you can stop the training at any point you like.

 

[Barney86]

Gives you pretty similar results mate. Topping obviously adds a little bit of recovery time and the only real advantage to topping over just using lst is that you get a symmetrical plant. I top all my plants for that reason. Just easier to work with. No real benefit in terms of yield though. Can do just as good a job without it.

 

[Blew Hiller]

You'll want to get them into a bigger pot

 

[J Obadiah]

You'll want to get them into a bigger pot

Absolutely, they will be getting transplanted in just a couple more days, the roots are almost right where I want them. Very fast growth going on lol

 

[J Obadiah]

Gives you pretty similar results mate. Topping obviously adds a little bit of recovery time and the only real advantage to topping over just using lst is that you get a symmetrical plant. I top all my plants for that reason. Just easier to work with. No real benefit in terms of yield though. Can do just as good a job without it.

I see. I was mainly curious about the methodology of it all. I've never just bent and staked a plant over like that, I always combine topping and LST'ing because of symmetry, as you said.

 

[J Obadiah]

That IS LST... there is no rule that you have to keep bending the plant and you can stop the training at any point you like.

I understand what topping actually is and what LST is and all, but I was more curious about simply LST'ng the plant by just bending it over. After that, I would--hypothetically--allow it to grow as normal without any additional LST.

I top my plants and practice using LST every year, but I happened to be outside sitting in my chair smoking when the thought occurred to me: rather than topping her and LST her subsequently, what would happen if I bent the main stem over, secured it, and left it to grow? The thing I wasnt clear about was that I want(ed) to know about the effects this type of LST has on the growth pattern and yield.

I even bring this up with the community because I was, and still am, intrigued by the notion of a simple bend. I've seen growers up in the Emerald Triangle or Oregon simply bend the plant with a bamboo stake, on a North-South orientation, so that the plant opens up more for light penetration. It was intriguing.