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Thread: The ultimate topping and fiming thread

  1. #1

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    Default The ultimate topping and fiming thread

    Topping & FIMing

    Table of Contents

    Intro: Cutting Cannabis for Better Structure

    Topping vs FIMing

    Tips for Topping & FIMing

    Don't Cut Too Early!
    Don't Cut Too Late!
    How to Know It Worked*
    How to Top Cannabis

    How to FIM Cannabis

    *

    Cutting Cannabis For Better Structure:*Topping & FIMing

    Topping and FIMing are two cannabis plant training techniques that involve "pinching" or cutting off some of the top growth. These techniques are designed to give you a free way to achieve*better plant shape (to make better use of the available light), create more colas, and achieve*bigger yields.

    Topping: Cut top of plant between nodes

    FIMing: Pinch newest growth (but not between nodes)

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    All*plant training techniques*are designed to help growers get a more desirable plant shape and*bigger yields without changing other aspects of their grow. For example, cannabis plants don't naturally grow in a way that takes full advantage of indoor grow lights - a lot of light is wasted when cannabis plants are allowed to grow naturally without training.

    Because of this, cannabis plant training techniques (like topping and fimming) are especially effective at increasing yields in indoor grow setups. Topping and FIMing are very similar to each other in that they create a bushier plant with extra colas, but they do have some differences.

    Notice how these plants have many colas instead of just one - this is due to topping and FIMing

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    Note:*The unfortunate acronym*"FIM"*stands for "F*ck I Missed," and refers to*growers accidentally pinching off top growth instead of fully topping the plant between nodes. FIMing has become known as a technique of it's own since it has slightly different results compared to topping (recovery time, number of colas produced in one cut, etc).

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    In the above example, the plant on the*left*was allowed to grow naturally, which resulted in the classic "Christmas tree" shape that's not very efficient under indoor grow lights. The plant on the*right*was topped or FIMed as a seedling. This broke the dominance of the main cola, and the plant started*putting out multiple colas.

    With both topping and FIMing, the growth tips that become new colas are already present. They just get bigger and become colas*because topping and FIMing*breaks the symmetry of the plant and exposes these growth tips to light and air. Instead of focusing on just one cola, the plant starts focusing on many growth tips until they become colas.*
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    Topping & FIMing Involve Removing*or Damaging*Top Growth - This*Reveals Hidden*Growth Tips and Signals Plants to Start Putting Energy Into Them

    Cont.

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  3. #2

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    By damaging the main stem, topping and FIMing*encourage the plant to spend energy growing many colas*instead of focusing on just one.

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    Lower growth nodes will become new colas once they're exposed to light and air, but they*develop much faster when the main cola's dominance is broken by topping or FIMing

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    Notice how these growth tips have started developing and rising up after plant is topped or FIMed*(the fan leaves have been removed so you can see the new colas more easily)

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    Topping vs FIMing

    Topping

    Cuts off top of plant at stem in between nodes
    Creates 2 main colas at the top of the plant, and LST*can be used to create more*
    New colas are*evenly spaced (attached to the stem in the same place)
    Unlike FIMing, topping can be used to reduce the height of plant in vegetative page
    More stressful than FIMing - it takes vegetative plants longer to recover from topping
    The extra main stems grow*from above the node where you make the top cut. This video shows the whole cannabis topping process,*in a timelapse format, showing what topping looks like in 10-14 days.*The lower growth tips also begin rising up, and can produce even more main colas.

    Cont.

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    FIMing

    Pinches top growth, but does not cut through stem
    Creates 2-4 main colas at top of plant, and*and LST can be used to create more
    New colas created are not evenly spaced
    Does not reduce height of plant
    Does not stress plant as much as topping, so plants recover more quickly
    These plants were FIMed early in the vegetative stage

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    In either case, whether you top or FIM, you will end up with a wider, bushier plant that doesn't grow just one main cola in a Christmas tree shape.*

    With Topping & FIMing, you can achieve plants like this...

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    ...In the same amount of vertical space as a plant like this

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    Some growers will use several phases of topping or FIMing to produce cannabis plants with dozens of colas. Some techniques take this to the extreme, for example*manifolding*(also sometimes called "main-lining")*is a technique that uses topping several times to make a cannabis*"manifold."

    Important: Don't Top or FIM Too Early!

    With both topping and FIMing, you remove some of the growth on the end of a*cola of a young marijuana plant, which causes the plant to stop focusing on one cola (like a Christmas tree) and instead to create many bud-laden colas (grow more bushy).

    If you Top or FIM the plant too early, it will have a hard time recovering. It may seem like a good idea, but you will get the best results and fastest recover if you wait until the plant has 3-5 nodes.

    Wait Until Plant Has At*Least*3-5+ Nodes - Topping or Fimming a Too-Young*Seedling*Will Dramatically Slow Down Growth. If You Wait a Little Bit to Cut Your Plant, Recovery Will Be Much Faster.

    Growers use the plant's*natural response to FIMing/topping*to produce short bushy plants with many colas.*After the plant has been switched to the flowering stage, the wide spread of colas allows the plant to*efficiently use indoor grow*lights to produce the biggest yields possible.

    If you choose to use either of these methods, you will get the best results by doing it when the plant is young, usually when it has around 3-5 total nodes formed.

    These young cannabis plants are almost*ready to be topped or FIMed

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    You get great results by*breaking the tendency of the plant to grow one main cola*while the plant is still short, because you can arrange your multiple colas however you want as the plant develops, instead of dealing with a Christmas tree shaped plant.

    You can also top or FIM your plant later in the vegetative stage, but you will have a longer main stalk, giving you less ability to arrange the colas the way you want.
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    Cont.

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    After being topped or FIMed, your plant will need some time spent recovering in the vegetative stage, though generally this just causes the plant to 'fill out' more instead of growing taller, which is often desirable for indoor growers.

    This plant was trained for ~2 dozen colas in the vegetative stage

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    Important: Don't Top or FIM in the Flowering Stage;*It's Too Late!

    Topping and FIMing*techniques should only be used in the vegetative stage! In fact, any training technique that involves cutting or damaging your plant should only be done in the vegetative stage of cannabis growth, and never during the flowering/budding stage.

    In the flowering stage, only gentle training techniques such as*LST*or bending*should ever be used to change the shape of the plant.*

    A plant with many colas*can only*be achieved by training a plant from early in the vegetative stage

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    Cannabis plants are much less tough in the flowering stage, and they no longer are growing vegetatively (producing new stems or colas).*

    If you watch*a plant in the flowering stage, you'll see that it doesn't get taller or develop growth nodes. It only "focuses" on making buds. Topping or FIMing at this point won't do any good. Damaging*your plant during the budding stage will almost always*cause a big reduction in your final*yields.

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    By the time your plants are in the flowering stage, much of the growth structure has already been created, and you generally need to try to manage as best you can if your plant has grown into a shape you don't like.

    What if my plant is already too tall in the flowering stage?

    If your plant is already too tall in the flowering stage for your grow setup, you've got to take immediate action*to prevent the plant from getting any taller.

    My suggestion is to*use*bending (LST) your plant*to control the*height of further growth.

    Once flowering is fully underway (after the initial flowering stretch), the plant will not grow much taller, so you can just try to hang on until harvest.

    *

    How Can You Tell That Your*Plant is*Diverting*Energy to New Colas?

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    Almost immediately after topping or FIMing, the connections to each node become enlarged at the base.

    These thickened connections shows*that your cannabis plant is spreading energy more evenly across the whole plant.

    When you see your*plant*thicken connections like this, it means that the plant is*strengthening the "internal system" of the stem, so it's easeir to*deliver*nutrients and other building blocks. This results*in faster growth, bigger colas, and increased yields for each of the affected stems.

    Cont.

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    Another great guide from you MrG.

    "A word to the wise isn't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice."

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    (where before it was putting the majority of its energy into just the one main cola).

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    As time goes on, the most used stems can become so thick they're almost like tree trunks.


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    *

    *

    Topping Your Cannabis Plant

    When*topping your cannabis, you cut off a growing node of the plant,*reducing the*height instantly. This can be*especially beneficial if you've let your plant*get too tall. Topping also increases the number of colas, which can give you more bud at harvest,

    Never Top Cannabis in the Flowering Stage!

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    When topping your marijuana plant, it's best to top the*plant when it is young, and has about 5 nodes (sets of leaves) in total.

    "Topping" the plant means cutting off the newest node on your marijuana plant's main cola.

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    A good place to top is*directly above the leaves of the next node.In other words, cut through the stem right above its next set of leaves from the top.

    This will cause your plant to transfer its energy to two new main colas, as indicated by the two yellow dots in the diagram above.

    These 2 new colas for a V which can easily be bent to spread wide. You can top these two new colas a few weeks later and have 4 total colas. This can even be doubled to produce 8 colas that all come from a single "manifold." Learn more about manifolding cannabis.

    Another benefit of topping is how the plant tends to grow bushier afterwards, spreading its energy much more evenly around to the whole plant.

    Cont.

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    Often*lower branches rise up to become new main colas. This is especially true if you combine Topping with LST to open up the plant so the lower branches get more light.

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    If you've grown a very tall plant, it's also possible to top your (vegetative) plant down to the node you want to reduce the height, but remember that all the time the plant spent getting tall will be lost. In order to get the most flexible colas, without losing vegetative time, try to top or FIM early in the plant's life

    If you're still in the vegetative (non-budding) stage and plants are growing way too tall, you can top the plant immediately to remove height as needed. The time spent growing the extra growth will be lost, so this may add time to*the veg stage.

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    If you want to top the plant multiple times, you may be interested in learning about*main-lining*(creating a manifold - a plant training technique).

    Cont.

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    FIMing Your Cannabis Plant

    FIMing is generally less traumatic to the plant than topping. FIMing*barely slows down growth*and can stimulate*the plant to grow up to 4 main nodes in one pinch (instead of just 2 like with topping).*

    FIMing will not make symmetrical colas like topping.*

    With FIMing, the 4 new colas created are not evenly spaced, and do not join to the stem in the exact same place. This might not matter to some growers, but is useful to know*when using a technique like*main-lining*where it's important for nodes to join at the same place on the stem.

    Never FIM Cannabis in the Flowering Stage!

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    More About*FIMing (Pinching) Your Marijuana Plant

    Note: FIM (unfortunately) stands for "F*ck I Missed" referring to the fact that it's like topping your plant, only you're taking off about 20% less.

    With Fimming, you can get less consistent results than with topping. If you don't pinch of the top growth just right, you may end up with only 2 or 3 colas instead of 4.

    The 4 colas also may not grow as evenly as the 2 tops that are achieved with topping. If you top your plant twice, you will end up with 4 colas just like FIMing, but you will generally get more consistent results. However, topping the plant slows down growth more than FIMing, so it's up to you to decide what's best for your situation.

    All you need to do is pinch the top growth

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    It's best to FIM a plant when it has about 3*nodes. While you can FIM a taller plant, there will still be a long main stem and your new colas won't be as flexible as colas from an early FIMed cannabis plant.

    FIMing an older plant will leave you with*one long main stem, but lower growth tips start growing up


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    FIMing is sometimes*referred to as "pinching" the top of the plant.*To FIM the plant, you simply pinch the newest growth, or cut just the tips of the newest growth off, making sure to leave a bit behind.

    FIMing causes the plant to grow very bushy, and the other nodes will becomes strengthened just like when topping.

    FIMing barely slows down growth since very little of the plant is removed.

    Cont.

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    Simply Priceless MrG


    Just what I was looking for after reading Def Thread

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    Some people actually remove the top growth, leaving about 20% behind, instead of pinching

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    Instead of cutting the plant, which can sometimes accidentally result in topping, many growers instead choose to pinch the top of the plant, without removing any part of the leaves.

    Be warned, when FIMing your plant, the top growth on the*plant*will look weird when growing in. This is normal.

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    Topping and FIMing are both great choices, and it depends on what you're trying to achieve!

    Happy growing

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