Creator of Mimosa Explains Why He Stopped Topping His Plants 

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“i dont think ill ever top a plant again in flower” well fucking duh

Don’t do the thing studied and practiced across several agricultural disciplines because, “the plant knows what to do”. But does it know what I want it to do?

He doesn't top anymore because he didn't do it right

"I feel the plant just gets to be a plant" 😂😂😂

This is why you do all the topping within the first month. Get like 16 main stems and everything level while it’s still tiny and then let it grow with a trellis. 1 month 8 plus tops for 16 main stems then 4 months no topping. Get a blanket of buds on a 1 foot tall plant.

You're gonna get a bigger top bud but that's it. Your yield will overall be smaller. If you're growing for yields, it doesnt matter how big your top bud is. What you want is better light intensity spread evenly across the canopy and you're never gonna get that with a christmas tree type plant.

Why would anyone top a plant when it is already flowering anyway. You would loose bud growth in the recovery time but if you want to do it in early veg then go for it.

I prefer LST instead of topping, because you don't loose 4-7 days by wasting the best side branch

Definitely strain dependent

I think people are forgetting that Mike is an indoor cultivator with thousands of plants. Yeah, if you have 6 plants outdoors, then topping is going to be beneficial for you. If you're working on a 63 day flower cycle with a 14 day veg indoors, speed is important and topping definitely slows growth. He also talks about how Uniformity is the reason he stopped topping, and when you are steering thousands of plants, consistency and uniformity is huge. "Those branches will get to the top"; would you rather have two really big branches, or eight big branches? For larger-scale, indoor cultivators, you would rather have eight big branches...

I never top. Just bend and you don't lose the main cola, all the buds become main colas.

For photoperiod, wait until the new growth just starts to show (2-3cm), then pinch it off on a diagonal, leaving 1/3rd if that new growth on the side FURTHEST from the highest node. This will stunt the top growth, forcing growth hormones equally into the side branches on the lower node, but also has a chance for that main stem to recover and actually push out those 2 new branches and then keeping growing like normal. This is how you FIM. With even lighting and some LST it will grow evenly.

i top and my canopies are on point.

I always top and have killer results, never though of ditching the practice but its very interesting to hear Ted suggested to nit tip and have bigger flower growth, for that Im giving this an experimental run. Top VS Untopped in the same space side by side, this way all plants get the same environment, light intensity and feedings.

One big bud that might have mold in it or a bunch of nice medium buds , I'll keed topping my plants

I do the same , if you need the side branches to catch up a bit just keep taking the fan leaves of the main cola and that will slow it down a little , then bend the side branches out to let the new growth fill in the center top, its a great method

No wonder every mimosa sample I’ve had is mid

U forgot to say "autoflower" 😅

I grow outdoors Hawaii and the faster I can flower them the better.Topping them takes too long for them to recover.As soon as they get 2-3 feet tall in veg I flower them.The longer theyre growing the more likely too get PM, and pest problems.

My problem with topping is that the same effect is achieved by just bending the main stem over. It'll do exactly the same thing except you have another top to flower. I've done a side by side and the one that didn't get topped but just bent over reacted the same but recovered quicker and had an extra big cola when done flowering. I only really top mothers when they're getting a bit large now. I always just bend the main stem over for a more even canopy Don't get me wrong, im not saying topping is bad, just less stress and recovery when you bend it instead.

There's many factors that go into a grow not just topping vs not topping. Light, grow media, environment, cultivars, etc many things affect the outcome of your plants growth. You just have to understand your grow and what works and what doesn't work as well to maximize the plants potential.

I harvested 40 inch clones in only 60 days by planting on july 20, no pesticide and no caterpillars in San Francisco bay, other years I had caterpillars at harvest time, somehow skipped catapillar season by planting later and far less effort to grow, urine and fish tea keeps the plants growing green.

Sometimes plants top themselves ...i think the issue with topping are most are doing it too late if youre going to top you should top near or to the end of seedling stage for bushier plant i think topping in mid vegg is what causes the smaller bud structure in certain strains imo...

They get topped in nature too, a deer will top plants all the time.

Depending on strain ,some do better ,some dont.

I'm 56 and may or may not have started growing in the swamps of Florida in the 1980's 1990's ...now with a cultivation license I grow indoors and have been for a few years. I've tried topping and not topping many times indoors and out. I currently do not top. The reason is this ...the top main cola is the cream of the crop so to speak. It ALWAYS has been in my experience. I can get a slighty bigger yield by topping and training...but for me personally...letting it do it's thing naturally always gives me my prized flower on top. Topping a plant eliminates that top. If your just out for a bigger yield ...hey...whatever works for you if topping is your thing. I only grow for personal medical reasons and everyone that's seen my plants are in awe. I grow in my own blend of living organic soil and it takes me a couple weeks longer to go from seed to harvest than going hydroponics...but the reward is an undeniably better taste and smelling flower. Good luck and happy growing 😊 !

yea so no topping in flower he says but what about in veg ??

Decades ago, I used to grow a mix of sativas and indicas. I noticed on (some) sativas varied greatly in potency from the top colas to the bottom ones, and I stopped topping them. I never noticed that on any indicas, though. But they also never needed it in my 7" height grow area.

Going to top just because he said not to. 😂

Top once and main line works for me..much denser crowns

I´ve only had few times that one side grew bigger after topping but I also bend my plants completely to flat in most cases. I do have some strains I would never top or bend though they just grow and usually get pretty even.

I prefer to just bend the main stalk. Doesnt slow growth. Recoveres within an hour under real sunlight and keeps the nugs fat

Personally i do both methods of topping and scrog method..Ive learned you can get the same results if you weave them through a trellis net or tying them down

I just take a twist tie when it's getting too tall for my system and bend the tip back to the stem. The main cola readjusts and while it's making a sideways s shape all of those other branches are acting like the plant was topped. Then I pull the tie off and have a fat even canopy with the main cola still growing.

So, this is an interesting subject. Firstly, topping plant will improve things 80% of the time. What I have noticed is that some cultivars do not respond well at all. One in particular that I found didn't like topping was Kali mist.

Was saying this years ago but dispos wanted smaller 1gram buds so i started topping to increase tops and bring nug size down so i didnt have to extra trimming time to break big colas down to smaller buds boils down to time and payroll

It depends on your grow setup. In a real grow house your not worried about height. Pruning, pinching, topping are use to grow plants bushier rather than increase height Im sure some level of trichomes are lost or put on hold to heal the growth aswell and spur more growth

Weird you say that.. all of my guys at the shop are always trying to top my shit and usually I would say yeah, I’ve been wanting to see how my plants respond on their own. I’ve had some of my best runs to date on a strain I’ve grown over the last 6 years. Topped them once and just let them ride into the netting. Zero training involved. I just use a net for support and allow them to find their own spots. As long I don’t have tops overlapping I left them alone. Holy shit their tops went wild.

In my experience, 1. Even a lower branch can yield a bigger cola then the mail top. Hence the closer to the light the bigger the buds. 2. 1 being said. If you can average or balance light equally, all colas should be near similar. 3. Topping is only efficient in small/resources restricted setups. Because it ensures that most If not all branches with have an equal space to the light source. 4. In Outside grow. The toping only the main results in two, somehow "identical " colas on top. With the rest varying in sizes. 5. Finally, I have noticed that a plant that was never toped nor pinched will always be bigger and yields more give that it has never had injuries to recover from. If you can control you veg period, go ahead But it will translate to recovery time.

I was doing LST back in the early 1980s mostly bc i didn't like damaging the plant & believed i got better results laying it over at about 4 weeks or so.

Always top a seed, at least once, then use the bend/snap method same for clones, u can use the super crop bending to manipulate the oddball branches on clones for a level canopy. If you are doing it right it with healthy plants they will be recovered by the next day.

love the controversy. keep it up. i don’t believe in topping autos anymore, or really any training. let the plant do its thing, let it grow. exactly.

just train the main stem to grow horizontally and you get the same effect.

I appreciate the knowledge shared here. I assumed that Mike was talking about not topping in veg, but the last statement is "I don't think I will ever top again a plant in flower." Was the whole conversation about topping in flower?

He said he uses side lighting which would compete with a topped plant for yeild with less veg time... and more grow cycles

No he's absolutely right 👍,,less time and better bud quality,

Bigger Tops are more likely to developing bud rot. For smoking you crush them down, no need for huge buds besides the cool look. Topping is mainly for indoor, and there it is beneficial for many reasons.

I top some outdoor plants just to get em more bushy but my indoor I don't do anything than defoliate and maybe some lst clips if I'm trying to steer a branch a certain way usually upwards to save lateral room

Not me watching this after I just topped 🤷🏽‍♀️

I almost never top. It’s better to selectively take fan leaves to expose other tops to the light.

2:00 yea, when it’s outside under the sun…. different in a tent underneath LEDs isn’t it?

I get higher yields off a plant bent sideways than a topped plant. 2 plants same age, 1 bent over vs topped plant, the bent plant has a larger footprint and more bud sights. I also aggressively scrog and find topped plants stem like to split like a wishbone. Got 1 right now duct taped to save it lol

The only way this works is short cycling otherwise I’m gonna mainline/supercrop every time and it’s more fun

Top between 4-6th node in vegetative stage and you're good. Some dislike it, but most truck through it. Topping should ofc be avoided, but some stretch so much it's necessary to top.

"I don't THINK"? Completely wrong, but this is just standard stuff people who've been growing for 50 - 60 years hear daily by teenagers. Who knows more, "the Novice or the life long grower"? The longer you do something the more you know! First of all, some plants(the sativas) can get up to 20(+) feet high, 2nd, you do not want your plants to grow over your fence(6')! This is what I've done for over 55 years. From the moment plant hits "the 3 nodes" on the young plant, you top the main stem! Then after that, until the plant is weeks into flowering, every new stem you count 1, 2, 3(nodes) and TOP, then that topping sends out new branches and again, count, 1, 2, 3 nodes and top again! At the end, you have buds the size of your fist on most parts of the plant, except for the bottom part. Down there, the sun usually can't get to the LOW branches, which you can just remove by the 2nd month! Everything else is just a Myth!!!

Not topping is especially great if you’re doing a sea of green.

I’m fairly new to growing. I’ve only got about 4 grows from seed to harvest. I have never topped a plant. I have been thinking about doing it on this grow. But I have my reservations about doing so. In my last grows I grew in a 5x5 with 4 plants in 30 gallon non till all organic BAS products. Each plant I got no less than 8 oz per plant with a Veg time of 3 months and 10 to 14 weeks of flower time. This time tho I got me a bigger tent 10x10 and have 16 plants but only going to keep 12 of them this time around. I do want to try different methods and techniques along the way. I barely planted the seeds on 8/3 all but one seed popped and are doing excellent, I even had a twin. I watch build a soil and other channels to gain as much knowledge as possible in this adventure. Any advice if I should or shouldn’t would be great

I don't top mine either I just bend the whole top way down and that makes everything grow uniform. Why cut off good growth when you can keep it and still have a level canopy

Don’t you get more weight off not topping flipping early and have one big main cola? I’ve heard Barneys says so it also depends on comparing the 2 if you did the same veg and flower period plus same mediums and environment and space.

Topped all 3 of my outdoor sativas above the 8th node. Now tey are all about 7 feet tall and 5-6 feet in diameter and just started flowering. Yeah I'll continue doing that.

Yeah, im not stopping.

bigger nugs? No, the right thing to say is bigger nug. The point of topping is to have every branch to get equal light, which results in evenly sized buds, and an overall bigger yield. without topping you'd have one big nug, and the rest are just mids

I imagine this focuses on the main cola rather than the popcorn nugs

I think I heard 14 day veg then flip so, I have to assume this is with established clones & not from seed ? I'm sure commercial growers go the clone route for strain stability. The reason I bring this up is because I have no room for mothers & clones and I like trying new stuff all the time. It's my understanding that if starting from seed the plant should be at least 4 weeks old to be mature enough to flower and if I don't top, tall plants end up in the lights. I might try vegging for two weeks & then flip to see if that takes out some of the stretching.

I top to release the auxins hormone to make sure that the side shoots become main shots if you don't top i don't care how much light reaches the lower branches they will not become main colas.

I’ve been leaning towards this in a big way. Also the amount of veg I have to do with more plants not topped is so much less. I don’t think it’s best practice for low plant counts. That’s when I lean towards a supercrop to get canopy filled and even. Also never top a plant in flower no matter what.

40 plants in a 5x5 that don’t seem right my math wrong 25 sqft times 1.6 =40

He said he will not top again in flower. Does he top in veg?

Just try both and see.

I've also found not topping is way better I've gotten bigger and more dense buds, low stress training and minimal trimming for airflow and bud growth.

I think you can probably get a higher yield topping, but yes the extra labour and hassle probably outweighs the benefits…🥦

ALL the hate for a dude doing things his own way? TRY it. Dude has a 14 day flip, ya'll have 60 day flips and bending over netting. I get both ways and the yields but damn. Didn't expect this much toxicity for information sharing.

I never top my plants.And they still become Beasts.

I have full even canopy and I top I just got done topping a skunk XL four different times that thing is beautiful and it's going to have massive buds

Maybe in small spaces like a 2x4 tent topping might still be better if you're trying to get production per cubic foot. Using a trellis and bending the plants in a 2x4x5 ft tall, I was able to get as high as 23 and 1/2 oz with 550 w of cobs. And that's using four plants. But vegging takes longer couple more weeks. I mean if you're going by back-to-back runs this couple of weeks for you to run. Put together is a whole nother run. Maybe it equals out. Who knows But when you have height restrictions, that's when it becomes an issue for me. I probably shouldn't try to grow a haze in a 5-ft tall tent, but I can make it work with topping and bending

Tie em down Lst yes?

some strains dont do well when topped/Monster cropped some do the best growing naturally just have to know about the strain you are cultivating not all strains have the same growing conditions or nutrient requirements (Basically the same with small differences) there are certain additives that plants respond well too that others wont and may hinder yield/growth if not used in the right amount at the right time the plants nutrient needs change constantly throughout it's life cycle. Most ppl think about fertilizers and nutes but rarely think about the soil witch is equally important the soil should have "Bacteria"(Endo/Ecto) "microbes" "Enzymes" 'Fungi' microbes refresh the soil and help boost plants nute uptake and resistance to illness and pest enzymes do the same plus promotes stronger cells in the plant helps keep soils ph balanced then there's fungi very important.... Trichoderma is the green stuff that grows on like old coffee grounds or aging lemons its naturally in all soil and the air and it establishes a symbiotic relationship with the plant by attaching to the roots and expanding out further then the roots alone will and it gives the plant nute and boosted immune system, more vigorous growth, can withstand hotter temps and be fine, boosts oxygen intake and helps the plant exhale more efficiently smells and tastes incredible lots of enzymes cut curing time cant get that with hydro and for new growers these will help make the plant harder to burn/kill/stunt if mistakes are made this is just the start of what these things do I promise the most novice growers will be growing buds longer then ur arms and bigger then Ur head those buds in my profile pic are only a week and 3 days into flower they still had 7 1/2 or so weeks to go i had to anchor the branches to the ceiling so they didnt, snap all 20 colas strain was a cross of Ice Cream X Gorilla Plant "Gorilla Cream #1" I want to breed a land strain with a newer Hybrid like Columbian Gold X Cannatonic or northern lights X skittlz lmao who knows.

I didn't top any last year, had 1 14 feet tall with 2 bird nest in it , another over 12 foot , was budding massively, we got a big rain and the weight of the buds literally tore the branches off

take mature cuttings , manipulate the leader LST way quicker advanced veg growth , flip to flower

using lst in place of toping will never stop the plant from prioritizing the main cola.

Growing my first plant. Not topping or training. I want a baseline and go from there.

Idk i think its strain dependent cause some plants are naturally going to Christmas tree and those tends to be the best ones.

Topping is a great thing if done correctly. Instead of one big cola and several same sized smaller nugs. I can get eight to ten large buds and several same size smaller nugs. Remember don't top your plant to death. once at five stages once again right before flowering never top this plant again. You should do well.

My first 5/6 runs I topped. This last one I didn’t and lollipopped…. The big size and quality is much superior. Done topping

I had a good one going and a week before I was about to take it somehow while I was at work my light that was hanging somehow fell from the ceiling fell just right and split the plant down the middle.

I know it's crazy but I grow cannabis to smoke... not to say 'look how big my flower is'. But to each their own

I have a pheno going now that finishes at day 45 with 15-20% amber. Head band x grape stomper. Frosty and fire terps.

I lolly pop mine all way up to the top of the branches and the bent over technique works better than topping

exactly @2:10 "the plant knows what to do"

They discovered that human DNA is over 11 billion years old, twice the age of this planet, so no the plant has not been around longer than us! My biggest producers were topped!

You said it best. The plant knows best what to do… especially when topped… wtf bro…

Mimosa is one of the best strains out there

Old grower vs RU-vid growers. I'm an old grower and do toping only if there is no other way. I showed on my channel how toping and lst afect the crop compare to not doing it but people won't change their mind.

Maybe in a sea of green but it's best to top your plant at a certain node at least once. If you top three times and make clones early on you'll have two more trays finishing every 4 weeks consistently! He's too young to be tell us experienced growers his technique lol Good for you though if it works.

Its cultivar dependent, some need to be topped some don't

I appreciate your content.

Legend says women don’t even like him on top

Yeah well some will disagree. A lot actually. I was watching a video today where a kid topped his auto plant, this I've heard especially for autoflowering cannabis strains is a no no yet I saw a video today where he topped it and at first it looked like a mistake but come week 24 it looked so pretty and wide and I could tell that this was what he was wanting.

If youre topping in flower its called harvesting