At that time I knew nothing about lollipopping (or pistil-whipping), was only just learning about how plants respond to different stimuli. Now, with the indoor girls I definitely select out poor bud sites. The ScroG gets done as they grow. Topping takes place on seed starts fairly early, then I watch them (5th-7th node), see how they respond.
Now what I do depends on what I want to achieve, where I'm growing, etcetera. LST takes a lot of hands-on work, better if you're only growing a few plants or have the time, no physical restrictions. ScrOG might be a better application of the same concept, although harvest is again a pain in the ass if you have more than you can handle at a given time, plus it interferes with my preferred harvest method (chop @ base, hang her high, til she's just the right 'dry', then break down from there). I'm trying my first SoG this indoor run, but didn't fill the tray so I'm going to allow more colas to develop at the top of the canopy, with as little as possible 3" below that point. It's different strains so that may make it more difficult.
I have plants back on in that location this year, hempy, and I want to keep all work with them within arm's distance, so they're staked and being readied for training (LST, just not in a circle, they've already branched heavily so the branches will be spread open in a rough X pattern). For just a few plants it's one good way of keeping things in check. With big OD girls I don't have the stature to tend to them fully if I let them go, and bushes need to be monitored and topped, FIM'd, supercropped, tied and thinned appropriately.
As for when, again depends on what's going on because I have to admit I'm not always the most tend-ful gardener. Some mothers, the ones that I mentioned are the hempy gals in that same location, have been treated in such a manner that they're going to lend themselves to LST. I have some seed starts that have gone too long for LST or topping to be viable in their case, so tying and supercropping are the alternatives.
I've just placed my first order for Hortonova, and I understand it has many, many applications, but will also change how I do certain things. So, who knows, I may change up how I do things again because my goal is to learn how the plants respond to different techniques.
One thing I have learned for certain, and that is that if I do not practice any sort of canopy control the resultant yield is, in my opinion, sub-par. I am always working to step up my game, just a personal thing I have about doing things well.
Eeehhh... have I answered your questions?
I just reread this and I don't think I answered anything except when I top. Basically, I try to do whatever it is as early as possible, no matter what the end result is I'm looking for. Always remembering that it's almost never too late to use certain techniques.
