Super Cropping ??

[Loudman]

Am fairly new to this so please bare with me, one of my friend does this thing to the plants in which he bends the plants at the out it and sort of leaves it like that and then the next day it will just sort of get back to the same form but the branch is much more stronger can I get some opinions on this method or hack ?

 

[Smerb]

If you grab the stem or branch and roll it while gently squeezing, it will pop. The inner Hurd will definitely get stronger wherever you do this. Friends are right sometimes good sir.

 

[Nog]

The idea is not for the branch to stand back up, but often they do, or at least part way up.
Then you just bend it at another place.

The idea behind it is the same as tying down, you want to spread the plant out and make all the branches the same height, and give the lower branches a chance to grow too.

 

[ken dog]

You need to tie it down as well... don't let the plant determine its shape, determine the plant's shape yourself.

 

[HugzAndNuggz]

be careful super cropping gotta walk some of them into it dont wanna start cropping then snap some of your nice tops .. like smerb said roll it in your fingers a bit until you feel it getting pliable then squeeze and bend..

The idea is not for the branch to stand back up, but often they do, or at least part way up.Then you just bend it at another place.

but isn't the whole idea of super cropping is bending that top down to get more top while keeping the one you bent? i mean if you are not gonna let the top you bent come back up you might as well just top/chop.. i tie everything down still even when super cropping.. but if i notice a spot i bent is not catching up i will tie it up and put it in a better spot to get even with the cannopy

 

[Nog]

You can keep the main top and still supercrop.

I harvested one last night that just before putting into 12/12 I bent the main stem, which was quite thick, at 90 degrees about half way up the plant.
The plant was about three foot tall.

It stayed bent at 90 degrees and the branches grew straight up and made about 6 or 7 main colas.

There was very little popcorn, just main cola's, including the original main cola.

You can also top once, and when the next two main branches grow up and become the main growing points, you can supercrop them to 90 degrees, and then when the two branches below grow up taller than them you can supercrop them too.

Topping and then supercropping you get more buds, as you get more bud sites than just bending the main stem over half way up, but more of them are smaller buds than just bending the main stem over, which just gives you main cola's and little smaller buds.

Which is the best? I don't really know, as I have only been supercropping for two grows.

I think topping first and then supercropping after they have regrown a bit will give you a bigger overall yield, but while I have grown both together, you couldn't really tell as the one's I just bent over at he main stem, or left untopped and tied the main stem down, they were the smaller plants which were behind the other in veg, and they weren't ready to top when the other one's were, and by the time they were ready to top the rest were being put into flower, so I didn't have time for them to regrow from being topped, so just supercropped them over half way long the stem or tied the main stem down.

 

[Smerb]

All that supercropping, topping,fimming,and swazzed are different. What exactly are you trying to do? Create branches, make the plant strong, or what??? Use a technique that helps YOU not someone else's grow. Look at what will happen to your plants ahead of doing anything to them. I'd do what I want and see it work and that's it. Experiments don't always go the way you want. Good growing!

 

[DrMcSkunkins]

If you just bend it over it will likely break, you pinch the stem with a finger and thumb until it crushes and then bend it. The spot where it bends will heal itself and form a knuckle that is much thicker than the rest of the stem.
If you don't want to supercrop then you could just crush the stem to make it stronger. Putting a fan blowing over the tops of the plants causing them to sway will have the same effect. The constant moving damages the stem and makes it repair itself, making it stronger.

 

[MeJuana]

The idea is really to fatten up the other shoots by damaging the shoots with all the energy, usually the top. When you pinch a dominant shoot it must repair that damage so other shoot(s) can catch up in that time. If you pinch and bend a dominant shoot below the height of the other shoots now that shoot must repair it's stem and it will no longer be dominant. The knuckles you create are an advantage but not the goal. So for example if you have a clone with with 2 tops but 1 top is bigger then you would pinch the stem of the dominant shoot damaging it a little. While it repairs the damage the other side can catch up. If both shoots are the same but growing too tall/large in comparison to the rest of the plant then you pinch/bend and break the tops down to the tops of the side shoots then tie them there. The auxins redistribute and the side shoots fatten up. It's scary to break a plant at first luckily for you there's youtube with a ton of cats showing you how/why/where

Edit: Sorry I meant to mention. The best way I've found to thicken stems is to bend them dramatically in veg once per week. Stem size is directly related to bud size in my experiences and that's why I veg for longer with t5

 

[ThaDurb707]

It works for getting tops that are too tall back down to a manageable height. This one stretched like crazy and was getting into the light, bent her ass over and she is perfectly happy at her new level

 

[SilentL]

If you just bend it over it will likely break, you pinch the stem with a finger and thumb until it crushes and then bend it. The spot where it bends will heal itself and form a knuckle that is much thicker than the rest of the stem.
If you don't want to supercrop then you could just crush the stem to make it stronger. Putting a fan blowing over the tops of the plants causing them to sway will have the same effect. The constant moving damages the stem and makes it repair itself, making it stronger.

Nice deskription , I must try this ( super cropping ) while 3 weeks into flowering, not ideal but my durban Poison get's to big already only 10-12 inch from led , and at least 7-10 days of fast growing...anything else maybe?? Had in mind to learn it but in veg - fase .....

 

[SilentL]

Now it's done with the first one.. between fingers heard a snap... almost 80 degrees .. and damaged but only that . Some "silver tape" to give them some support. Had to do can only rise the light max 2-3 inches and the box is almost full :). Update later.

 

[MeJuana]

When it actually snaps hold the branch back straight how it was before super cropping then tape it with a piece of masking tape long ways. I use approximately 2 inch long piece of masking tape along the stem then wrap it. When you finish the branch will almost be standing straight again, this is good.

If it wilts chop it about 1 inch or as much as possible below the break. If it is healthy in 1 week remove the tape.

 

[SilentL]

When it actually snaps hold the branch back straight how it was before super cropping then tape it with a piece of masking tape long ways. I use approximately 2 inch long piece of masking tape along the stem then wrap it. When you finish the branch will almost be standing straight again, this is good.

If it wilts chop it about 1 inch or as much as possible below the break. If it is healthy in 1 week remove the tape.

Morning Here , It looks great , one is almost as before ; the top is moving agaist light as the other one but 75-85 degrees, but looking good, already the smaller tops is leaning towards light. :) . Fun 1:st time with super cropping...:) When I want :) .

 

[Purpletrain]

if your cropping the actual branch your in trouble
you do not want to crop the branch but he actual shoot just below it about 1 - 2 " what happens is the lower shoot thinks its the dominant shoot there fore not only did you allow more light to get to the inner shoot growing below the crop you allowed or faked the plant in thinking its the dominant shoot

Cropping is a uselful tool for canopy management as well as yield by making more tops your making more buds

 

[Smerb]

? Approximately what's the best day to crop girls right into flowering at about 1 footer?. Say a 60 day flower cycle. I'm looking for more information on getting a triple top, single cola girly.

This plant was snipped. Its triple top was very thick. Cola. I am trying this again soon. Watchathink??

 

[Smerb]

? Approximately what's the best day to crop girls right into flowering at about 1 footer?. Say a 60 day flower cycle. I'm looking for more information on getting a triple top, single cola girly. View attachment 628723 This plant was snipped. Its triple top was very thick. Cola. I am trying this again soon. Watchathink??

I was able to use a metal halide two weeks into flowering. It kept about ten or so just tripled up.

if I remember right, the small smartpots have the triples. Zoom in. I forget quite a bit.

 

[Nog]

be careful super cropping gotta walk some of them into it dont wanna start cropping then snap some of your nice tops .. like smerb said roll it in your fingers a bit until you feel it getting pliable then squeeze and bend..



but isn't the whole idea of super cropping is bending that top down to get more top while keeping the one you bent? i mean if you are not gonna let the top you bent come back up you might as well just top/chop.. i tie everything down still even when super cropping.. but if i notice a spot i bent is not catching up i will tie it up and put it in a better spot to get even with the cannopy

You want it to stay bent, either at right angles, or sometimes they grow back up at a bit of an angle after a while, this is ok.

It has the same function as topping, in that it promotes the lower branches to grow into main colas, by sending the growth hormones to the lower buds.
If you crop the main stem over, it also allows the lower buds, which would be shaded by the fan leaves above them, to get more light.

The advantages over topping I think is that it doesn't slow the plants growth down for a while like topping can, and also you get to keep the main growing tip.

If you supercrop the main stem over far enough down so there is a bit of weight above the bend, then they usually stay bent because of the weight of the leaves and stem above the bend.
If you supercrop the main stem close to the top they can stand straight back up again after a day or two, but it also depends how much you squash the stem before bending.
If you give it a good squashing before bending it's less likely to stand up again.

 

[SilentL]

Thank's for info and tips , now the third done, and the one I started with , yes the other branches shoot up more, Maybe they would done so anyway ? But now it is under control ( more wider bush instead of to tall ) and more branshes and now I can say I understand and can do this too. :)

 

[SilentL]

Update , First this worked great but after 2-3 days I could see the result , some is almost as before so I have to do it again. I want to learn this , it's better than the option to cut it in week 4, not so good. Done it again and iI'm happy with it . Need experience . Upload some pictures so anyone else can see , must be others with same problem in the start when you learn something new. upload in 24 hours....