Can I top my Auto? I’ve heard never top your auto s and I’ve heard others doing it…
3 Likes
IMHO, there is no benefit in doing so. It won’t kill your plant or have disastrous consequences but it simply won’t result in a bigger yield, more likely in a smaller yield.
Autoflowers are more sensitive to stress, and topping is a high stress action which could potentially trigger your plant to start flowering even earlier than it already does. An earlier flower response = a shorter vegetative state = smaller plant and thus a smaller yield.
A plant needs to recover from topping, so even if the plant doesn’t start flowering instantly it doesn’t have enough time to recover well enough to benefit from it.
Topping really only is good with photos is my experience, you need that prolonged vegetative state to let the plant recover and pick up its vigour again.
Low Stress Training (LST) for autoflower all day! You can get some great results with LST if you start early by the way.
9 Likes
I Topped 2 of my Auto’s, and they both went into flower. I did it accidentally. So i would agree with @MrMonkey420 they stress to easy.
8 Likes
@MrMonkey420 response 
Stan from Mephisto Genetics changed my grow style for autos…during veg LITFA…just leaf tuck if anything, let the plant figure itself out. The week during transition (first sign of pistils and next week or so) decide if you need to do any LST to give side branching more room. In my small tent this is when I decide if any branches that are too unruly need supercropping. Light defol lowers and poor performing branches early flower. Defol as needed to improve airflow during flower. 
8 Likes
Absolutely! (insert caveat here: experienced growers only beyond this point)
If you want a bigger plant, timeline is much different, accelerated. So do your business at 5 nodes or so back to 3. Then top the remaining arms back to double those budsites in the 21-25days ish window…also fuck these clowns that say put em in the forever pot from get go. You can up-pot and if you are strategic…the roots will grow in a similar rate as the top side. In fact check out “coco for cannabis” he too has changed his tune.
5 Likes
Just remember the “stress” on the auto plant - consider 1week to re-coup from any method used being that the flower times are “set” for autos. If any thing LST method with a little defoliation thru grow
4 Likes
I see other advice and worked for a couple months with a Dutch Passion fundi and did my own research. Personally I would not top an auto due to its inferior genetics ( herming ) and also because of the slowed growth. Dont forget autos have a very limited flowering time, and slowing it down by 1 week could reduce your final yielf significantly.
1 Like