Cannabis Growing Guide: Topping Vs. Fimming

Learn how to increase your cannabis yield and create denser, resinous colas in your marijuana garden. Topping and Fimming are two high-yield cultivation methods that have been proven to work time and time again. Keep reading to find out which one is the best method for you.

WHAT IS TOPPING CANNABIS?

The main stem’s growing tip is referred to as “topping.” Topping is a HST, or high stress training technique often used by indoor and outdoor growers. Generally, marijuana grows in a Christmas tree-like structure; with one dominant central cola and several sets of side branches that share sunlight throughout the day.

In comparison, indoor cannabis plants receive light from a stationary grow lamp positioned overhead. Therefore, naturally-shaped cannabis plants are inefficient to crop indoors unless you cultivate in large numbers using the SOG or Sea of Green method. Pro growers prefer Topping to increase yields, and it is also favoured by home growers that want fewer packed-in plants taking up their space.

The removal of the terminal bud will create two new main colas, which in turn will promote growth on lower, secondary branches. The final goal is to invert the Christmas tree shape to allow for more light penetration. After apical dominance is removed from the plant, growth hormones diffuses and evenly spreads throughout all shoots– something that every grower desires. When growing cannabis indoors, vertical space is often limited; however, bushes take up less stealthily than tall trees outdoors . Topping provides growers with a great way to take control over their cannabis canopy.

WHEN TO TOP CANNABIS

After your plants have grown to develop 3-5 nodes, which occurs around 30 days into their vegetative phase, you can then top them. Keep in mind that different plant varieties grow at various speeds.

Trying to top your plants during the seedling or flowering stage is a recipe for disaster. You risk killing or stunting your seedlings if you try to top them during this time. Damage to your precious flowers is almost guaranteed if you attempt to do so during the flowering phase.

Allow 1-2 weeks to pass before you encourage new growth. Your plants need this time frame to recover from the stress they experience and adjust back into their old growth pattern.

HOW TO TOP CANNABIS

The main stem of the plant should be cut cleanly with sterile scissors at its tip, leaving about 5mm of space between the cut and lateral branches. This will give some room for error in case you accidentally Sever these important structures while pruning.

The plant will now grow two separate branches—the main cola will stop growing and the two side nodes will become colas. You can repeat this process later on. Eventually, the two branches you just created will be ready to top, which will further divide what was once a single terminal flower into four distinct bud sites.

Keep going until you’re happy with how your plant looks.

EQUIPMENT FOR TOPPING CANNABIS

The success of your cannabis crop depends on how accurately and precisely you top it. If you use a dull tool to cut your plant, the stem is more likely to break, and the wound will be much larger than necessary. Always use the sharpest blades available to avoid these issues. Office scissors and kitchen shears work well enough, but they’re not as efficient as tools specifically designed for this purpose, so pruning scissors are a better option. Razor blades are also effective.

These Curved Trimming Scissors, designed for taming and topping cannabis plants, will be a handy addition to any grower’s toolkit. The sharp blades and robust handle can make quick work of pruning deep within canopies and trimming off sugar leaves during harvest. They are also great for taking clean cuttings for cloning!

WHAT IS FIMMING CANNABIS?

Fimming is a HST technique that, while similar to topping, has different results. The goal of fimming is to increase the number of main colas like with topping. However, instead of doubling down as in the previous method, fimming can lead to 4 or more new top colas. This makes fimming an excellent choice for micro-growers who have limited space and fewer plants.

When growers “juice” secondary shoots with the growth hormone that would have gone to developing the main stem, they’re technically fimming their plants. However, most growers say that this technique is less effective at reducing plant stretching than topping ( another pruning method). Even though a fimmed cannabis plant can still grow tall, it will produce more top colas than usual. Fimming is typically done very early on in the vegetative stage–usually within 2-3 weeks after germination or when plants have 4-6 leaves.

WHEN TO FIM CANNABIS

You should wait until your plant has developed 3-5 nodes before you FIM it. Just like with topping, performing the procedure too early will shock the plant and slow down the growth of your seedling. You should only focus on training plants during their vegetative phase so they can focus all of their energy on bud production during flowering stage. If you want to train your plant during this time, try gentle techniques such as low stress training (LST).

HOW TO FIM MARIJUANA

Fimming, or pinching/cutting 75% of a plant’s tip, may look like the grower messed up their topping attempt–but it’s actually an easy and useful method.

Gently grab the top of your plant and pull it upward with one hand. With a clean pair of scissors, cut about 75% off the top. You should be left with a small regiment of growth that will eventually produce four colas (the flower buds).

LIMITATIONS OF TOPPING AND FIMMING

If you top and fim your cannabis plants, they will need to spend more time in the vegetative growth stage. The shortest length of time this extra vegetative growth phase will last is 4 weeks, but it could be as long as 6 weeks.

A little-known issue with having many fat colas is that the marijuana plants become really top heavy and may need staking for support.

PRUNING AND TRAINING FOR MAXIMUM YIELD

If you’re aiming for the biggest, most bountiful harvest possible, then you’ll need to combine a few different techniques. Topping or fimming cannabis plants alone won’t get you very far – if you really want to weigh down your scales, you’ll need to add these two methods into the mix. With them, you might just create the perfect recipe for a bumper crop!

LOLLIPOPPING

Lollipopping is the process of cannabis growers removing lower, fluffy bud sites from their plants to focus energy on developing larger nugs. While some growers prefer to strip away this growth during week 3 of flowering, others may utilize a technique called ScrOG (super cropping screen of green) in order grow evenly throughout wire mesh.

SCROGGING

Screen of Green, or ScrOG is an excellent addition to the above high-performance cannabis cultivation techniques. By hanging a mesh screen across your grow space, you can optimize your entire operation for maximum production. In practice, this means that growers must bend and fold shoots to fill out as many squares in the grid as possible. This process begins during the vegetative stage and continues until early bloom.