tucker

A couple weeks ago, I was sitting at work thinking "I gotta top one of my plants." I wanted to experiment to see what difference it would make in the plant I topped. Later that day, before I went home, I read about the FIM Technique, in which you leave 10% of the growth node to encourage your plant to divide into up to 8 separate tops, rather than just 2.

Well, I could have posted this earlier, as I that my plant now has six (6) tops. And they look like they're growing pretty full too. Looks to me that this was well worth it.

Most importantly, this "FIM" Technique really works.

smokasplifff

So do you just make the cut a little higher that you normally would? For example if their were say 2" between the branches, would you make the cut at about .5" above the lower one?

gecko

Nope, you cut in the plant matter (growing tip).
And yes it does work

Keep on Blazing
(________()~~~~

tucker

what's more...that same plant showed sex yesterday....

...it's a girl!!

hell yeah!

Johnny5

FIM= F#$k I missed
lol, I think thats it though

TheGreenMan

If what is wanted is 8 separate tops then how would FIM ing differ from just topping the plant at the 5th node to leave just 8 pairs of branches ~ 8 tops
This is something I do anyway, I thought that FIM ing was something different.
I don't understand
What does FIM ing achieve that topping like that doesn't/wouldn't ??
Can someone please explain the difference to me, pertty please with berries and sugar

Green Man

PS ~ S2
"no secondary cola ever seems to come close to the size of the top. "
I read somewhere that side colas are actually always more potent than the top one, I assumed that this was part of the rationale behind the technique of topping to leave 6 - 8 lateral branches which then grow stronger than they would with the main cola stealing their growth energy and stronger than the top would have been anyway. Any thorts there ?

Also
Forgive me being dense but when you say
"I cut parrallel to the main stem right through the center of the top"
I know this sounds soo dumb but I want to be sure I understand properly, you mean you cut the top tip vertically, down it's centre rather than horizontally taking the tip off right ??
Like | instead of -- ??
Reason I ask, partly, is that I've just boldly, experimentally done this to one of my young plants and am unsure what to expect, I know that time will tell but I'd like to hear from anyone who has tried it already.
TYIA

absimiliard

Hey GreenMan.

Haven't said "Hi" to you yet, nothing personal mind you, we just haven't been on the same threads. So, "Hi!"

Anyways, on to business. What FIM gets you is all those extra growth tips from the top of the plant. You can still get the secondary growth-tips coming up from the bottom. So a FIM'd plant should yeild (if FIM'd at the fourth or fifth node) say 5 tops from the "top" that was FIM'd plus the additional 8 or so secondary growth tips coming up from below. Presumably you could then tie the top down and bring all 13 growth tips even and thus maximize light usage.

That said, I don't FIM. Just haven't had the chance to test it yet, got more important techniques to master on my plate.

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-Absimiliard

lilbuddie

You still doing this S2?
I don't remember seeing this in your plants before but I'd love to see some picts of what they come out like ... Put that shiny digicam to work

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IonAccel

BTW...

How in the sam-hill did you resurrect a post from July 2001!

Love them educational threads!

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TheGreenMan

You don't remember me having my head bitten off, chewed up and spat back out in the trimming fan leaves debate thread then ??? . . . .

I think I noticed you in there maybe . . . ahem

Anyway Hi 2u2 and moreover

So the FIM'd top will produce a bunch of extra heads also ?
A bit like if you topped a few nodes later . . . . . . .

Has anyone found out if this extra growth takes a correspondingly long extra time to grow or not ?

Is that 'corona' of heads better ? and worth taking all that growth energy away from the rest of the plant ?
IF it is true that side colas are always more potent than that big, pretty, impressive top cola and a load of growth energy is being diverted from the lateral branches into a half dozen less potent top colas . . . . . . .

I'm starting to wonder already about this and I haven't even been able to properly try it out yet. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to rubbish the idea I'm just wondering if it really is the promised land.

As far as I know in the plant world anything which increases one thing takes away from another. You get bigger plants - they're not as potent or sweet or juicy, you get extra juice - you get smaller plants, you get bigger juicier plants - they take longer to grow and you lose time . . . .etc etc etc
A bit like blak majik, you get nothing for free in the world of horticulture seems to be what I've read.


Except for electricity of course ~ apparently if You run a current through the soil you get plants twice the size with twice the sugar content, Oh but wait this is off topic I'd better stop now.

Green Man

PS I resurrected this after I discovered the search button and started looking for stuff, "stem splitting" I believe it was, try it out why don't you ?
BTW
the plant I did that too hasn't died yet . . . .