Topped Peppers Question

Ronin · Feb 21, 2018

I have topped the very first pepper plants I have even grown, was kinda scary, but now I have a couple quick questions. Should I remove more leaves? And how much of a risk is there of killing the plants?
Thanks in advance and here is a picture.....

BlackFatalii · Feb 21, 2018

Relax, everything is fine.

Lots of people top their plants; you aren't doing any harm by topping them. But I see no reason to remove additional leaves unless you have some lower leaves that are actually touching the soil. Your plants look nice and healthy; no need to mess with them any further, apart from maybe potting them up into larger containers to encourage more growth.

Ronin · Feb 21, 2018

BlackFatalii said:
Relax, everything is fine. Lots of people top their plants; you aren't doing any harm by topping them. But I see no reason to remove additional leaves unless you have some lower leaves that are actually touching the soil. Your plants look nice and healthy; no need to mess with them any further, apart from maybe potting them up into larger containers to encourage more growth.

Ok, I saw a video from Khang Starr and when he topped his plant he cut almost every leaf off it and I thought I might have had to do that as well.
Also, I'm going to be putting them in new pots soon, and on that subject, how much perlite to dirt should I use? Thanks again.

Dinsdale · Feb 21, 2018

Ronin said:
Ok, I saw a video from Khang Starr and when he topped his plant he cut almost every leaf off it and I thought I might have had to do that as well.

You cut leaves in half when you clone a plant, to reduce water loss through the leaves until the cutting has roots.

And like BlackFatalii said, no worries. I top all kinds of plants left and right and it just makes them branchier and bushier.

Winegums · Feb 22, 2018

I like to remove leaves in stages. First I top, then wait for the plant to side shoot, then I remove the leaves from the top to ensure the side shoots get proper light. The plants don't need that many leaves when they're recovering and generating branches.

willard3 · Feb 22, 2018

It's really hard to kill a chile, keep pruning.

Rajun Gardener · Feb 22, 2018

Everybody tops a little difference but one thing remains the same, it's hard to kill the plant and they only get that bushy look when it's done.

I top and cut leaves to open up the stalk, this allows light in to make the side shoots grow.

Here's a few pics of a 7 Pot Primo I topped on Feb 8th, you can see this plant was ready to start growing side shoots already. The topping and thinning leaves gave it light and it exploded with new growth. Not all plants will respond this good but topping always helps get more production down the road.

Before

After

Here's today

YAMracer754 · Mar 21, 2018

Rajun Gardener said:
Everybody tops a little difference but one thing remains the same, it's hard to kill the plant and they only get that bushy look when it's done.

I top and cut leaves to open up the stalk, this allows light in to make the side shoots grow.

Here's a few pics of a 7 Pot Primo I topped on Feb 8th, you can see this plant was ready to start growing side shoots already. The topping and thinning leaves gave it light and it exploded with new growth. Not all plants will respond this good but topping always helps get more production down the road.

Before

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After

100_1572.JPG

Here's today

100_1653.JPG

100_1656.JPG

Wow great illustration! They really can take a whooping huh! How old are those and what medium setup are you using?

Regards,
-Tristan

Ronin · Mar 21, 2018

One month update....

Here are the two MOA Scotch Bonnets a month later, ignore the smaller one. Each pepper has three big offshoots and a couple smaller ones. I will be topping all my peppers and have done so to a few already.

YAMracer754 · Mar 21, 2018

Ronin said:
I have topped the very first pepper plants I have even grown, was kinda scary, but now I have a couple quick questions. Should I remove more leaves? And how much of a risk is there of killing the plants?
Thanks in advance and here is a picture.....

BBC785AA-3A5D-44B6-A34E-B08294E498A6.jpeg

Do you have perlite or something in between those two cups? Also what are you using for light and medium? Those look really good for solo cup sized!

Regards,
-Tristan

Ronin · Mar 21, 2018

YAMracer754 said:
Do you have perlite or something in between those two cups? Also what are you using for light and medium? Those look really good for solo cup sized!

Regards,
-Tristan

There is a small rock in each cup so that there is a small void for excess water to drain, I'll pour the excess water out a few minutes after watering.
I'm using a couple low watt LEDs....
Kingbo 50w: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075V3JJQH/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2QXJ5P4W1APCD
Taotronics 36w Bulb: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HPIPM70/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=A2KUZVNQ9LP7N9&th=1
And I just use Miracle Grow Potting soil, but when I moved to the bigger pots I added some perlite to the soil.

Rajun Gardener · Mar 21, 2018

YAMracer754 said:
Wow great illustration! They really can take a whooping huh! How old are those and what medium setup are you using?

Regards,
-Tristan

I started those in December I think, they didn't do much due to the crazy cold winter we had till February. I'm growing in dutch buckets/hydro using perlite.

YAMracer754 · Mar 22, 2018

Rajun Gardener said:
I started those in December I think, they didn't do much due to the crazy cold winter we had till February. I'm growing in dutch buckets/hydro using perlite.

Is that quite different than a hempy bucket or what? Pump and air stone then just use Hydro nutes? I'll look em up just wondering what ya got going-what kind of Temps have you been seeing when the growth was slow? Thanks man!

Regards,
-Tristan