To top, or not to top?

qweasd1125

qweasd1125

Hi Everyone
 
I made the mistake of overfertilizing my Carolina Reaper about 2 weeks ago, and adding in that I've been trying to harden it off aswell, it has dropped a lot of leaves.
 
It doesn't look to good anymore, and I'm debating whether I should cut it back to the bottom 4 leaves, as it has not made a y-split yet. It's aprroximately 2 feet (60 cm) tall.
 
Would it be better to just leave it as it is, and hope for the best, or is there anything that I can do to better its chances?
 
If i do top it, I might try to propagate the cutting aswell. It could be a nice experiment.
 
Any help is appreciated
 
A top view of the plant. I love the new growth right now. 
EqbDgBB.jpg

 
A side view of the plant. It does not have many leaves left.. 
Igv8Ko2.jpg
 
You should only top when you have a Y at the top of the plant. Then you cut above where the Y branches out. If you have over fertilized, take it outside and flush out the soil for a few minutes. 
 
     Definitely don't top. If you want to redirect growth to the lower nodes, just pinch the apical bud off the plant. It will stop growing upwards and start pushing out all the lateral buds. This way you still get the benefit of all the photosynthetic potential of those upper leaves. Chopping all that growth off will set the plant back unnecessarily.
 
No top.
There are only a few situations that have benefits to topping a plant and I rarely encounter them. And some are only a temporary benefit at that.
It's time to go to the next size container though. That plant needs to stretch itsnlegs.
 
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