At what size should you top your seedlings? Is it at a certain height or when a certain number of leaves have developed?
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seeds topping seedlings
- Thread starter hot charlie
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Hi Hot Charlie,
If you mean when should you prune the tops of your plants, well you don't have to if you don't want to.
If they are getting a bit leggy, you can always plant them a little deeper, so that less stem is sticking up above the topsoil, when you repot them into their next sized bigger pot.
dvg
If you mean when should you prune the tops of your plants, well you don't have to if you don't want to.
If they are getting a bit leggy, you can always plant them a little deeper, so that less stem is sticking up above the topsoil, when you repot them into their next sized bigger pot.
dvg
Top a seedling? just curious, why would u want to do that?
To keep it small enuff to not outgrow its grow conditions before outdoor plantout? to promote branching out?
In any case i dont think i would top one til it was at least three or 4 inches tall and have at least 3 sets of leaves. And i would only do that to try to hold it back before outdoor planting. Just my opinion.
Good Luck
Jim
To keep it small enuff to not outgrow its grow conditions before outdoor plantout? to promote branching out?
In any case i dont think i would top one til it was at least three or 4 inches tall and have at least 3 sets of leaves. And i would only do that to try to hold it back before outdoor planting. Just my opinion.
Good Luck
Jim
There is an opinion floating around this forum that topping can create or focus a plants energy on more branching and noding. More branching means more nodes which SHOULD mean more peppers. More peppers means more FIREY FUN... wear gloves and don't try this at home...
Another opinion is that MORE is not always better. For example, a fruit tree farmer will often create a "smaller number" of fruit sites on a plant in order to focus the trees energy on making larger, healthier, PRETTIER, fruit. The fruit market, and maybe the pepper market too, puts great effort into producing LARGE fruit. Have you seen how large bells, jalapenos, and poblanos have goten over the past ten years??
My jury is out on either opinion because I can see advantages to both.... What is bigger, or what weighs more???
I may be a lazy grower or just a natural grower, but I just let the plant grow!!!
Happy Growing!!
Another opinion is that MORE is not always better. For example, a fruit tree farmer will often create a "smaller number" of fruit sites on a plant in order to focus the trees energy on making larger, healthier, PRETTIER, fruit. The fruit market, and maybe the pepper market too, puts great effort into producing LARGE fruit. Have you seen how large bells, jalapenos, and poblanos have goten over the past ten years??
My jury is out on either opinion because I can see advantages to both.... What is bigger, or what weighs more???
I may be a lazy grower or just a natural grower, but I just let the plant grow!!!
Happy Growing!!
i never done it only if the seedlings get too tall i cut the top off .
I never do it, "ah la natural" I find lots of my chillies tend to branch on their own. Growing in full sun like I do tends to make shorter, stouter plants. Only my seedlings get the shadecloth treatment and thats mainly cos I am too lazy to water them too often.
what about pruning lower shoots? ive loped off a few that didnt seem to go anywhere as they were so heavily shaded. anyone else do this?
yeah, don't prune the babies, they need as much foliage to assist in the photosynthesis process.
i fart with mine older plants all the time. some plants do better when you snip the top to encourage new lower side growth, goatsweed, hot lemon and bishop cap are nice examples, i didn't have the same luck with the hab types - they seem to like branching from the top(or at least mine do), one of my gold bullet habs did nicely this way but all the rest, including fatalii have taken on more of a bonsai look.
i fart with mine older plants all the time. some plants do better when you snip the top to encourage new lower side growth, goatsweed, hot lemon and bishop cap are nice examples, i didn't have the same luck with the hab types - they seem to like branching from the top(or at least mine do), one of my gold bullet habs did nicely this way but all the rest, including fatalii have taken on more of a bonsai look.
I am limited with space for height while they are inside. I also want to try my hand at clonning. I thought that I could keep them under control and propagate my plants at the same time. They are about 6-12 inches in height right now. I am just waiting for night temps to rise above the 40's around here to be able to put them outside.