I grew 4 autos outside last year I have to much light pollution to grow photos out there.
Just about to start some inside shortly. I was under the impression topping was not recommended for autos but I think I am going to experiment after seeing that fruitcake beauty.
I have been an auto grower since the release of “Lowryder” and since then there has been many improvements to autos.
I guess to some people autos aren’t their bag or they haven’t tried growing them.
The myth that you can’t Top, fim,LST, HST,Defoliate, SCRoG etc is not true but selecting the right autos, is also the key.
I used to hear that you shouldn’t do this or that or you would ruin your plants all the time!
I guess I am a rebel and I never listen to people telling i can’t do something, I just go ahead and try it, if it doesn’t work then that is something I will have learned by actually testing it for myself!
Going back about a decade I was a member/moderator of a large international seed house and I as far as I can ascertain was the first to SCRoG and defoliate an auto (scoured the interweb) and of course I had people coming to my journal telling me I couldn’t from people who had never even tried to do it!
I have also been a member of two Autoflower forums and still am to this day!
One is the main Autoflower forum on the web and another is a closely associated but independent private forum/seed breeders.
Spirit walker and Ruby come from the private forum/breeders.
If you want to top,fim,manifold/mainline autos then stay away from the really short/stealth plants like Sin Tra Bajo auto,Royal Dwarf Auto,Little Dwarf Auto etc you get the idea, always check the stats for height!
There are some quite tall autos Flash Seeds produce quite a number of what is referred to as Super Autos, which can get very tall.
My Critical Orange Punch from dutch Passion is a typical sativa and is in a solo cup and nearly 4 feet tall (120cm).
It is better to stick to a hybrid strain with a decent amount of indica to keep them chunky.
Topping is generally best at the 5th internode and if mainling/manifolding then 2nd internode is the one to choose. I have friends who mainline/manifold autos with some nice results, not something which I have done but plan to in the future.
I have over the years developed my own auto dwarfing method (not used on the solo cups) but fruitcake was dwarfed!
I do it by transplanting at sex (people say not to transplant autos too) when transplanting autos, you either has to do it gently so as not to shock the plant or know when to do it and why!
I use transplant shock to my advantage, As I mention I transplant at sex and do it nice and roughly, this causes transplant shock just at the moment the plant is going into stretch. The transplant shock at sex stops stretch in its track as the energy goes to the roots, to deal with the stress there. The plants then go on with their lives but nice and short which is great because there is no inverse square law effect on the plant because all the buds are at the same height.
There are other factor to my method but I’ll save that for another day as this is already a fairly lengthy reply.
Why not give Fruitcake a go or Sticky Fingers, I had a pal who grew the photo version of Fruitcake and had it tested and it came back at 27% THC, now that’s an strain worth extracting!
Bruce Banner auto. Seed planted May 1st (60 days ago):
This pic was taken with a different camera two days ago. The same Bruce Banner is in the foreground on the right, Trainwreck is on the left, and the towering cola in back is Strawberry Cheesecake (WW x Cheese x Chronic). The latter was a freebie! This is my first time growing on my own and I figured a crop of autos was a good way to dial in my system. I still can’t believe my state government issued me a license to do this legally!
Will be chopped by end of the week, trying something to kick in color. Cut collar around base of stalk and peel it away…I have read this is how they got the Acapulco Gold that color. Sativa leaning plant is Black Pearl and I have seen an example that was black with those shredded cheddar hairs. The other two are Ace Panama Red…
Doesn’t ring barking a plant stop its system from functioning. I thought they use the outer sheath to transfer nutrients/hormones/water/whatever down the plant. It may just have the same effect as letting the pots dry out while the plant is still in them maybe?
I did one Panama Red and my Black Pearl after we talked about this. Normal last feeding water only, should be dry by Wednesday eve.
Black pearl may go this way…,
Damn thats a dark bud
They are all looking great and yeah, that is super dark. Nice
thats dark dankness ! wow 
Wow i though “fry” was the new “in” word so appropriate 
Looking very white!
That’s pretty tasty looking I’d the OH.
