# FIM

> FIM is a training cut that pinches off most, but not all, of a plant's newest growing tip, often producing three or four new main shoots instead of one.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fim.html
- Also written: FIMing, FIM'ing, fimming, F.I.M., f*** I missed
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

FIM (named from the grower joke "f*** I missed", from an attempt at topping that left part of the tip) is a technique where roughly 70-80% of the newest shoot at the very top is pinched or cut off, leaving a small part of the [growing tip](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/apical-meristem.md). The damaged tip often regrows as three or four shoots rather than the two from a clean top.

## In practice

FIM is done on the newest, still-folded growth, not the stem below it. Results are inconsistent: sometimes four [tops](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/top-shelf.md), sometimes one or two, sometimes a stunted cluster. It recovers faster than topping because less tissue is removed, and the plant keeps more height. Many growers combine FIM with [LST](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/lst.md) to spread the new tops out.

Evidence for FIM is almost entirely grower experience; there are no controlled cannabis trials comparing it with topping.

## Don't confuse with

- **Topping**: a clean cut through the stem above a node; reliably gives two tops.
- **Pinching (other crops)**: a general term; in cannabis it usually means topping or FIM.

## Related terms

[Topping](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/topping.md), [Apical dominance](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/apical-dominance.md), [LST](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/lst.md), [Canopy](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md)

## Read more

- [FIM: pinching most of the tip for multiple tops](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/training/fim.md)