Tips for Advanced Cannabis Gardeners: Pruning and Training to Optimize Cannabis Plant Growth and Harvest

Tips for Advanced Cannabis Gardeners: Pruning and Training to Optimize Growth and Yield in Cannabis Plants

In this guide, we'll show you how to use various techniques such as pruning and training the lower parts of the plant, topping, fimming, LST, and supercropping.

Each cannabis strain has unique growth characteristics, so it's crucial to adapt appropriate techniques to suit your needs. These methods help control plant growth, maximize yield, or ensure uniform cultivation when needed, especially when growing multiple strains simultaneously.

Why should you train or prune cannabis plants, and what's the best way to do it?

This question is of interest to many home gardeners. This is especially true when optimizing the growth of a specific cannabis strain to achieve the best possible yield in a small space or to ensure uniformity in a crop with many different strains. The most appropriate training or pruning technique is chosen depending on the genetics and the gardener's goal.

Each technique within the cannabis community is suited to specific genetic traits. Therefore, when choosing a cannabis strain(s), you should consider not only personal preferences but also the growing conditions.

The techniques described are very useful for both indoor and outdoor cultivation.

In this guide, we will show you how to apply various techniques such as pruning and training the lower parts of the plant, topping, fimming, LST, and supercropping.

These methods are well suited for feminized and regular strains. However, LST is especially recommended for autoflowering strains, as their short life cycle usually does not allow sufficient time for recovery after applying pruning techniques. It is also not advisable to use pruning techniques when planting feminized or regular seeds outdoors late in the season, as the plant structures will no longer have enough time to develop sufficiently.

Pruning the Lower Branches of the Cannabis Plant

Pruning the lower branches is one of the most commonly used pruning techniques in cannabis cultivation. It allows you to direct the plant's full strength to the upper part, thus maximizing the yield of each individual plant. This technique also optimizes production and prevents scattered and uneven flowering, which can occur when light is poorly distributed to the lower part of the plant.

Topping Cannabis Plants

Topping is a widely used technique that can be used effectively in both indoor and outdoor cultivation. This method helps control plant height, making optimal use of available growing space and allowing for greater discretion outdoors.

Topping involves removing the top of the plant with small scissors or a cutter. It is important to thoroughly disinfect the tool to avoid stress or disease in the plants. It is crucial to perform topping carefully and to pay attention to the plant's growth: The plant should be sufficiently developed, but still have enough time to develop the newly directed energy in the desired parts.

It is recommended to perform the topping cut approximately 5-10 days before switching to the flowering phase, when the lighting regime is 12 hours dark and 12 hours light. This should be done before the "stretch" phase begins. This gives the plants sufficient time to adapt to the structural changes caused by the technique.

This procedure causes the plant's auxins (auxins (ancient Greek: αὐξάνω auxánō "I grow") are a group of growth regulators. They affect growth and differentiation processes in vascular plants. Naturally occurring plant auxins are phytohormones) to shift, which promotes the growth and development of side shoots. This promotes growth and improves production. Additionally, this method is often used to maintain a mother plant.

Fimming or FIM in the Cannabis Plant

Topping vs. Fimming

The main difference between fimming and topping is that fimming leaves approximately 30% of the main stem. This allows the plant to focus on the growth of the lower shoots. Interestingly, the term fimming originated from a botched topping attempt.

Growers who accidentally failed to remove the top shoot would often say, "Fuck, I missed," and from this, the word fimming evolved. This word has now become an integral part of the cannabis vocabulary and is known worldwide.

The approach is to trim the tips of the shoots, but not the entire main stem. A small section is left to recover and develop new shoots, which can then produce flowers.

It is recommended to remove about two-thirds of the new shoots a few days after at least one new pair of shoots has formed.

How does fimming work in cannabis plants?

Fimming in cannabis temporarily interrupts the rise of auxin, which is responsible for vertical growth. Within about 5 to 7 days, the plant begins to recover and grow vertically again at the point where fimming occurred.

During the vegetative phase, the growth structure of the cannabis plant changes. It appears stronger, denser, and more compact. The energy that would otherwise be directed toward vertical growth is now used to promote the lower branches and new shoots, resulting in remarkable growth in these areas.

Unlike topping, which permanently interrupts apical dominance (apical dominance is the suppression of side shoot growth by the main stem in plants) and results in shorter plants, the plant can resume normal growth about a week after fimming. One advantage of this easy-to-use method is that it can be repeated several times until the light is switched to the flowering phase 5-7 days after the last fimming.

This technique is also excellent for preserving mother plants.

LST: Growing Cannabis through Low Stress Training

Low Stress Training (LST) is a cannabis cultivation technique that aims to control the shape of the plants to produce more yield. This method is straightforward and can also be a lot of fun.

Whether you're an experienced gardener or a novice, you probably know that cannabis plants tend to develop larger flowers at the top and smaller buds at the bottom. This phenomenon occurs not only in cannabis, but also in many other flowers, fruits, and vegetables cultivated around the world.

Over the years, gardeners have developed and tested methods to increase the yield of their crops through simple training techniques. A fundamental aspect of this training method is already evident in the name LST. "Low Stress" is distinguished from "high stress" techniques, such as cutting the main stems.

This not only prevents your plant from becoming overly stressed, but also allows it to recover faster and adapt better to more severe changes. LST eliminates the need for cutting or trimming, although this method is often used in combination with more intensive techniques.

Although this method requires some tools, we strongly recommend not using conventional wire to tie plants. Regular string or wire is often too thin or rough and can damage the plant's branches by cutting into them. It's much better to use suitable plant twine or specially coated plant wire (bending wire) to avoid damage.

Maintaining and Shaping Your Cannabis Plants with LST

With low-stress training (LST), it's important to regularly maintain the flat canopy so that no branch grows higher than another. When shaping the plants, you should bend the branches outward and away from the main stem.

This process is basically quite simple. However, it's helpful to have a firm idea of the desired shape rather than proceeding spontaneously. While improvisation can certainly work, beginners should follow a basic plan to avoid unwanted incidents.

Mishaps can always happen. For example, if a branch breaks while bending. But don't worry! Plants are more resilient than you might think, especially cannabis. If a branch isn't completely broken, you can stabilize or repair it with some tape. The healing process takes about a week. No need to worry!

It's important to note that LST (Low Stress Training) isn't a one-time application. This method requires regular adjustments on your part. This is because your plant will continue to grow, no matter what shape you've trained it into. Over time, the shoots will grow and the leaves will become larger. Therefore, you'll need to continually adjust the branch bends to ensure a uniform and level canopy.

Application areas for Low Stress Training

Some people think that LST is only suitable for indoor cultivation, but this isn't the case! It's important to know that plant training isn't a new technique and was originally used outdoors.

If you live in a cooler area, such as Northern Europe, LST outdoors could be an effective method for you to optimize yields during the summer season, even if you don't have much sunlight.

LST can also be helpful for keeping cannabis plants unobtrusive outdoors. A plant tied for a lower growth profile can not only produce better yields but also be less noticeable than a tall cannabis plant growing in the shape of a typical Christmas tree.

When to Start Low Stress Training

Start Low Stress Training (LST) as soon as your plant enters the vegetative phase. At this point, it's ready for this technique. Make sure your plant has already developed a few nodes before you begin. Nodes are the areas on the stem where leaves grow. Don't wait too long to perform LST.

The only truly unfavorable time is during the flowering phase. During this phase, the branches are too rigid to bend, which can lead to the breakage of a flower-bearing branch. Therefore, it's better to start LST early to avoid such risks.

Low Stress Training (LST) for Autoflowers?

The latest generation of autoflowering strains are certainly suitable for LST. However, keep in mind that autoflowering plants grow quickly and don't require a modified light cycle to begin flowering.

With Low Stress Training (LST), they can still optimally benefit from the available light, as this method doesn't cause significant stress and doesn't require recovery time. While older autoflowering strains may not have responded well to LST, the current generation is better prepared.

LST can actually be an excellent way to increase the yields of your autoflowering plants! Since most autoflowering plants flower naturally after about four weeks, you should start as early as possible to achieve optimal results.

Our top three autoflower favorites for low-stress training are Amnesia Haze Automatic by Royal Queen Seeds, Mexican Airlines by Fast Buds, and Auto Skywalker Haze by Dutch Passion.

Why supercrop cannabis? (HST: High Stress Training)

Supercropping is an intensive high-stress training technique in which branches are compressed and bent to damage the inner cellulose fibers while preserving the outer layer.

Although this may seem counterintuitive at first, the plants actually benefit from this stress by growing stronger and flowering better.

As a natural response to predators and other stressors, female plants produce trichomes with increased cannabinoid and terpene content.

It is believed that the damage caused by the home gardener during supercropping activates the plant's defense mechanisms. This causes the plant to absorb more nutrients, which promotes its growth.

How, when, and why should growers supercrop?

Home cannabis growers are constantly looking for ways to increase their harvest. When done correctly, supercropping can not only increase a plant's production potential, but also improve its resin production and potency.

The supercropping method is gaining increasing popularity among home growers. It involves gently kinking the fibers at the tips of the main branches without breaking them.

The outer membrane should be left intact, as damage could weaken the plant. A botched procedure that results in a large tear risks the death of the affected part of the plant. Therefore, supercropping requires a great deal of care, patience, and patience.

The goal is to limit the vertical growth of the tips in the upper parts of the plant and instead encourage lateral growth so that lower branches can grow upward. This promotes a uniform flower structure and can significantly increase plant yield.

Next, you should pinch the tips to encourage outward growth. This method can be used generally to maximize yield or in specific situations, such as with overly tall plants located near a light source to prevent burns, or outdoors to reduce height and thus visibility.

How to Supercrop

• Identify: Select the branches to be worked, ideally during the vegetative stage of the plant.
• Prepare: Find the right spot, about 10-20 cm below the tip of the branch.
• Pinch: Apply gentle pressure with your fingers until the stem gives way but does not break.
• Bending: Gently bend the branch in the desired direction.

We offer a wide selection of cannabis plants in our online shop, so you're sure to find a suitable strain for your preferred technique.