When growing cannabis plants in a concealed space, such as indoors or on a condo balcony, it’s beneficial for the plant to stay under a certain height while also increasing the yield. There are few simple ways to train your cannabis plants or manipulate their growth for optimal size and harvest. The main techniques for training cannabis plants involve trimming of the tip of the stem and bending the stems in a low-stress way. These training methods make it easier for the plant to spread out as it gets bigger allowing it to receive more oxygen and light.
The popular cannabis training technique of cutting the main stem of the plant when the plant is young is called main-lining or manifolding. It involves trimming the main stem after it has developed 4-6 sets of leaves right above the top set of leaves. When the plant is split this way, it removes the plant’s tendency to focus its growth on the main stem. By training it to grow differently, it will produce many long and thick bud-carrying stems called colas instead of just one. You want to do this until you have eight colas originating near the bottom of the plant and ready to all grow together.
Once you have your main colas ready for growth, you’ll need to bend down any ones that get taller than the others. Bend it down and away from the base of the plant in a direction that receives light and doesn’t have any other buds growing in that area. This is a good way to fill up any holes in the canopy that are lacking a cola. To secure the stem in this new location, use something such as plant twist ties and tie it off to either the growing container or another stem. Each cola should have at least 2-3 inches of empty space around it.
These easy tips for training a cannabis plant can greatly increase your yield and can also shorten the vegetative state of your plants so that you can harvest them early.
