The Best Way to Prune Cannabis Plants: How to Do It Properly

Growing marijuana plants requires special care to get the best-quality final product. Proper pruning is one of the most effective techniques to control and direct the growth of cannabis. Pruning can help you control the size of your plant, delay the onset of flowering, promote lateral branching, or increase yield. Properly pruning marijuana plants removes unnecessary foliage, redirecting the plant's energy toward developing denser, larger, and higher-quality buds. It also improves plant shape, resulting in a more favorable microclimate by increasing air circulation and light exposure.

When it comes to pruning cannabis plants, many growers wonder: why, when, how often, and how much to prune? Cannabis cultivators know that learning the art of pruning plants is crucial to produce the heaviest, highest-quality harvests.

That's why our experts have created this guide to reveal the best strategies for successfully pruning your cannabis plants. In this guide, we will cover the reasons for pruning plants, the best times to prune, the best pruning ways, and tips to get the most out of your plants.

Why You Need to Prune Your Cannabis Plants

Pruning cannabis plants includes cutting small, specific parts of the plant to promote healthy growth. Simply put, pruning removes damaged and unproductive growth, as well as sections of the plant that block sunlight from reaching budding flowers. There are many reasons that cannabis pruning is an essential part of maintaining these plants. Some of the reasons include:

Increases Sun Exposure and Airflow: Successful pruning promotes greater air circulation and light exposure. This leads to a more vibrant plant and denser, cannabinoid-rich buds.

Promotes Growth: The removal of damaged and unnecessary growth allows the plant to redirect its energy into nourishing and strengthening its leaves, branches, and buds.

Boost Overall Plant Health: Pruning plants also protects against molds, pest attacks, and fungal and bacterial infections. Pruned plants look neater and beautiful.

Better Smoking Experience: If you plan to smoke your harvest, pruning will remove the tiny leaves that cause severe coughing and a generally unpleasant experience.

When to Prune Cannabis Plants

Pruning is carried out during the vegetative stage before the cannabis plant matures and becomes ready to flower. The vegetative stage is when the plant starts its fundamental growth. This growth stage lasts around 3 to 16 weeks for cannabis. At this stage, the plant is focused on producing branches and leaves instead of flowering.

Don't start pruning cannabis plants too early. Pruning plants while they're still a seedling hinders their growth. Before pruning, the plant should be well-established, with multiple sets of leaves, a sturdy stem, and a height of around 12 inches (30 cm). At this stage, focus on removing dead or yellowing leaves, which can deplete the plant's energy. If you want bushy, squat plants, keep the pruning process to a minimum.

Pruning during the early stage of vegetative growth will have little to no impact on flowering. Pruning mature plants when they're approaching the flowering stage is not recommended. At this later stage, heavy pruning can delay the flowering or prevent flowering entirely. However, sometimes growers may want to deliberately delay flowering, so strategic pruning can be beneficial.

Pruning During Flowering Stage

Pruning during the flowering stage should be done very lightly and minimally. One example of proper pruning during flowering is the removal of fan leaves that cover and shade healthy bud sites. Moreover, you can prune diseased, damaged, or dead plants in both vegetative and flowering stages. Yellow or brown plant tissues allow pests and invasive bacteria to thrive. Remove them immediately to prevent them from falling and being absorbed into the growing medium.

Also Read:When Should I Switch My Cannabis Plants from Vegetative to Flowering Stage?

How to Prune Cannabis Plants

The first step is to identify which parts of your plant are likely to continue thriving and which parts won't contribute to a healthy growth stage. Removing unnecessary leaves and shoots helps direct all energy to produce stronger top leaves and stems.

Cannabis Pruning Techniques

There are four popular techniques for pruning marijuana plants.

Topping: This method cuts the top of the main stem above the leaf node to break apical dominance. This promotes lateral branch growth, producing a bushier plant with numerous colas.

Fimming: This technique involves pinching or snipping off new growth at the tip of the main stem, leaving about 30% intact. Fimming encourages several new shoots to form from the main one. This pruning method increases yield.

Lollipop: It refers to removing branches and leaves from the bottom third of the plant and focusing its growth on top buds. After applying this technique, the plant shape looks like a lollipop, with growth at the top and bare stalks at the bottom.

Defoliation: The removal of large fan leaves increases airflow, light penetration, and nutrient distribution to lower sections of the plant.

Pruning Cannabis Plants Step-by-Step

What You Need: The process of cannabis pruning requires some high-quality pruning tools, including a sharp and clean pair of pruning shears, trimming scissors, and garden gloves.

Once you get your tools, follow this process to prune your plants properly.

1. Prune the main stem to produce a bushier, outward-spreading plant instead of a tall, vertical one.
2. Leave the top three nodes alone and remove any larger branches that block airflow or grow inward. These branches can obstruct the growth of surrounding branches.
3. To increase light availability, remove any fan leaves or branches that are obstructing light from reaching the plant's lower parts. This stage directs the plant's energy to the top branches, where bud sites benefit from more light and air.
4. Remove thick, misaligned branches and leaves. Make clean 45-degree angle cuts close to the stem to minimize the risk of infection and promote faster healing.
5. When pruning near buds, be more careful. Make a clean cut around where the buds grow, but don't cut them off. The goal is to allow energy to reach these buds for better growth without damaging them.
6. Cut any small, yellow, brown, or diseased plant tissue, especially the ones at the bottom, to prevent the spread of infection.
7. Shape your plant canopy. A well-shaped and even canopy increases air circulation and helps to prevent mold.
8. Maintain the ideal temperature, lighting, and humidity to help plants recover smoothly after pruning. Pruning for achieving higher yield with high THC levels is not a one-time process. Monitor your plants regularly and make adjustments with careful trimming as needed to ensure optimal light availability and circulation.

Read More: Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Cannabis

Cannabis Pruning Tips

• Always use high-quality garden tools, such as pruners, clippers, and scissors.
• Wear good garden gloves during the pruning process to prevent stickiness and reduce the risk of contaminating plants with dirt from your hands.
• Stop fertilizing a week before pruning plants and right after pruning to reduce shock risk.
• Do not remove too many leaves at once and spread out each pruning session one to two weeks apart. Excessive pruning might stress the plant and prevent bud development.
• Wait an extra week before cutting Indica varieties, which develop more slowly than Sativa.
• Aim to prune enough to improve airflow and light penetration without removing too much of the plant's structure.
• During pruning, take care not to damage the budding sites of the plant by cutting too close to them. Always leave some space around these areas to ensure they can absorb light and nutrients.
• Assess the plant's overall health before pruning. If the plant shows any signs of stress or nutrient deficiencies, let it recover first.
• Water your plants with an efficient drip irrigation system after pruning to relieve shock and promote growth.
• Lastly, avoid fertilizing right after pruning, but the plant's roots may benefit from a dose of vitamin B complex fertilizer.

The Bottom Line

Knowing when and how to prune cannabis plants for maximum harvests can make a huge difference in achieving a large, potent harvest. When growing marijuana plants, pruning is a vital practice to increase your plants' health, yield, and overall growth. Now you know all about pruning cannabis, it's time to give your plants some fringe. Remember not to rush and avoid excessive pruning, as it can stress your plants. Take this process slowly to learn how your plants behave. Implementation of the right pruning techniques with high-quality garden tools can help your plants grow stronger, reach their full potential, and produce the highest-quality buds.

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