How to Prune Cannabis?
Pruning is beneficial to many plants on Earth. The cannabis plant is one of those plants. Proper pruning is essential to maximize the production and quality of cannabis harvests. Prune cannabis plant incorrectly or excessively can be harmful and even fatal to the plant.
The most essential advantages of pruning cannabis are outlined below. Cannabis producers need to know when to prune their plants to get the best yield. If pruning is necessary, what are the best methods to use? The most common mistakes people make when pruning cannabis plants are listed below.
We’ll go into more detail on each of those questions below.
Why Prune Cannabis?
Plants are pruned to improve airflow and light transparency. Some cannabis strains produce large fan leaves, while others do not. Fan leaves have no trichomes, whereas sugar leaves are heavily trichomes.
Pruning branches and leaves are less important for strains that don’t produce many fan leaves. Pruning is required for strains that have a lot of leaf growth. Too many fans leave on a cannabis plant can obstruct airflow and trap moisture inside the plant, breeding powdery mildew and other plant diseases.
Transparency of light is vital for cannabis plant growth. Light can help cannabis plants fight disease and ensure uniform growth in the inner and lower parts of the plant. Most importantly, light transparency increases bud count and uniformity of bud size.
Garden space constraints necessarily require cannabis pruning. In a small space, leaves can become pressed against walls, causing the same problems as leaves stacked on top of each other. For growers who want to remain anonymous, plants may need to be specific to avoid unwanted attention. It may be necessary to continue pruning as the plant grows.
When to Prune Cannabis Plant?
It’s critical to know when to prune your plants. Cannabis growers should avoid pruning their plants during the flowering season. The perfect time to prune cannabis plants is in the first week or two of the vegetative growth stage.
A cannabis plant produces new leaves during the vegetative stage but stops producing fresh leaves during the flowering stage. Fan leaves will grow in size but not regenerate. Remember that any leaf cut during the flowering stage will not regrow. It’s gone.
Fan leaves act as solar collectors for the cannabis plant, so cultivators must remove them with care. Fan leaves collect sunlight for photosynthesis. They also directly affect the plant’s size and health. Leaves should only be removed during the flowering phase if they show signs of disease, pest infestation, or limited space.
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How to Prune Cannabis?
“Selective leaf pruning” strategy is best to prune a cannabis plant. When pruning the plant, increasing light transparency and airflow in the middle of a cannabis plant is the ultimate goal. As a result, the best place to begin pruning is in the middle of the plant.
A fan or wind can be used to identify areas of the plant where large clusters of leaves are picking up the moving air. If they move like a sail, some fan leaves may need to be removed to increase air pressure to vulnerable areas.
Remove the lowest branches to prevent pests from infesting the growing medium. Removal of the plant’s lowest branches allows it to concentrate its energy on the upper branches, where most quality flowers are produced.
Large fan leaves pointing toward the middle of the cannabis plant should also be removed to improve light transparency. In the end, you want to ensure that as much of the plant as possible receives direct sunlight by having branches grow laterally rather than horizontally.
Pruning with strategic branches bracing results in a broad and densely populated plant with buds. As a result, bracing should be done carefully because branches break easily and often die.
Read more: How to Clone Cannabis?
Tips and Mistakes of Cannabis Pruning
Learning the art of cannabis pruning takes practice. Beginner cannabis growers will likely make a few mistakes that they can learn from. The most common mistake is pruning a cannabis plant during the flowering phase, but others to avoid.
The most common rookie cannabis cultivator blunder is stripping the plant of too many fan leaves. A cannabis plant’s fan leaves should not be pruned more than 1/3 of the time. Aim for short pruning sessions. Cultivators should only need to bulk prune a cannabis plant once or twice.
Pruning restrictions are not the same as picking dead leaves. Permanently removes dead or diseased leaves. Allowing a cannabis plant to remain in the vegetative stage longer than planned can help address over-stripping. Obviously, not everyone has that option, depending on the situation.