Pruning | Cannabis Training Explained

Pruning is something more than just a solitary training technique for cannabis plants

So, here we are; Gearing up for yet another cannabis training technique 🙂 Isn’t is awesome!

While the past articles have been fairly long and detailed, this particular post will not. We simply do not have as much information to cover and the overall concept is way more simple to encapsulate… All-in-all, this should be quick, fun and interesting – So let’s get to it!

Cannabis Plant Training Technique #6: Pruning

Pruning is something more than just a solitary training technique for cannabis plants, in fact, it is a method that can be combined with almost every other training technique to further improve the end results – Epic, right!?

Okay, so I know I might be getting a bit excited here… But bear with me, soon you will both share and understand my enthusiasm for pruning cannabis plants.

What is Pruning, And Why Do It?

Pruning cannabis is just like pruning most other plant species; The process involves removing foliage (this is the pruning part) from the plant, particularly below the main growth or canopy.

While it may sound like it could be deleterious, pruning cannabis plants can in fact promote some advantages such as:

Improved airflow beneath the canopy.
Reduced pest infestation opportunities.
No more scrawny “popcorn buds”.
Better photon penetration leading to larger and denser top colas.
The energy within the plant is focused on the remaining biomass making your buds more potent.

So, now that you can see how pruning can help your cannabis grow in a more controlled or “trained” fashion, let’s move onto discussing how it is done.

Note: Before we move on, I want to mention upfront that this article is not about discussing the process of “Fimming” or “Topping” cannabis plants. Given the aforementioned methods are more detail-oriented, I decided to write sperate posts for each – be sure to check them out!

When Is The Right Time To Prune Cannabis Plants?

This is a great question and one with a wide spectrum of answers. The truth is that there are many reasons why you would need/want to prune your cannabis plants, all of which can occur at different times during the plant’s growth cycle.

Most growers do their best to avoid pruning during the flowering cycle as there is usually a short stunting period that follows the pruning procedure, however, certain circumstances might call for drastic action, in which case pruning during the flowering period may be the best move.

How To Prune A Cannabis Plant

Albeit a simple concept, care should be taken while pruning your plants as the process can be damaging if undertaken incorrectly. Again, the concepts are relatively simple, so if you keep a few things in mind while moving forward, you should be fine.

First, we need to make sure that we have everything that we need to move ahead

Necessary Gear:

1 x Pair Of Pruning Scheers.
1x Pair Of Latex Gloves (Optional, But Recommended).

The Pruning Method:

How you go about pruning your cannabis plant really depends on why you are pruning in the first place, so I won’t go into too much detail here. Instead, I will rather run through some of the more important and/or general things to remember when pruning your plants.

Keep It Clean!

Plants can get infected if the wrong foreign bodies make it into open wounds, so, remember to keep your hands clean (latex gloves) and sterilize your sheers before you start pruning.

Stay Sharp!

I think that it goes without saying: You really should be mentally sharp when pruning your plants, because, you know, “dangerous tools” and such… So yeah, keep that in mind. But, this is not the point that I am talking about here…

What I want to highlight as important is: Keep your sheers sharp, at all times when pruning – This will ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible and will provide less opportunity for stress and infection after the pruning is all said and done.

Make Executive Decisions…

When you see some leaves on your cannabis plant that look a little sad, it might be time for you to make an executive decision: How far gone are these leaves? Would it benefit the plant more if the leaves were not there anymore, based on how much energy the plant needs to attempt to repair/sustain the damaged foliage?

If this is the case, then it is a prime target for pruning, of-course.

Let In The Light!

It’s no mystery that cannabis plants benefit significantly from appropriate exposure to the sun. With that said, pruning can further help this cause as growers can use the method to remove certain leaves that would otherwise hinder the ability for critical parts of the plant to receive direct sunlight.

An alternate way of managing and optimizing photon harvesting is by applying the LST training technique explained here.

Better Flow Bro!

Airflow below the canopy is a big deal and can be promoted by pruning off the right leaves – specifically the lower leaves located in places that would otherwise restrict the natural or synthetic flow of air from going all the way through.

Popcorn Buds..? What Popcorn Buds!!?

If you don’t like your plants to waste their energy by forming those pesky little popcorn buds we all know too well, then pruning is the answer. Pruning back the right branches lower down towards the base of the plant will prevent more insignificant buds from forming due to a shortage of exposure to sunlight – Instead, your plants will focus a small portion of their energy to heal the pruned site and all the rest on making your main buds more substantial and more potent!

No Vacancy, You Pest!

Pruning cannabis plants can offer yet another advantage in the sense that it lessens the available biomass for pests to seak out and infest. With that, it is also notably easier to maintain a more watchful eye on the remaining foliage after pruning has taken place.

Final Remarks

Be it a means to control pests, improve air-flow, limit photon blocking obstacles, or just to help keep those popcorn buds at bay; Pruning truly does offer many more advantages than one may initially consider, so perhaps you should keep this training technique in mind for your next grow!

Thanks for making it through yet another article about training cannabis plants 🙂 I hope that the information was interesting to read and that you find it useful in your garden!