It’s essential to know when to start pruning your cannabis plants in order to ensure a healthy and bountiful harvest. Keep reading to learn more!
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Introduction
Most growers know that cannabis plants need to be pruned, but they may not know when to start pruning their plants. In this article, we will discuss when and why you should start pruning your cannabis plants.
Pruning is a process of removing leaves, stems, or branches from a plant. It is often done to improve the plant’s appearance or to encourage the plant to produce more flowers or fruit. When it comes to cannabis plants, pruning can also be done to improve the quality of the buds and prevent issues such as self-pruning (when the plant starts to grow new buds in response to being trimmed).
So, when should you start pruning your cannabis plants? The answer depends on what type of pruning you plan on doing. If you are doing basic pruning (removing leaves, stems, or branches), then you can start as soon as the plant has started to grow. However, if you are doing more aggressive pruning (such as topping or FIMing), then you will need to wait until the plant has started to flower.
Why do you need to wait until flowering to do more aggressive pruning? The reason is that aggressive pruning can shock the plant and cause it to go into survival mode. When this happens, the plant will focus on growing new leaves and stems rather than flowers and buds. As a result, your yield will be reduced.
So, if you want to maximize your yield, then it is best to wait until flowering before doing any aggressive pruning. However, if you are just looking to improve the quality of your buds or prevent self-pruning, then you can startbasic pruning as soon as your plants have started growing.
The vegetative stage
Pruning during the vegetative stage is mainly done to get rid of any dead or dying leaves, branches, or stems. It also helps to promote new growth, which can be good if your plant is looking a little bit unhealthy. You should do this type of pruning when your plant is in the vegetative stage, which is typically when it’s between 3 and 16 weeks old.
The flowering stage
The flowering stage is when your cannabis plants grow their intoxicating buds. For growers, it’s the most anticipated part of the cultivation process. But in order for your plants to produce the biggest, best buds possible, you need to give them a little bit of help — in the form of pruning.
Pruning is the removal of leaves, stems, and other parts of a plant. When done correctly, pruning can encourage even growth and improve air circulation and light penetration, leading to bigger, better buds.
So when should you start pruning your cannabis plants? The answer depends on the type of cannabis you’re growing and your personal growing style. In general, however, it’s best to wait until your plants have entered the flowering stage before you start pruning them.
There are two main reasons for this:
First, when your plants are in the vegetative stage (that is, before they start growing buds), they need all their leaves to produce energy through photosynthesis. Removing leaves during this stage can stress your plants and slow their growth.
Second, it can be difficult to tell which parts of a plant are safe to remove when it’s not in flower. Without flowers or buds, it can be hard to tell which stems are actually connected to the main Cola (the biggest, most potent bud on the plant) and which ones are just small side branches. You don’t want to accidentally remove any stems that are connected to the Cola!
It’s generally best to wait until at least week 6 or 7 of the flowering stage before you start pruning your cannabis plants. By this point, most plants will have developed enough that you can easily tell which stems are connected to the Cola and which ones aren’t. Just be sure to exercise caution — even at this stage, it’s possible to accidentally damage or remove buds that aren’t ready to be harvested yet.
If you’re unsure about how or where to start pruning your cannabis plants, there are plenty of resources available online and in horticulture books that can help you learn more about this important cultivation technique.
The ripening stage
Once your plants have entered the final stage of their life cycle, it’s time to start pruning. The amount you prune will depend on the size and number of colas (flowering buds) you want to produce.
If you’re growing for personal use, you may want to leave more flowers on the plant so you have a larger harvest. If you’re growing for commercial purposes, you may want to prune more heavily so each plant can devote more energy to producing fewer, larger flowers.
You can start pruning when your plants are in the ripening stage, which is typically about two weeks before they are ready to harvest. Start by trimming away any leaves that are yellowing or dying, as well as any that are blocking light from reaching the buds. You can also remove any small flowers that are not fully developed.
Conclusion
Pruning your cannabis plants is a great way to increase yield and improve the quality of your crop. However, it is important to know when to start pruning your plants. If you prune too early, you can damage the plant. If you prune too late, you will not get the full benefit of the pruning. The best time to start pruning your cannabis plants is when they are young and starting to develop their first set of true leaves.
