- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.
- Best For: Growers in small spaces or tents who want to control height and maximize light efficiency. It’s also great for auto-flowering strains.How to Do It: Use soft plant ties or rubber-coated wire. Gently bend the main stem over to a near 90-degree angle and secure it to the rim of your pot. As side branches grow upwards towards the light, continue to tie them down and away from the center.
Screen of Green (SCROG): The Ultimate Canopy Control
What it is: SCROG is an advanced form of LST that uses a horizontal screen or net placed above the plants. As branches grow up through the screen, you gently tuck them back underneath, weaving them through the openings. This creates an incredibly flat and wide canopy, turning the entire surface area into a field of top-quality colas.
- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.
- Best For: Growers in small spaces or tents who want to control height and maximize light efficiency. It’s also great for auto-flowering strains.How to Do It: Use soft plant ties or rubber-coated wire. Gently bend the main stem over to a near 90-degree angle and secure it to the rim of your pot. As side branches grow upwards towards the light, continue to tie them down and away from the center.
Screen of Green (SCROG): The Ultimate Canopy Control
What it is: SCROG is an advanced form of LST that uses a horizontal screen or net placed above the plants. As branches grow up through the screen, you gently tuck them back underneath, weaving them through the openings. This creates an incredibly flat and wide canopy, turning the entire surface area into a field of top-quality colas.
- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.
- Best For: Beginners who want a simple, effective way to create a bushier plant with more main bud sites.How to Do It: Wait until your clone has 5-6 nodes (sets of leaves). Using sterile scissors, snip the newest, topmost growth right above the next set of leaves.
Low-Stress Training (LST): Bending for Better Light
What it is: LST involves gently bending the main stem and side branches downwards and tying them in place. The goal is to create a flat, even canopy where all the bud sites are at the same height, ensuring they all receive equal and optimal light.
- Best For: Growers in small spaces or tents who want to control height and maximize light efficiency. It’s also great for auto-flowering strains.How to Do It: Use soft plant ties or rubber-coated wire. Gently bend the main stem over to a near 90-degree angle and secure it to the rim of your pot. As side branches grow upwards towards the light, continue to tie them down and away from the center.
Screen of Green (SCROG): The Ultimate Canopy Control
What it is: SCROG is an advanced form of LST that uses a horizontal screen or net placed above the plants. As branches grow up through the screen, you gently tuck them back underneath, weaving them through the openings. This creates an incredibly flat and wide canopy, turning the entire surface area into a field of top-quality colas.
- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.
- Best For: Beginners who want a simple, effective way to create a bushier plant with more main bud sites.How to Do It: Wait until your clone has 5-6 nodes (sets of leaves). Using sterile scissors, snip the newest, topmost growth right above the next set of leaves.
Low-Stress Training (LST): Bending for Better Light
What it is: LST involves gently bending the main stem and side branches downwards and tying them in place. The goal is to create a flat, even canopy where all the bud sites are at the same height, ensuring they all receive equal and optimal light.
- Best For: Growers in small spaces or tents who want to control height and maximize light efficiency. It’s also great for auto-flowering strains.How to Do It: Use soft plant ties or rubber-coated wire. Gently bend the main stem over to a near 90-degree angle and secure it to the rim of your pot. As side branches grow upwards towards the light, continue to tie them down and away from the center.
Screen of Green (SCROG): The Ultimate Canopy Control
What it is: SCROG is an advanced form of LST that uses a horizontal screen or net placed above the plants. As branches grow up through the screen, you gently tuck them back underneath, weaving them through the openings. This creates an incredibly flat and wide canopy, turning the entire surface area into a field of top-quality colas.
- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.
Ready to take your yields to the next level? Training your plants during the vegetative stage is the key to breaking away from the classic “Christmas tree” shape and creating a wide, even canopy where multiple bud sites can thrive. Here’s a look at three popular techniques.
Topping: The Simplest Way to Double Your Colas
What it is: Topping is simply cutting off the very top shoot of the plant. This removes the “apical dominance,” which signals the plant to stop focusing on one main stem and instead grow the two side shoots below the cut into two new main colas.
- Best For: Beginners who want a simple, effective way to create a bushier plant with more main bud sites.How to Do It: Wait until your clone has 5-6 nodes (sets of leaves). Using sterile scissors, snip the newest, topmost growth right above the next set of leaves.
Low-Stress Training (LST): Bending for Better Light
What it is: LST involves gently bending the main stem and side branches downwards and tying them in place. The goal is to create a flat, even canopy where all the bud sites are at the same height, ensuring they all receive equal and optimal light.
- Best For: Growers in small spaces or tents who want to control height and maximize light efficiency. It’s also great for auto-flowering strains.How to Do It: Use soft plant ties or rubber-coated wire. Gently bend the main stem over to a near 90-degree angle and secure it to the rim of your pot. As side branches grow upwards towards the light, continue to tie them down and away from the center.
Screen of Green (SCROG): The Ultimate Canopy Control
What it is: SCROG is an advanced form of LST that uses a horizontal screen or net placed above the plants. As branches grow up through the screen, you gently tuck them back underneath, weaving them through the openings. This creates an incredibly flat and wide canopy, turning the entire surface area into a field of top-quality colas.
- Best For: Experienced growers looking to achieve the absolute maximum yield from a small number of plants.How to Do It: Set up a screen (typically with 2-4 inch squares) 8-12 inches above your pots. As the plant grows, guide the branches through the screen, filling out the entire area before you switch to the flowering light cycle.