How can you improve the yields of your marijuana plant? Prune your plant strategically; the key to bigger and healthier buds. Though essentially, pruning means cutting off parts of your plant, but it is not all this simple. You have to chop of your plant in a certain way to enjoy the benefits of . And if you deviate from what is recommended, you may end up damaging your plant.

Simple Pruning

As already mentioned, the most basic way to prune is to chop off some parts of your plant in certain specified ways. For instance, if the bottom leaves have turned yellow, you can prune them. You plant can use resources consumed by those dry leaves elsewhere.

Topping

If you chop off the uppermost part of the main stem of your marijuana plant, it is referred to as topping.  The benefit of doing this is that your plants can then develop several more branches from that same place. Growth is then bushier, and more sunlight is taken in by the plant.  The plant also absorbs more nutrients, all of which lead to quicker growth and more buds.

As a rule of the thumb, you should top your marijuana pant after 4 to 5 set of leaves have emerged. You can also top multiple times, but make sure you give the plant enough recovery time.

Fimming

If you cut off the latest shoot which your marijuana plant has developed, it is called fimming. The output is that now your plant will four primary buds, and not the standard one. Your plant will also become wider than a normal plant, which again means that it can take in more light.

Please bear in mind that if you cut off the newest stem more than necessary, your plant will only grow two buds. We suggest that you should only cut off the stem to around two-thirds of its original length. For some marijuana plants that have a slow recovery process, fimming is not recommended.

Super Cropping

Super cropping is a pruning method in which you bend the interior of your marijuana shoot. Generally, it is the middle stem that is super cropped, but the same technique can be applied to branches as well. The advantage is that the health of your plant improves, because are transported more efficiently.

LST

LST is an abbreviation for Low Stress Training. In this method, you tie your plants in a specific manner. Your marijuana plant then assumes that it does not have a middle stem, and becomes denser in some other parts.

Lollipopping

If you remove base growth of your marijuana plant, the process is called lollipopping. The base of your plant is shaded, and not very useful, so cutting it off is a good idea. It allows the plants to use resources more optimally, and also improves air circulation.

So try out some and all of the above pruning methods, and watch as your marijuana plant healthier and faster.

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Marijuana is more than just marijuana. It comes in different genders, strains, and genetic combinations. Understanding the background and genetic details of your particular marijuana plant is critical to ensuring their ideal growing environment. Keep reading to learn more about the different types of marijuana plants.

Cannabis Sativa

This seems to be the most commonly smoked strain of marijuana. Cannabis Sativa plants are known for their tall height (up to 15 feet tall) and long, narrow leaves. Cannabis Sativa plants grow well outdoors, and they take a while to get from the vegetative phase to the flowering phase.

Cannabis Sativa is native to places lower than 30 degrees North in latitude, such as in Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria, Thailand, or India. Sativas generally are higher in THC rather than CBD, which is part of the reason they are more popular for recreational smoking. They also have medicinal benefits, of course, including working well to treat depression, ADD, fatigue, and mood disorders.

Cannabis Indica

Cannabis Indica is better known for growing into bushier, shorter plants (as compared to Cannabis Sativa). They grow to about 3 to 6 feet tall, and their leaves are rounded and wider. Indicas are often preferred when growing indoors, due to their shorter stature.

Cannabis Indicas are native to locations above 30 degrees North in latitude, including Lebanon, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Nepal. Indicas cause a more sedating effect on the smoker, relaxing the user because of its high levels of CBN. It is known for helping with insomnia, pain, muscle relaxation, muscle spasms, anxiety, headaches, and migraines.

Cannabis Ruderalis

This is an entirely different strain with no psychotropic effects. It is used exclusively for breeding purposes, helping breeders change the genetic code of their ideal strains by breeding ruderalis plants with indicas or sativas.

Ruderalis plants have a fast that starts early, making its genetics useful for more northern climates. They are also smaller, reaching only about 25 inches in height.

Industrial Hemp

This plant is actually a kind of Cannabis Sativa strain, but it is used specifically for using its derived products for industrial purposes. It grows extremely fast and has been used for its fibers for 10,000 years.

This was a huge cash crop in the United States until 1937 when it was banned. Its THC content is very low, and therefore it doesn’t really do anything if you smoke it.

Hybrids

Marijuana cultivators love to play around with genetics, and they do this by creating hybrids. Hybrid marijuana plants strategically combine sativas, indicas, and ruderalis plants to produce the best of all worlds. Hybrids can be sativa-dominant or indica-dominant.

Males, Females, and Hermaphrodites

Male and female marijuana plants are extremely important. If you are breeding, the males will be of use. If you are getting solely for the highest yield possible, then you don’t need the males at all and should focus only on the females.

Hermaphrodites (containing both male and female sex organs) are also naturally occurring, thoughfairly rare. They can fertilize themselves – which can be either useful or unhelpful.

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Anyone who is growing marijuana is going to be thinking about how to get the highest yield per marijuana plant. Some simply want to know what yield to expect because they like to plan ahead, while others just want more, more, more. Here’s what you can expect with regards to the yield of your marijuana plants.

Outdoor yields

If you are growing your marijuana outdoors in perfect conditions, you are most likely to achieve yields of 500 grams (17.5 ounces) of marijuana per plant. This can be helped along by germinating early (giving your plants plenty of time to grow as much as possible), as well as purchasing high-quality seeds from the get go. Remember, genetics are one of the most important factors in getting your marijuana plants to have a high yield.

Indoor yields

The yields of plants that are in an indoor growing environment are a little bit different, because of space issues but also because you have complete control over every aspect of your marijuana plants’ environment.

Lighting

Ultimately, everything comes down to the lighting in your grow room. Anyone who has ever grown indoors knows that this is what matters most in their setup. You can generally count on one gram of marijuana per Watt of light. That means a 400-Watt HPS grow light would give your plants 400 grams of consumable marijuana. If there are 1200 Watts, it’ll be more like 1.2 kilograms (42 ounces) of marijuana.

If you are growing in a hydroponics setup, however, then you can expect approximately a 20% higher yield. That is assuming you keep the pH and TDS levels (among other things) perfect throughout the growing season, of course.

Other environmental factors

Of course, it’s important to also pay attention to the other . Besides genetics (perhaps the most important of all), you need to make sure that you have enough space for your plants to grow, the right nutrient solutions for the different life stages of your plants, good air and air flow, the right temperature and humidity levels, and so on.

Screen of green

This method, also known as “scrogging,” involves topping your plants and then putting a screen approximately 15 inches above the tops of your plants, then tying the branches horizontally as they grow through. This creates a blanket of green foliage that is perfectly even.

Scrogging can be very useful in maximizing yield because, first of all, it doesn’t waste any light. The foliage at the top is thick and impenetrable, meaning there’s no light being wasted by hitting the floor.

Secondly, since all of the plants are equal in height, they all maximize the amount of light they get. Thirdly, pruning the branches below the screen will prevent any soft, fluffy buds from developing at all. Instead, your plants will focus their efforts and energy on the buds that are going to get fat and juicy.

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What Is Leaf Death?

Leaf death on your marijuana plants can come as a surprise, but you will know it’s coming. If you see discoloration (yellow, brown, gray, sometimes even red), and edges curling, the leaves falling off may soon follow. The key is to diagnose the problem as quickly as you can so you can set things right for your marijuana plant to continue to a healthy harvest.

If you have begun to notice the leaves on your marijuana plants start to die and drop off, there are three possible causes. It can be due to an unbalanced pH level, watering your plants too much or too little, or nutrient imbalances. The key to fixing the problem is diagnosing the problem, so begin by checking the pH levels in order to start determining what exactly is causing the leaf death on your marijuana plant.

The Causes of Dying Cannabis Crops

pH level imbalance

The pH level is more important than many new growers realize – it handles the intake of nutrients and water, and, therefore, has a strong effect on nutrient toxicities, deficiencies, and imbalances. In general, it’s always a good idea to check the pH levels when you see any problems with your marijuana plant.

The pH level is simply a measurement of how alkaline or acidic something is, measuring it from 0 to 14 – the higher, the more alkaline; the lower, the more acidic. Ideally, the water you feed to your marijuana plants should be a perfectly balanced level of 7. The soil also should have a balanced pH level, or as close to it as you can come.

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Measuring the pH level is fast and simple, and needs to be done with relative frequency. If it’s too high or too low, you can adjust it accordingly with natural supplements or a store-bought product such as pH Up/Down. If you need to lower the pH level, you can also simply whisk your water to increase the oxygen level and, therefore, the pH level as well.

If you have measured and adjusted the pH levels and the problems with dying leaves persist, then you know it isn’t a pH level issue. Keep in mind that the ideal range for absorption of nutrients is a level between 6 and 7 for soil systems and between 5.5 and 6.5 for hydroponic systems.

Watering Issues

Once you have established that the pH level is indeed not the problem, move on to find out if water is causing the leaf death in your marijuana plants. When assessing the watering of your plants, it’s important to take into account which growing medium you are using. If watering is the problem, then it probably has something to do with the drainage or the amount of watering.

To determine if you have been watering your plants too much or too little, you should make sure that roughly 20% of the water you give your plant is draining out. Once 20% has drained out, you can leave it until the soil is once again dry – then water it again with the same technique. To determine if the soil is dry enough for another watering, put your finger down until the soil reaches your top knuckle and feel if it is dry up to that point. If so, it is safe to water your marijuana plants again.

Hydroponic setups will not have overwatering issues, but they could “drown” if there isn’t enough water in the oxygen. If you are growing with a hydroponic system, try placing an air stone into the water to ensure that there is plenty of dissolved oxygen.

Another issue that can arise from poor watering, draining, or temperature maintenance is root rot. You will recognize it from the brown, mushy, smelly roots. Use a product like Aquashield to banish the root rot.

Nutrient Imbalances

Once you have established that pH levels and watering aren’t the cause of your plant’s leaf death and other health issues, it is safe to assume that the cause must be a nutrient imbalance. Whether it is a deficiency or toxicity of a certain nutrient, you will need to research the difference symptoms of different nutrient problems to determine what the cause is and how to fix it.

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