Training plants to grow horizontally is a task that you should know that there are easy ways to accomplish. Plants such as cannabis grow in several directions; one often prefers to grow them neatly and horizontally.
In this article, we will share our knowledge on what could be done to train the plant, along with some valuable hints on keeping them in shape.
Keep reading to learn about the various options to create a horizontal growth of the foliage quickly.
Contents
How To Train Plants To Grow Horizontally?
To train plants to grow horizontally you must create a horizontal visual effect, and aim to perform low-stress training, then bend the tying. Make sure you invest in the screen green method. Also, for some high-stress training, place some toppings and FIM or try defoliation or lollipoping.
You could also consider the task to grow cannabis plants, for example, in a horizontal manner by undertaking low-stress techniques or high-stress techniques. The steps in both procedures employ a combination of tying up the ends of the plant and diverting energy away from a dominant apical stem.
– Create a Horizontal Visual Effect
To have a successful garden design, such as for those similar to the cannabis plant, the way you want, you can create a horizontal visual effect. While most cannabis plants develop primarily in a vertical direction, you can add variety to your garden by growing plants that naturally spread outward in a horizontal direction.
You can accomplish this by raising some support structures that encourage plant growth in a vertical order, complemented with pruning techniques to create a horizontal effect, which is a great technique that may take a bit of patience, but it is surely one with a positive result.
In this regard, planting in drifts or clumps is used by experienced gardeners. What happens, in this case, is that they would begin to cluster the plants together to achieve a more impressive visual effect than if each plant stood independently.
When placed in drifts, plants of the same color provide a gentle horizontal flow to the garden bed or border, and they would grow in this sense.
– Low-stress Training
The concept behind Low-Stress Training, also called LST, is to mold your plant into a better shape in a non-damaging and gentle way. This can be accomplished by carefully securing the branches so that they grow away from the main stem in an outward direction. The LST is a swift way of a plant training technique that typically entails manipulating the growth of the main stem so that it develops more horizontally rather than vertically.
What would happen is that the lower branches are suddenly exposed to a significantly increased amount of grow light that would be subjected; hence, it starts to motivate them to thrive in the direction of the light vigorously. When to stop low-stress training depends on the shape you desire from your plant growth.
– Bending and Tying
The growth training techniques for different crops may vary; however, this method is a success for most species. You can slowly coax a plant to grow in a horizontal direction by bending the plant’s main stem slightly once per week. It’s a form of LST method as well, but in this case, you must tie the main stem down so that it points horizontally or towards the ground as it grows upwards towards a light source.
By the same token, as branches that have grown off of the main stem can start competing with one another for a better light source, these branches may also need to be secured. As a result, when this form is provided, you can create an even canopy, which means that if you desire a horizontal bushy plant, tie its lower branches down and keep them away from the main stem.
– A screen of Green Method
This is similar to the above-mentioned bending and tying; however, it is more straightforward as it is less time-consuming and provides the plant with superior support. All you need to do is put some netting around your plant and then thread each branch through the hole that corresponds to it. It is due to its simplicity and the short period of time that it needs, that it is often preferred for outdoor and indoor grow methods.
On this note, the netting will spread the branches out horizontally, preventing them from vying with one another for light. Thus, the light distributed throughout the canopy will be extraordinarily effective. Note that the netting holes should have a diameter of between four and six inches so that they would have proper growth, and you would see a good result.
– High-Stress Training
These techniques are distinct from those discussed above, as they carry a greater risk of damage to the plant. If you put your plants through a lot of stress, it will slow down their growth and the plant will need time to recover. However, if carried out accurately, they can significantly horizontally boost the plant’s development, and they would continue growing as such in the long run.
This given method is also known as super cropping, and what it does is that it maximizes the number of terminal buds produced by the plant by shifting energy away from the main central stem and toward the secondary branches.
The technique involves pinching the stem between the fingertips and bending it until the inner part of the stem breaks, and that is how you would have successful development.
– Topping and FIM
The method known as the topping is the least complicated way to train the plant, in which you prune it so that the new growth at the top is removed before it begins to flower. After some time has passed, the stalk will eventually break off in two directions, forming two other branches that are newly sprouting.
What you should do is remove the auxin hormones from the new growth so that the cause of this phenomenon, takes place. As a result, additional hormones will be directed toward the cutting, which will trick the plant into growing two or more branches at the location.
Note that the beginning of the vegetative growth phase is the ideal time to prune your plants by topping them. The fourth or fifth node is typically the one that is clipped off the most frequently.
Both topping and low stress training allow the height of the plant to be controlled, and they both result in bushier growth by stimulating the growth of lower stems to a greater extent to compensate for the absence of the central stem. How many times can you FIM a plant may be confusing in your mind, so we recommend not more than three times to reduce the stress caused on the plant.
– Defoliation
Another straightforward method is carried out toward the end of the plant’s vegetative stage of development. Getting rid of some of the plant’s leaves opens the plant’s interior, letting in more light and air, and the plant will start to bend and grow in a horizontal direction. Removing plant leaves helps direct the plant’s energy toward developing more significant bud sites.
This method can potentially deliver a significant amount of shock to the plant. Beware, taking too many leaves off at once can significantly slow the plant’s growth. The percentage of leaves that should be removed is proportional to the size of your plant; however, you can begin by taking off the bottom twenty percent of the plant’s leaves and observing how it responds, and then you may continue after seeing a proper result.
– Lollipopping
This is typically carried out during the middle to later stages of the flowering stage. The method involves removing or pruning off most leaves and stems from the bottom one-third of the plant. This is done because the available light intensity decreases proportionally as the distance from the light source increases.
When the lower branches and leaves are pruned away from the plant at a point roughly in the middle of the flowering period, the plant will be encouraged to direct its energy into the upper flower sites, increasing the size and weight of those flowers.
Conclusion
You now know how to train plants to grow horizontally.
Here is a quick summary of all that we learned in this article.
- It is possible to grow plants horizontally using either low-stress or high-stress techniques. The procedures are similar in that the steps involve tying up the ends of the plant and redirecting the plant’s energy away from a dominant apical stem.
- The LST plant training technique generally entails directing the growth of the plant’s main stem so that it develops more laterally than vertically.
- This high-stress technique, also known as super cropping, increases the plant’s total number of terminal buds by redistributing the plant’s energy away from the primary central stem and toward the secondary branches.
After reading about the techniques for training plants to grow the way you want, you can easily undertake the process. So wait no longer and get started with the essential tools to undertake the steps mentioned.
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