LST is most commonly performed during the vegetative period when the shoots are pliable and the plant's growth can be more easily directed. For best results, always bend stems when they are young and flexible. Low-stress training methods, however, represent an ideal way to manipulate autoflowering plants and maximize their yield. Butwhen should I consider stopping this? The shorter life cycle also means you'll need to keep a closer eye on plants, adjusting ties and positioning more frequently to maximise results. 2023 Updated Guide, Can You Overdose On Weed? By flattening out the canopy, the entire plant also receives more light, promoting the growth of more buds and larger yields. Our website won't work without these cookies activated. I started LST right around week 3 and continue to tie these girls back and defoliate as needed to open up the inner part of the plant. Referring to a method of training Cannabis plants that causes very little stress, and allows a grower to manipulate the shape of their canopy at will. Using twine or thin metal wire works best and can be removed in an emergency. All these LST autoflower techniques require is a small time investment and some household objects. Then visualize the type of shape you would like your plant - it's best to stick to a simple cannabis bush for beginners. 24 Stop LST at first sign of flower. This natural formation tends to result in a single dominant bud at the top of the plant, which monopolizes nutrients and hormones, leaving smaller buds on the lateral branches. New York Marijuana Laws [2023], Is Weed Legal In Maryland? This core branch develops a large cola, with surrounding branches producing less impressive buds. Breaking the apical dominance of cannabis causes it to lose much of its signature shape and symmetry. Despite that, if it wasnt already clear, low-stress training autoflowers produce plants that are very atypical in appearance. Therefore functional cookies can't be disabled. It meant a few issues during the growing but on the flip side I have different phenos and they all smoke a little differently. The main idea is to keep all the stems about the same distance from the light. Greetings. 2. Regular wire or string should be avoided as it may cut into the stems as they grow, causing damage. Low stress training can begin once the plant is big enough to allow you to do so, and is most effective when the plant is young. When you start from the seedling stage, you will have a greater control over your plant. Watkins . Waiting until later in the vegetative or flowering cycle can become problematic as the stems and shoots can become too rigid to bend. Keep working around the plant, securing each main branch in place. L.S.T should be applied during the first 3-4 weeks of an autoflowering plants life cycle. Autoflowering cannabis plants grow rapidly as they do not require a change in light to commence flowering. Final Thoughts On Low Stress Training Plants Share this post. Should I Use Hydrogen Peroxide to Treat Cannabis Problems? Doing this avoids wasted energy on unimpressive lower buds and redirects it into cultivating juicy colas above the screen. Not bad for a few months' work! While it is entirely possible to combine HST and LST techniques, most growers feel far more comfortable taking the low stress option. Air pot users, feel free to skip this step, as your pots come ready for low-stress training autoflowers. By bending the tops, you open the lowers to more light. With only a handful of materials needed to implement LST, it really is as simple as it sounds. Link to post. How is low-stress training performed on cannabis plants? Even the most DIY-averse growers can increase their yields using our autoflower LST guides. Ready in a mere nine weeks, you'll have to be quick to get her branches tied down; but, with the right focus, she'll deliver a hefty haul of stoney buds. To allow more light to penetrate to the new growing bud sites, growers apply LST, Another reason why growers of weed are keen to embrace LST is the fact that it is an effective way of keeping the plants to a manageable and discreet height where they are less likely to be noticed by curious neighbors or passers-by. Garden centers carry plant wire and specially designed ties that wont damage stems. Before you even consider bending and shaping plants, ensure they are healthy and free of any deficiencies or pests. The likely results of using HST on autoflowers are severely stunted growth and correspondingly lower yields. Depending on your preferences, our own cookies may also be used to present you targeted advertisements that match your personal interests. So, as one branch stretches out above the others, adjust your plant ties to bring it back in line. Instead, LST for autoflowers makes gradual changes over time to your cannabis. This one is less of an issue for autoflowers, as youre not dealing with the most towering types of plants available. That being said, low-stress training can also be used during the flowering phase. However, they are rather brutal. Tie or clamp the highest branch so that the former top is suddenly at a lower level than the rest of the plant. Are you a fan of autoflower cannabis but wish they were a little more productive? He was one of the few hitters on the White Sox that actually provided some slugging when he was in the lineup. This technique involves gently tying down the growing tip of a cannabis plant. Having said that, LST works great throughout the cycle, but will have a lot less effect in the flowering stage than at the beginning. It is essential that you start any low-stress training as soon as possible. They sometimes wonder why bother training a plant. Continue by organizing your canopy by bending everything to the right places, especially the small new side branches that are now going to grow vertically. Regular wire or string should be avoided as it may cut into the stems as they grow, causing damage. Find out whether training autoflowers actually helps or deters growth. If you're looking for recommendations, the three strains outlined below all respond incredibly well to LST. Loop the string over and around the branch to fix it in place. While low stress training is, as it implies, "low stress", it isn't entirely stress-free. Also known as Kronic from The Cannabis Kronicles, Derek LaRose is a young ambitious cultivator and a staple educator for indoor cultivation. High stress training, on the other hand, includes topping, mainlining, and FIM trimming to achieve the same result. Create an account or sign in to comment. What materials to use for LST The technique provides the same benefits for autoflowering cultivars as photoperiodic ones - it can help spread and even out the canopy and encourage more abundant, denser colas. To force a cannabis plant to develop several impressive colas, you'll need to top plants during step 2 of our LST guide. You don't want to wait until the main stem is so stiff and strong that it is difficult to bend without breaking it. That being said, HST will push the potential of your plants to the limit, producing yields beyond that of LST. 5. I LST my plants up to the last few days. The Screen of Green or ScrOG setup is a slightly more advanced LST autoflower technique. Your cannabis should start to take on a star or spider shape when viewed from above. Also, don't neglect to prune, giving priority to the areas around the buds. Once the plants develop around 4-6 nodes, you can begin low stress training. Cannabis experiences an initial growth spurt that lasts for many weeks as it begins to blossom. Test the flexibility of the branches by slowly, gently bending them into place. Their inner node stacking may be pleasingly tight, but this also causes much-needed light from reaching the bottom of the canopy. The advantages of low-stress training autoflowers far exceed the largely superficial disadvantages. The more European LST style is pure LST without snapping off. Make sure you carefully bandage the damaged appendage, and in a week or so it should be good as new. Now its time to focus on pruning and upkeep. Is There a Perfect Autoflower Light Schedule? Cannabis plants are incredibly versatile, and by all accounts can take a fair amount of abuse. Youre almost ready to go out there and grow some seriously productive cannabis using low-stress training for autoflowers. Unless you are purposely growing your plants as low as possible due to stealth reasons outdoors, then we do not advise flowering plants with such a short height. We would like your permission to use your data for the following purposes: The functional cookies ensure that our website functions properly. Some of these methods involve crushing branches, snipping stems, and removing branches entirely. The main downside to low-stress training autoflowers is the increased time it takes to maintain your crop. With the advantages of low stress training clear to see, it's time to explain how and when you should start training your cannabis plants. This will give you the upper hand and allow you to control your plant height and growth structure with the intended results. Around a month into your plants' flowering season, autoflower low stress training often ends. The screen is then installed one of two ways. Youll likely find stray branches starting to grow past the others, so tie down any new growth to maintain an even canopy. The earlier you start to LST your cannabis plants, the better. This is known as the flowering stretch. Learn, share, and grow with our community, Hundreds of free guides, tutorials, and strain reviews, Culture, cultivation, and in-depth discussion, Join our highly active Social Media Community. Now is the time to stake your plants central stem for stability. These won't change the fundamental process outlined above, but will offer additional insight if you get stuck. The questions below are by far the most frequently asked, so we thought it would be a good idea to answer them in advance! For outdoor cultivators, it can help to keep a crop low profile. Keep branches strapped down, and stick to making regular, purposeful adjustments. L.S.Tis the art of lowering certain points of the canopy, in order to create a uniform, multi tipped canopy and to expose light to the inner parts of the plants. Applying plant training techniques at the right times, with the right cultivar can really increase the size of the canopy, the growth structure and overall yield. Vertical growth is inhibited, and the growth spreads to the side branches in response, encouraging bud sites to form in areas that would have otherwise been dormant. Start LST your autoflowers into the screen with the outer branches first. Cannabis Flowering Stage: The Complete Guide, First Signs Of The Flowering Stage: How To Recognize Budding Cannabis, How To Make Buds Bigger During Flowering Indoors: 8 Tips & Tricks. There really arent any significant drawbacks of low-stress training autoflowers. The cannabis plant begins to grow in a circular pattern rather than straight up. Get some tying materials to use on your plants. Plants undergoing HST experience slowed growth as they recover from the shock of damage. The cookies also ensure that we can see how our website is used and how we can improve it. Self-defence is about knowing your strengths, and celebrating your talents. Low stress training is a simple, low-impact approach to improving yields in virtually all types of cannabis plants. Shaping the rest of your plant isn't an exact science as there's no telling how fast a strain will grow and how it'll develop. It is possible to tie to all of the side branches with some cultivars, allowing for a very bushy and dense-growing autoflower. Topping supports our quest to break apical dominance, and only needs to be done once. The difference is youre creating a vertical screen of growth instead of a horizontal one. Not 100% buddy as I'm on my first grow but from what I gather you wait until stretch has finished roughly 1 inch of new growth a day. High-stress training techniques are highly effective and offer great results in the correct context. On the other hand, autoflowering cannabis plants can be topped but depending on how healthy your plant is, the stress caused by topping could stunt it or slow down growth for several days and some autoflowers take as little as 8 weeks from seed to harvest, so yes, you can top your plants but it can end up causing the opposite effect and stunt your plants, resulting in a smaller harvest so make sure to only top your plants if theyre 100% healthy! Once you unlock the full potential of your cannabis with this simple LST autoflower technique, youll never go back. You can usually successfully repair a snapped branch by quickly placing a patch of duct tape around the damaged area. All cannabis cultivars display a quality known as apical dominance regardless of individual strain characteristics. By checking this box you consent to Weedmaps' collection of your email address for the limited purpose of subscribing to Weedmaps' email communications. High-stress training methods can cause problems for autoflowering strains as their two-to-three month life cycle leaves little time to recover from damage. Cannabis plants tend to grow into a formation known as, , where the plant is bushier at the bottom and narrows to a single elongated. This stops the branch from moving back toward the center and supports the huge buds to come. Working with several cannabinoid-centric publications, he publishes a variety of digital content, supported by strong technical knowledge and thorough research. If you want to adopt HST techniques, now is the time. Low stress training is an excellent way to significantly reduce the final height once the plants have fully stretched after the first 3 weeks of 12/12. The last step in low-stress training autoflowers with a ScrOG is continuous maintenance. Touching the delicate buds, even inadvertently, can rupture resin glands on . If you have fabric or smart-style pots, just use a safety pin instead. When bending branches, do so carefully and slowly. Dense Nugs Guide: How to grow dense Buds? While you can gently bend and tie down long branches, there are other methods of carrying out low-stress training. Any means of creating a screen is fine as long as its sturdy and wont collapse midway through growing. Remember, even the smallest tweak could make for better light exposure and bigger buds. Another variant on the vertical ScrOG creates a cylindrical screen placed around a light. Flowering. LST causes so little stress that it can, in principle, be used throughout the culture. Damaging or Removing Parts of the Plant (in a Strategic Way) Topping & FIMing Manifolding Defoliation 3.) Get started early, and the reward is a motherload of buds! Top tips on low stress training autoflowering plants, Low Stress Training (LST) Autoflowering Guide, The Lifecycle of the Autoflowering Cannabis Plant, Fast Buds Wins the American Autoflower Cup 2023. Once the canopy is established, you'll want to maintain it all the way to harvest. If you notice a lot of stretching taking place regardless, its a sign your plants need more light. By carefully bending and tying cannabis plants, we can increase light exposure to bud sites that would usually be shrouded in darkness. These processes put plants through significantly more stress, and if not done correctly and at the right time, can end up doing more harm than good. Once your cannabis plants start to flower, they will grow incredibly quickly. Low stress training can begin once the plant is big enough to allow you to do so, and is most effective when the plant is young. 13 Other (please comment) Voting closed 3 6 6 comments Top Learn Step-By-Step to LST like a pro! If you want copious amounts of extra-resinous, extra-dense buds on the other hand, LST and autoflowers are the perfect match. Low stress training, or LST, is a training method that involves bending and tying stems and branches to encourage more efficient and productive growth from cannabis plants. But you can get creative. Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery admits he sometimes has to stop Ollie Watkins from over-doing things in training, with the striker so keen to continue his fine form. You also agree to Weedmaps' privacy policy All we are doing is guiding the plant to reach its full potential. No cutting off of the tips and no topping with scissors. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Stretching comes to an end after about a month, and the cannabis plants start to concentrate their energy on producing . This apical dominance won't do your plants any harm, but if we manipulate the canopy, flattening it out, the rewards are significant. Also, once the plant is one month into bloom, you should stop low-stress training on cannabis. Surely nature knows better than us? Sour Crack as well. LST is usually carried out during the vegetative phase while the stem and shoots are still pliable. Youll only need a few bits and pieces to start this LST autoflower technique. This technique basically consists of mutilating your plant, which is why its known as HST (aka high-stress training). In return, you get healthy, flourishing plants that deliver bumper harvests of dense, resinous buds. Although there is a complete lack of topping and chopping, LST does require continuous supervision. For best results, you'll need to check in on plants at least twice a week. You want to top plants down to the 5th or 6th node so your cannabis plant will focus essential resources on two growths rather than just the one. A community connecting cannabis consumers, patients, retailers, doctors, and brands since 2008. You don't need to plan anything and can just pull down the top that is getting the most light and see other branches stepping in! The LST technique can be used to reduce the height of marijuana plants that are getting too tall for your setup, or are growing taller than your other cannabis plants. It can also be used to help increase yeild. Low stress training is an incredibly beginner-friendly technique. Northern Lights Automatic (Zamnesia Seeds) feminized. Tip: try adding a bit of aloe vera to the interior plant to improve the chances of healing even further. Everything looks healthy and vibrant! The technique only needs to be applied once to be performed successfully. You will notice how the yield and amount of top buds are far superior on the plant that was tied down. Its not a bad idea to have some bamboo or stakes handy when low-stress training your autoflowers. The reduction in stretching achieved by low-stress training autoflowers leads to a flourishing plant with no branches competing for the light. In fact, it's an excellent technique to use if you live in colder climates. With some care and attention, its possible to double or even triple the number of buds your autoflower cannabis produces. Some autoflowers start flowering as soon as the fourth week, so get started as soon as possible. This means all plant parts receive equal light, eliminating the need for stretching. Bending & Securing Parts of the Plant Low Stress Training (LST) No-Technique Plant Training Supercropping Screen of Green (ScrOG) 2.) This is what you need on your shopping list: Start by carefully feeling how flexible the stem or branch is that you want to bend, so you know if you can work with it safely. It takes a little more setup but provides better results than low-stress training your autoflowers using the tie-down method. After topping, as the two main branches begin to develop, secure them like you would have done the main stem. Learn Now How to Deal with Grey Mold, How To Get Rid Of Fungus Gnats In Cannabis Plants, How To Get Rid of Spider Mites on Weed Plants, Discover How to Get Rid of Thrips Naturally, How to Fix Calcium Deficiency In Weed Plants, Preventing & Fixing Magnesium Deficiency in Cannabis Plants, Potassium Deficiency in Weed: Causes, Symptoms, And Treatments, How To Fix Phosphorus Deficiency In Weed Plants, Best Water For Cannabis Plants: Ideal PPM, pH & Temperature.