The most important thing in cannabis cultivation, whether indoors or outdoors, is undoubtedly the quality and quantity of buds produced per m² of area. One of the oldest garden tricks is the so-called topping, i.e. pruning the main shoot during the growth phase. This stimulates the shoots under the cut to grow faster and the number of shoot tips increases from one to up to five, depending on the plant species and genus.
When cannabis plants are topped, the plants put all their energy into the remaining top shoots and immediately start to develop several main shoots instead of just one. The topping technique can be used several times to grow bushy specimens from plants that grow taller.
When should cannabis plants be topped (pruned)?
Cannabis should be topped at least 4 weeks before the flowering phase begins. This gives the plants enough time to close the injury from pruning and develop new shoots before the 12/12 light cycle is initiated and flowering begins. Within 4 weeks, healthy cannabis plants will produce enough vigorous shoots to bear bountiful harvests. Automatic strains, i.e. autoflowering cannabis strains, should never be pruned, as they will start to flower on their own after 3-4 weeks of vegetative phase and topping will only result in meagre harvests.
Topping (pruning) cannabis and making head cuttings
There are several ways to make cuttings. In these illustrated instructions, the cuttings are produced with the help of a cutting system such as the CLONE-AIR Turbo hydroponic system. In such hydroponic cutting systems, the clones develop roots much faster than if they are produced in the conventional way. You can find more on the subject of cuttings here.
Before the scissors or scalpel are applied to the cannabis plant, the cutting system must first be prepared. To do this, fill the storage reservoir with water and mix this with Clonex (10ml Clonex per litre of water). Then the pump is left running for about an hour and the nutrient solution is then poured onto a pH value adjusted from 5.2-5.6. Clonex can simply be mixed with the water. If other rooting hormones are used, they should definitely be filtered beforehand so that no small solids clog up the system.
1. pruning
The first step is to find a suitable place for pruning. The cut head cuttings should have at least 2 nodes above the grow medium and the pruned plant needs 2 strong shoots as close to the cut as possible. The best results are usually obtained after 4-5 weeks of vegetative phase, but of course it always depends on the strain and the conditions when exactly the right time for topping is.
The plant before pruning
For pruning, it is best to use sharp plant shears or a special scalpel. The tool should be disinfected very well before use so that no germs can penetrate the cut. Then the upper shoot tip is carefully separated from the cannabis plant and immediately placed in water.
After pruning, in the picture on the right you can see the cut well
Two new main shoots will emerge on each side of the cut and all the shoots below will also get more energy and be able to produce more inflorescences. For more on pruning, see Topping and Fimming.
2. produce head cuttings in the hydroponic system
The cut clone must immediately be placed in a container with pH-neutral water so that it cannot draw air. Then the large leaves are removed. Above this, the cutting would only lose moisture while it has not yet formed roots and would have no energy to take care of them.
The next step is to prepare the lower part of the cutting so that the new roots can easily emerge. To do this, cut off the lowest shoot attachments with a sterilised razor blade or a scalpel; the new root system will later develop on these nodules. If the shoots are cut off at an angle, as shown in the lower right picture, a larger area is created that can later accommodate the clongel. In addition, the area around the trimmed shoot bases is scraped off with the blade so that the rooting hormone can also take effect there.
Next, the prepared cutting must be placed in a small container with Clonex and carefully moved around in it so that as much rooting hormone as possible is transferred to the cutting. 
the open spots. There must be enough Clonex in the glass so that the future root area is completely immersed. The cutting is then left in the Clonex for about 10 minutes. Then let the excess gel drip off and put the clone into the pot of the system. However, the cutting system should not be switched on immediately, otherwise the concentrated rooting hormone will be washed off. After about 10 minutes, the pump can be switched on and the lighting should also be started. For the first 2 days the system should be closed with the bonnet so that the cuttings do not dry out. As mentioned above, 10 ml of Clonex per litre of water should be added to the water. Through this, the new plants constantly receive a small amount of root hormones in addition to water and oxygen, which leads to a much faster formation of the first roots.
After about a week, the cuttings will have formed enough roots so that they can be transplanted. After transplanting, they should definitely be watered with a Root booster so that the root system has the best possible start.
