Pruning/Training for long skinny buds

[chiqo76]

Im new here and I have a question. Its for a friend he grows, not me... Ive searched here and on diffrent forums on this subject but could not find a clear answer.

My friend has limited grow space, about 32"Lx19Dx38"H. He was thinking about growing one or two plants and LSTing them to keep them short and bushy, but hes starting to rethink his strategy. All environmental conditions are good. Now hes thinking of growing about 8 plants in that same space but instead of growing them bushy with lots of budsites, hes thinking of growing them skinny with buds growing on the main cola only (if its possible).

Ive seen pics here with huge buds growing on the main cola that look like they're anywhere from 6" to 12" long.

He was wondering if he veged them for about 4 weeks and grew them straight up instead of LSTing, pruned some of the side branches, would the plants grow tall and skinny?

Ill try and attatch a picture to try and show what Im talking about...

[stinkyattic]

.....hes thinking of growing them skinny with buds growing on the main cola only (if its possible).
Ive seen pics here with huge buds growing on the main cola that look like they're anywhere from 6" to 12" long.
He was wondering if he veged them for about 4 weeks and grew them straight up instead of LSTing, pruned some of the side branches, would the plants grow tall and skinny?
.

Well the simple answer is yes, you can do that to get a single cola, BUT your conditions are going to need to be a little different.

You will need a powerful light to grow tall plants. For a grow where light is going to be coming from CFLs, T5s, or a smaller HID, it is in your best interest to have low, flat plants that have been trained into a wide and even canopy. If your goal is tall plants, I'd say go for a BIG light, preferably more than one, because of penetration issues... multiple points of light are very nice for a grow where long tall colas are a goal.

BUT you are also going to have to shop around for the genetics that can give you those buds. For example, the strains I enjoy working with the most; namely BOG Bogglegum and Smashberry, and Yeag's Matanuska Thunderfuck, simply don't stretch much at all in flower, and give short but FAT main colas, right down to the soil surface! I don't even think I could force any of those plants to give am arm-sized cola; it would be more like a fist.

Okay, pruning.
If you want a single cola, don't touch the plant. No pinching. And for genetics, look for strains listed as being very nice for SOG (NOT SCROG!!!!! SOG means single cola plants specifically, where SCROG works best with very branchy trainable varieties). Some will even tell you that a strain responds well to being grown as a single cola plant.

Personally, I prefer the approach that is a happy medium between a big ol' bush and a bud-on-a-stick:

Pinch your plant back once after several nodes and then let the side growth develop naturally, or train it if you feel like, depends on your setup..
When it is time to induce flowering, pick your strongest 3-5 branches, and cut the rest off to be used as clones.
Then your bud growth is focused on the remaining branches and you won't be spending an afternoon trimming stupid popcorn buds, lol.

[chiqo76]

Hmm..... well my friends not trying to grow his plants too tall. He plans on vegging for about a month or untill the plants are about a foot tall, and than flowering. Will he still need the BIG lighting (budget issues). Hes using 6 26w CFL's (10200 lumen total). What if he adds more CFL's along each of the sides of his grow box. If big lighting is still needed, Im sure he doesnt mind trying the SOG grow or going back to his original plan and just LSTing them. Right now hes just using bag seed to expiriment with and get his environment right.

Anyways, thanks for the help stinky!

[stinkyattic]

When you are using flouros, you want to get them within mere INCHES of all parts of the plant, which is why SCROG and other heavily-trained type grows are so popular for flouro growers. If you can set it up so you get the lights close, go for it. Just something to remember.

[chiqo76]

Thanks for the help. Ill let my friend know.

[stinkyattic]

Okay, wish "your friend" luck for me lol...