Low-stress training is the gradual bending and tying of stems so the main top is pulled down and sideways and lower branches rise to the same height. The plant does not lose any tissue, so recovery time is minimal. The goal is an even, flat canopy where many tops share the same light.
In practice
Start once the plant has 4-5 nodes and the stem is flexible. Bend the main stem over and anchor it to the pot rim with soft ties, then keep pulling up-turning tips outward every day or two. Stems bend best in the warm part of the light period, and a turgid plant snaps more easily than a slightly dry one. Keep LST going into the first two to three weeks of flower, while the plant stretches.
LST is the preferred technique for autoflowers: it adds yield without the recovery pause of cutting.
Don't confuse with
- HST: high-stress training, which deliberately damages tissue (topping, supercropping).
- SCROG: a screen-based system that uses LST-style tucking as its method.
An even canopy is one where all main tops sit at roughly the same height, so each receives similar light intensity and buds develop more uniformly.Top shelf is the highest price tier of flower in a shop, used as slang for any premium-looking cannabis; it reflects pricing and appearance, not verified quality.Plant ties are soft wire, rubber-coated twist ties or clips used to bend stems and anchor them during low-stress training or support.The stretch is the rapid increase in height in the first two to three weeks after switching to flower, when many cultivars grow 1.5 to 3 times taller.A day-neutral cannabis plant that starts flowering by age, usually a few weeks after germination, regardless of light schedule; the trait is mainly recessive.HST (high-stress training) covers training methods that deliberately cut, crush or break plant tissue, such as topping, FIM and supercropping, to reshape growth.Supercropping is gently crushing a stem's inner tissue between the fingers and bending it over, so the branch lowers, toughens at a knuckle and stays productive.SCROG (screen of green) trains a few plants under a horizontal net, tucking shoots so the canopy forms a flat, evenly lit layer of many tops.Topping is cutting off a plant's main growing tip just above a node, so the two shoots below grow into two main colas instead of one.
