A whole-plant hang means cutting the plant at the base and hanging it upside down intact, with branches, often fan leaves, and sugar leaves left on. The main stalk and branches hold a large reserve of water that bleeds slowly into the buds, slowing and evening out the dry.
In practice
Whole-plant hangs are popular with dry-trim growers and in dry climates or rooms that struggle to hold humidity. In a room at about 15-21 °C (60-70 °F) and 55-62% RH, a whole plant typically takes 10-14 days or more.
Points to watch:
- Space: large plants need a lot of hanging height and room.
- Mould: in a humid room the slow dry can turn into mould. Dense colas deep inside the plant dry last; part them and check.
- Uneven ripeness: lower buds still dry with the plant even if they were less ripe.
Some growers remove fan leaves first to prevent a "leafy" smell and improve airflow, while leaving sugar leaves on.
Don't confuse with
- Hang dry: hanging branches, the general method.
- Bucking: taking buds off the stems before drying.
- Wet trim: removing leaves before drying, the opposite approach.
A large palmate cannabis leaf with several long leaflets on a long petiole; fan leaves do most of the plant's photosynthesis and carry few trichomes.A small leaf growing from within the flower cluster, often coated in trichomes, which is trimmed off and commonly kept for processing.Relative humidity is the water vapour in air as a percentage of what it could hold at that temperature, so the same RH dries plants differently at different temperatures.The dense, elongated cluster of flowers that forms at the end of a stem or branch; the main cola tops the leader.Drying harvested cannabis by hanging branches upside down in a dark, controlled room so buds dry slowly with even airflow around them.Trimming sugar leaves from buds immediately after harvest, while the plant is still fresh, before drying.Trimming sugar leaves after buds have dried, leaving the leaves on during the dry to slow it and protect the bud.A dark, ventilated space where freshly harvested cannabis is dried under controlled temperature, humidity and gentle airflow, usually for 7-14 days.A drying fault where a bud's surface dries too fast and seals, leaving the core wet; buds feel dry, then rehydrate and risk mould in the jar.
