Growing a cannabis crop also means having to prune the plants, while the new grower is uneducated about this process the experienced grower knows that when one of the growing tips is pruned there will be two shoots on this stem that grow in the place of the clipped growing tip. This is a way to control uneven growth in the growing pot plant that will not hurt it and it is also a way to take clones from a mother plant.

The grower must take care not to prune seedlings prior to them having their first five bladed leaves and the vegetation stage has begun or it can do serious damage to the young marijuana plant. Pruning the plants growing tips after four or five weeks of growth allows them to grow their lower branches. The grower that prunes their plants should be cautioned not to overdo the pruning, as extreme pruning can stunt the growth of the cannabis plant. One advantage the grower has that prunes their growing crop is that after approximately three months the growing tips that are cut can make a high quality pot to smoke.  A word of caution here, the grower should only be pruning the marijuana plants for their growing health and not for the pot that they can have to smoke while waiting for the harvesting of the cannabis.

The experienced grower knows that pruning is best done in the early stages of the cannabis plants development, rather than near the end of the vegetation stage and should not be done during flowering. The grower that intends to prune their crop needs to have a type of schedule for this care of the marijuana plant, because each time that the plants are pruned it will take them several days to recover from this event and to heal.

After a few days of healing time the ganja plant will then resume the new growth on the branch where the growing tip has been cut. Caution should also be used by the grower that has the urge to cut every growing node; instead they should only cut every second or third growing node.

To prune the marijuana plants the grower will be better off using small scissors, rather than pinching off the growing tips and a plant that is declining in health should never be pruned. The grower should also not be tempted to prune a female cannabis plant during early flowering.

 Even though some growers may think that it would increase the amount of buds it will have the opposite effect on the plant and there will be fewer buds on the plant. There should never be more than a single growing tip or the upper most node on a branch pruned by the grower, as this can harm the development of the cannabis plant.

There are differences for pruning depending on the strain of pot the grower has, with indica the growing plant is usually of a smaller height and is a more bushy plant, which the grower may feel needs some pruning to allow the lower branches to receive the proper amount of light that they need while growing. Then there is the sativa, which is a cannabis strain that can grow very tall, is a less bushy plant with narrower leaves and fewer branches. This strain of pot will not need the amount of pruning for its lower leaves as the indica strain will due to the difference in the growth.  Mixes, crossbreds and hybrids pruning will depend on their type of growth and how much influence they have from the indica or sativa strains.

One of the reasons that some growers do very little pruning and only concentrate on leaves that may need to be taken off of the cannabis plant because they have yellowed is that the unpruned plant will have more buds than the plants that have been regularly pruned. 

When pruning the marijuana plant the grower should concentrate on cutting the tallest branches, this will allow the lower branches that are growing to have a larger amount of light, however not to many of the healthy branches should be pruned. The cannabis plant that has been pruned will contain substances that will help the plant to heal the wound.

One of the advantages the grower has that is pruning the plants in their crop is that they can use these growing tips for clones and if growing hydroponically they are already prepared to deal with starting clones. While this is not terribly difficult, and it is a faster way for the marijuana plants to grow the grower should not become overzealous in pruning the plant.

One of the reasons that the grower should take care in the amount of pruning that they do on their growing marijuana plants is because it can stop the plant from reaching full maturity, and it can also cause the plants to be vulnerable to fungus and other diseases and also to pests. This is also removing the most potent parts of the cannabis plants when they are pruned.

There are some growers that choose to prune their cannabis plants height, and to either prevent them from being detected in the outdoor growing area, or to fit into the growing room area better. Rather than pruning to top the marijuana plant the grower can bend the plants and secure them with string or wire and allow them to mature at their natural height.