What is stretch and how can I minimize it?

Stretching is GREAT! When your plant stretches to a point that is undesired you can go to the base of that stretched internode, sqeeze it to BREAK the tissue down and bend that branch to the desired angle for light penetration and the 2 new branches will start developing faster and you will have stronger branches and BIGGER BUDS than if you didnt bend the stretched branch. This technique is called SUPERCROPPING. i SUGGEST you type SUPERCROPPING in Youtube and watch some videos 1st. but the technique/concept is quite simple and IT REALLY WORKS to increase yeild.
Like this? Almost to the stretch. These just started to flower last week

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That's like eating your cake too..:)..you can let things go natural and get one huge cola..you can top twice and get a few medium colas or you can top 10 times..lst...hst...supercrop and get a lot of small colas...the choice is up to you
Cool. I got a bunch of these cropped ones and 2 that I hope to have a few big ones.
 
My biggest question is when do need to remove the ties and weights so the colas can build?
I use metal hoops to hold down the vertical growth of my branches during veg so as to develop more side and bottom growth that will eventually reach the canopy. I release my LST system as a part of switching over to bloom.

I consider stretch to be a period of time of transitioning from a veg growth pattern to a blooming one, and stretch is just one of the visible components of this switching to a new mode. I see the plants that I have typically transplanted to their final containers a week or two ago, making a final push to fill that container with roots at this point. The plant can see that it has limits set by the size of the container it is in, and it does what it can to optimize that space as it transitions over to bloom, because soon root development will greatly slow down.

A similar thing is happening up top. The plant knows how many potential bud sites it sees on those branches and it knows what sort of spacing it needs to fill in buds on those branches with its special type of bud. I like to release my LST restraining system as we move into this transition period, and I call it the time to go vertical. The training has been done and it has served its purpose, so now is the time to let the plant do what it needs to spread out the branches in order to have the room for what comes next.

The amount of stretch also has to do with how much pent up potential is in the plant at this time. A plant in a larger container with a great set of roots is going to have more potential for bud development than a scrawnier and less robust plant sitting next to it. If the larger rooted plant has been held back in LST or been whack a mole trimmed up until now and not allowed to get tall, the stretch from there will be dramatic. Compared to the lesser rooted plant next to it, that stretch will be much less.
 
I use metal hoops to hold down the vertical growth of my branches during veg so as to develop more side and bottom growth that will eventually reach the canopy. I release my LST system as a part of switching over to bloom.

I consider stretch to be a period of time of transitioning from a veg growth pattern to a blooming one, and stretch is just one of the visible components of this switching to a new mode. I see the plants that I have typically transplanted to their final containers a week or two ago, making a final push to fill that container with roots at this point. The plant can see that it has limits set by the size of the container it is in, and it does what it can to optimize that space as it transitions over to bloom, because soon root development will greatly slow down.

A similar thing is happening up top. The plant knows how many potential bud sites it sees on those branches and it knows what sort of spacing it needs to fill in buds on those branches with its special type of bud. I like to release my LST restraining system as we move into this transition period, and I call it the time to go vertical. The training has been done and it has served its purpose, so now is the time to let the plant do what it needs to spread out the branches in order to have the room for what comes next.

The amount of stretch also has to do with how much pent up potential is in the plant at this time. A plant in a larger container with a great set of roots is going to have more potential for bud development than a scrawnier and less robust plant sitting next to it. If the larger rooted plant has been held back in LST or been whack a mole trimmed up until now and not allowed to get tall, the stretch from there will be dramatic. Compared to the lesser rooted plant next to it, that stretch will be much less.
You're always such a great source of info. You have an amazing way of explaining why. Thanks Emilya. I have been watering according to your tips and my roots are huge. The wind and rain blew one of my tall ones around and actually exposed the roots. They were really big in diameter and had sprawled well. I stood her back up, added some more soil, And some water and she stood right back up and looks even healthier!
 
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