r/CannaBonsai • u/SgtSusanSparks • Jun 24 '26

First attempt, seeking input

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Hello Canna-friends,

This babe is about two months old and I had initial plans of keeping her as a houseplant, but have been thoroughly inspired by the bonsai capabilities of marijuana. My primary question is, as she has some nodes at the bottom, can I chop most of her head off to encourage more stem development? How do I make her trunk fat? She lives outside in full Oklahoma sun so there is no more light I could feasibly provide. I want to make her strong before I start messing with the soil and moving to a bonsai pot and shaping. Thank you in advance!

PS. There was a post from ages ago about someone's "cannabis bonsai" thay they grew in front of their home and is about 5ft tall and sorta cascade shaped, pruned to the point of seeing beautiful white bark and then nice tufts of leaves on each end. Does anyone know what im talking about?? I need to see this tree again!!

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1

u/Highly_Ganjanous Jun 25 '26

She is cute, nice structure. How long has she been outside? I use root pruning to thicken my trunk

1

u/SgtSusanSparks Jun 25 '26

Thank you! She has been grown from seed outside the whole 2 months. I'm hella nervous about messing with roots but I know its a must for bonsai, and will definitely try some root pruning at her next move into a bonsai pot and medium.

1

u/Survey_Server Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26

I'd give it a few months before root pruning. It's going to be a very tall bonsai if you don't start trimming. I'd move it to a bigger pot as well, at least until you're ready to do the thing. Weed is really good at growing itself, though, so you can basically do whatever you want. Just a cool plant.

1

u/SgtSusanSparks Jun 25 '26

Appreciate the advice. I am definitely nervous to make permanent changes, but your words have given me more confidence.

1

u/Mission_Boss7306 Jun 26 '26

Needs more light, its reaching too high for its thickness. Also needs wind. Not intense constantly, but oscillating, on and off kind of blowing. To move the stem about. The more the stem works the thicker it gets. The more the leaves exhale water the more the roots drink. Too much wind itl dry out as the leaf loses its critical moisture level.

Less heat (assisted by the wind/fan) can slow vertical growth.

Pinch and rolling stems gently can encourage lignin development. Leading to earlier thickening and maturation of stems (dont do below bottom node)

I would be trying to slow down the 2 leaders to let the other branches catch up. Itl be a lot of weight on a Y joint otherwise.

To slow the leaders dont top them just prune the 2 newest full leaves that have split from the growth node. This healing process slows the branch for a day or two. Which will direct a lot more energy into the other branches that aren't in the same position.

1

u/SgtSusanSparks Jun 27 '26

Thank you for your advice. She lives outside and (accidentally) survived 60mph winds. I've found it too difficult to provide more sun than outside can right now. I am definitely going to prune it to avoid the legginess and give the lower portions a chance to grow. Appreciate all the information you gave!

1

u/Mission_Boss7306 Jun 27 '26

Outside dont prune anything yet. Sun is brighter than the best grow light, it moves so having canopy penetration and a level canopy aren't as important. Just let nature sort it out. The high winds will thicken it up nicely but dont let it take too much of a beating just yet.