One of the more creative ways to cultivate cannabis at home is to grow a marijuana bonsai tree.

Seriously, you can train a cannabis plant to grow into pretty much any shape you can imagine. And if you do it right, you can train your plant to look just like a real life bonsai tree. The only difference is that your bonsai tree will get you high! (Or help make life-saving cannabis oil!)

Along with just being a fun way to grow, this approach to cultivating marijuana actually has a number of different benefits.

It helps you grow plants that are small and manageable but that still produce plenty of buds, it can help keep your plant healthy and disease-free, and it looks dope as sh*t.

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The simplest and safest way to grow a marijuana bonsai tree is to train the plant’s branches once you’ve got a strong and healthy baby plant already growing.

To figure out how to get yourself a well-established young cannabis plant, check out our basic guide for getting started with growing at home.

What You’ll Need To Grow A Marijuana Bonsai Tree

  • Potted baby marijuana plant
  • Drill with small drill bit
  • Gardening twine or thin wire with plastic covering
  • Thin wooden stake

marijuana bonsai tree

Step 1. Drill holes in the pot

Use your drill to make a series of holes in the top edge of the pot. Later on, you’ll be running your twine or wire through these holes so be sure whatever you’ll be using can fit through the holes you’re making.

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Step 2. Train the trunk

The first step to really start getting your baby cannabis plant to look like a bonsai tree is to use your small wooden stake to train the trunk to grow into the shape you want it to.

Very gently press the wooden stake down into the soil alongside the trunk of your plant. You don’t want to damage the roots, so take it easy.

Once your stake is down, you can gently bend or wrap the trunk around it.

Now run a piece of twine or wire through whatever hole is nearest to the trunk. Loop the twine or wire over the trunk and tie it into place. This will keep your trunk growing in whatever direction you’ve just positioned it.

Here’s a close look at what we’re talking about:

Step 3. Train the branches

As your cannabis plant continues to grow, you need to continue training the individual branches to grow into the bonsai shape you’re envisioning.

To do this, you’ll basically use your twine or wire, along with the holes you drilled into the top of the pot, to train the branches to grow in the direction you need them to.

Of course, it’s your design. So if you want a section to start growing taller, then don’t tie it down as much. If you want a section to grow more horizontally than tall, then that’s where you’d want to tie it down.

Step 4. Prune branches as needed

From time to time you can also prune back new growth to help keep your plant in its bonsai shape.

When you do this, you need to be very careful that you don’t accidentally snip off the main branch and end up damaging the plant.

Only trim branches that are new offshoots coming out of a primary branch. And when you snip, do it carefully and gently. We suggest using a pair of sharp scissors.

This step will not only help keep your plant looking like an awesome bonsai tree, it will also help improve air circulation. Better air flow will decrease the chance that your plant will get too humid, moldy, or that the soil will grow fungus.

Step 5. Harvest buds

Eventually, your marijuana bonsai tree will enter the flowering phase. Keep your eye on the hair-like trichomes covering your plant’s flowers.

When the trichomes turn milky white, you can snip off the flowers.

Hang them upside down in a well-ventilated room to dry. When you can snap the stem with your fingers, it’s time to cure the buds.

To do this, place them in glass jars, seal the lid, and put the jar into a dark, dry place. Check the jars every day. If it gets too humid, take the lid off and let them air out. Then put the lid back on.

Once the buds are semi-dry but still sticky, you’re ready to light up.

As you enjoy the fruits of your cultivation labor, sit back and enjoy the beauty of your cannabis bonsai tree.

 

*Article originally appeared at The Earth Tribe.