Q:
My outdoor plants are already too tall and I haven’t even transplanted them into the ground yet. Can I plant them deeper than normal so they are not as tall?
A:
What you are suggesting is called planting above the crown. The crown is the part of the plant where the roots meet the stem. By digging a deeper hole than needed for the root ball and then planting at the bottom of that hole, a portion of the stem could also be planted under ground. This would make the portion of the plant above ground a bit shorter. This could definitely make you plants a bit shorter, but it could also kill them. Either way, problem solved right?
Some plants don’t mind being planted above the crown. They simply start growing roots out of the stem. In fact some plants with vines, like pumpkins, actually appreciate having portions of the vines buried with a few shovels of soil. The vines will just grow roots mid stem giving them greater access to water and nutrients. Unfortunately, for cannabis this creates the potential for stem rot problems. While under perfect conditions this might work with cannabis, it’s not worth the risk and it’s only going to be a temporary fix for your problem anyway. In most cases you can expect your plants to grow even faster once they have been transplanted.
If your plants haven’t started to flower yet, considering topping them. This will encourage them to bush out and grow wider instead of taller. Staking and trellising the tops and branches down can help reduce their height. For more information on controlling the height of your plants here is a link to an article you might find helpful. While not recommended, there are also chemicals known as plant growth regulators that can retard the vertical growth of plants by reducing the space between branches. Bushmaster is an example of such a product thought I’m not sure it’s still on the market.
Planting Cannabis Above the Crown,
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