How to trim you’re cannabis plants

What is the trimming process and why does it matter?

Next, let’s talk about trimming or manicuring your marijuana flowers.

Trimming is the act of removing excess leaf matter from the cannabis flower. As you know, the flowers and leaves on cannabis plants are two separate things. Come harvest time; however, you want to remove as much leaf matter as possible to enhance the flowers’ quality.

Cannabis plants exhibit two leaf types:

-Fan leaves (primary leaves)

-Sugar leaves (secondary leaves)

Cannabis cultivators discard the large fan leaves. However, the “sugar leaves” are trimmed and saved because they exhibit trichome coverage due to their proximity to the buds. In either case, the overarching goal is to remove as much leaf matter as possible.

Remember, you want to smoke cannabis buds — not leaves!

Therefore, you must learn how to manicure the cannabis flowers to perfection by using specially crafted trimming scissors.

By trimming marijuana flowers, your buds will:

-Increase in bag appeal

-Taste better (less chlorophyll)

-Smell better

-Enhance overall potency

If you don’t manicure your cannabis flowers, your buds will not have high bag appeal, and the additional chlorophyll will contribute a harsh flavor when consumed.

In other words — it pays to trim your weed!

How to trim and manicure you’re cannabis flowers in five easy steps.

Once you’ve completed steps 1-5 from the drying process, it’s time to move over to the first trimming phase. Once you’re done with the general trimming process, you’ll move to the manicuring phase which elevates your buds to perfection!

Here are the tools that you’ll need to accomplish these tasks:

 -Trimming scissors

-Pruning snips

-Rubber bins (2)

-Latex-free gloves

-An ultra-comfy chair

-Music, water, and snacks

Let’s begin.

Step one: Set up your trimming area

First and foremost, set up your trimming station.

Trimming weed is fun but it quickly becomes monotonous — especially if you yielded pounds of trichome-covered buds.

Therefore, it’s in your best interest to bring in a comfortable chair, music, water, snacks, and anything else that’ll create a relaxed environment.

Furthermore, place two rubber bins next to the trimming station. One bin will be for fan (primary) leaves and the other will be for sugar (secondary) leaves.

We advise wearing gloves because your fingers will soon be covered in resin. Although it sounds awesome — it makes the job more difficult as the hours pass.

Step two: Trim one branch at a time

Now that you’re trimming station is ready — it’s time to start trimming.

As you look at the dry cannabis buds, you’ll notice the primary and secondary leaves have shriveled and encapsulated the buds.

To keep things organized, select a single branch. We recommend trimming one branch at a time because you may be overwhelmed when an entire cannabis plant is on your lap.

Step three: Trim large primary leaves first

Now that you have a single branch on the trimming desk, trim the large primary leaves first.

Use your trimming scissors to snip the base of the leaf — primarily at the stipule where the leaf grows from the branch. Continue to do so until all of the primary fan leaves are removed and thrown into a plastic bin.

Once you’ve done this to every single branch — you’ve completed the first round of “dry” trimming.

 Step four: Manicure you’re flowers

Next, it’s time to break out the pruning snips and begin the manicuring process.

The manicuring process is more tedious than the general trimming step because it requires you to trim near the flower. In other words — you must not manicure too deep as this will ruin the flower or remove excess bud.

Similar to step three, take a single branch and look at the small secondary leaves that grow out of the cannabis flower. The secondary leaves are covered in resin — hence the name sugar leaves.

Use the pruning snips to cut the petiole or the stipule of the secondary leaves if visible. Once removed, you will see the cannabis bud underneath. In some cases, the entire sugar leaf is impossible to remove without digging deep into the bud. In which case it’s recommended to remove the visible leaf’s only.

Remember, this is a tedious process and requires concentration and care. As you remove the sugar leaves, place them into a separate bin to use later.

Once you’ve done this to each branch, the buds will finally look like weed!

Step five: Remove the buds from the branches

The last step is to remove the buds from the branches and look over the buds for remaining secondary leaves.

Take a single branch that’s loaded with buds and begin from the bottom. Use your trimming scissors and cut the base of the bud. Once the bud is free, place it into a tray.

Continue to remove the buds until each branch is void of buds. Remember, do not cut into the buds, but instead, cut the base of the stem that attaches to the branch!

Once your tray is full of buds — it’s time to do a final manicure.

At this point, go through each flower and remove any remaining secondary (sugar) leaves that you missed or were covered by the stems of the branch.

Once done, your cannabis buds will shine bright with trichomes and look as if they’re ready for a High Times cover shoot!

Once your buds are fully manicured, place them into glass jars to kick off the curing process.

The last step before you can enjoy you’re cannabis

As you look at your gorgeous buds dripping in resin — you’ll be tempted to test a sample.

We recommend waiting a bit longer to get the best aroma, flavor, and potency — especially after putting so much work into growing cannabis. Therefore, the step after drying and trimming marijuana is none other than the curing process.

If you’re ready to catapult your cannabis flowers into top-shelf or boutique-grade territory — you must cure your weed. Read How to Cure Weed and master the art of transforming decent marijuana into pure fire.