Pro Tip: Shape your plants during Veg
The vegetative stage is the ultimate preparatory phase to get your plant in
the shape and condition you want going into the flowering stage. Use this time to shape your plant, and you will achieve great yield, and quality, during your flowering stage.
First, begin pruning the lower foliage to encourage vertical growth and direct the energy upward. Next, delay topping until your plant is closer to two feet tall. When you do top, be sure you have
surrounding branches that can rise up. Once the plant is sufficiently tall, find the center top, go down several inches, and completely chop it off. The surrounding branches will accelerate in growth and rise up (we call this "The Crown.")
Continue pruning the bottom. The result should be a lollipop shape that is ideal for flowering under trellis canopy. As the plant stretches through the
first couple weeks of flower, this shape will allow you to continue to prune the bottom, while creating a broad canopy up top to maximize yield under the available lighting.