How to Lollipop Cannabis: Tips for Autoflower & Photoperiod Plants

When growing marijuana indoors, growers are constantly searching for techniques and methods to maximize their yield and quality potential. One of the most popular methods is known as "lollipopping", one of the easiest ways to help unlock your plant's potential.

Lollipopping cannabis is a strategic pruning of the plant where you remove much of the plants' lower growth to boost overall bud production. It's called lollipopping because, once done properly, the plant resembles a lollipop—clean bottom branches with a large flower at the top.

In this guide, we’ll dive into how lollipopping works, why it matters, and the key benefits it brings—especially for growers looking to maximize light exposure, airflow, and ultimately, yields.

Why Lollipopping is Important?

Hey abby growers' perfectly lollipopped plants

When you lollipop the cannabis plant, you're cutting away the lower, weaker, thinner branches—usually secondary growth that has grown from the main/more central branch. These lower branches don't receive enough light, and really won't produce fat, dense flowers. Instead, they suck resources from the plant that could be better used by the stronger, central branches.

The main benefit of lollipopping cannabis plants is that it redirects those resources—growth hormones, water, nutrients, sugars—away from the weaker growth and toward the main branches. This helps increase both the yield and quality potential of your cannabis plants. What grower would say no to that?

But the benefits don’t stop there. Lollipopping also allows for better airflow around the plant, creating a healthier environment for your canopy. Additionally, by removing excess growth, you can reduce the risk of pests and larvae, and contribute to a healthier, more pest-resistant plant.

However, if your plant is unhealthy, sickly, or dealing with issues during the vegetation stage, it's best not to lollipop cannabis. Applying stress may make things worse, or even stall growth completely.

When to Lollipop Cannabis Plant?

1. For Photoperiod Strains

Timing is key when lollipopping your photoperiod cannabis plant. The lollipopping process does introduce a bit of stress to the plant. If done too late, it may delay flowering; and too early, you might have to lollipop again during mid flowering (week 4-8)—which is far from ideal.

The best time to lollipop photoperiod plants is just before transitioning to the marijuana flowering stage. This allows the plant to recover from the stress before it focuses on developing flowers. You want the plant’s energy to go toward flower production rather than repairing damage from lollipopping.

2. For Autoflower Strains

Most of the time, autoflowering strains don't grow tall enough to require lollipopping. However, they can sometimes surprise you with their growth. If they do reach a size where lollipopping is needed, timing becomes crucial because stress is especially detrimental to autos.

It's best to lollipop autoflowers at the first sight of flower production—typically when you notice the fine white hairs (stigmas) at the branch tips. That’s when you know it’s time to lollipop and get the plant ready for its flowering phase.

stigmas vs trichomes

Step-by-Step Guide to Lollipopping Cannabis

Step 1: Pick the Right Time

If it's a photoperiod strain, first, determine when the plant is ready to transition into the flowering stage. Choose a date to flip the light cycle to trigger flowering and plan to lollipop 1–2 days before this transition. This gives the plant time to recover from the stress before it starts focusing on bud production.

While if the strain is autoflowering, wait until you see stigmas growing. These are the early signs of flowering, signaling that it’s the right time to lollipop.

Step 2: Start Lollipopping

Start by identifying the highest point on the plant where you want to stop lollipopping, and then work your way downward. I like to find the point on each branch where there are no more off-shoots or secondary branches (usually about 3/4 of the way up the plant from the bottom). From there, strip everything below that point. I mean EVERYTHING, including:

• Thin, lower branches which aren't thick or strong enough to support fat, dense buds;
• Lower branches that aren’t reaching the canopy or aren’t likely to make it to that level;
• All lower growth sites that are shaded and not getting enough light;
• Any and all leaves attached to or under any of the growth being removed.

That's it! Once you have stripped and removed all the lower growth and leaves that fall under the above categories, you're set.

Lollipopping vs Deleafing/Defoliation

Lollipopping cannabis is quite different than deleafing or defoliating. Cannabis deleafing and defoliating are the same term, with interchangeable names.

When you defoliate, you remove any unnecessary or unwanted leaves from the plant. Typically, these leaves either cast shade on other parts of the plant, or no longer supporting the growth sites above them.

On the other hand, lollipopping cannabis is a more intensive process. Not only do you remove all the leaves from the lower half to three-quarters of the plant, but you also trim away weaker, thinner secondary branches and growth. This goes beyond just leaves.

In general, lollipopping removes much more material from the plant than defoliating.

Grow your cannabis effortlessly with Hey abby's hydro cannabis growing system. With an easy-to-follow grow schedule right on your app, you'll always know what to do next. Plus, with every grow box purchase, you'll get 3 months of FREE expert support, so you can always reach out to our experienced growers for help—whether it’s about different training techniques or diagnosing plant issues!

cannabis grown by Hey abby growers | LEARN MORE >

Other Training Techniques to Combine with Lollipopping

There are many cannabis training techniques you can use, and almost all of them pair well with lollipopping. However, certain training methods require lollipopping to be effective. Two such techniques are SCROG and Manifold/Mainline training.

Mainline/Manifold Training: This method involves creating a single main stalk with multiple evenly spaced branches. To achieve such a structure, you’ll need to lollipop your cannabis plant at different stages during the vegetative phase.

SCROG: When scrogging, the goal is to develop multiple main branches and fill out the canopy evenly. To do this effectively, you need to remove all the lower growth through lollipopping. This clears space for the upper branches to thrive and ensures the plant can support the abundant flower growth, which ultimately helps increase your yield.

Final Words

Lollipopping is a tried-and-true method to help unlock your plant's full potential! While it might seem intimidating at first—removing so much growth from the plant—trust me, the results are worth it. If you haven’t tried lollipopping yet, give it a go and watch your plant thrive!