I was just reading your article on LST and I was going to ask if it will still be young enough to do that with. I will pick up some soft flex tie tomorrow and start bending it over gently. Thank you very much for your suggestion and your amazing support with this site! My question is if it's gotten to be a little less then flexible what's the best way to bend it over a little at a time?
Yes, you just need to take a little more time to prepare before bending a stem that's already stiffened up. Grab the spot that you want to bend, pinch it between your fingers, and gently wiggle back and forth for up to a minute until it naturally starts bending without breaking the skin. You kind of want to "crunch it up" on the inside so it bends. Never force it or the skin will break. If you do break the skin by accident, put the injured ends together and tape it up like a cast with duct tape or electrical tape.
I copy and pasted some of the info from this tutorial about simple LST:
Bend Stems the Right Way
Whenever bending stems out of the way you want to try to bend only the flexible parts of the stem, which are usually located near the ends. Avoid bending any part that has already become stiff or woody, as these tend to snap.
Bending technique - try to bend only the flexible parts of stems, which are located near the tips
If for whatever you have to bend a stem that’s already become woody, you need to take a few extra precautions to prevent the skin of the stem from splitting.
How to prevent the skin from splitting: What you need to do is take the part of the stem you want to bend between your fingers. Squeeze it tight, and then slowly and gently wiggle it around, squishing the stem as hard as you can while you're wiggling. The stem will start to become more pliable as the inside gets kind of crushed. You're basically "crunching" up the inside of the stem without breaking the skin so it doesn't offer as much resistance. Once the stem actually feels flexible,
that's when you try to bend it. Don't try to bend it if it still feels stiff! Some people call this "
supercropping" but basically, it's just a way to bend a stiff stem.
To bend a really stiff stem: Pinch the stem tightly between your fingers(not nails), then squeeze firmly while wiggling the stem gently back and forth where you want it to bend. Continue until you feel/hear crunching from the inside of the stem (may take several seconds of wiggling) and the stem gets flexible. At that point slowly bend the stem at the new joint you've made, and secure in place.
Recovering from bending/supercropping gone wrong: If you do accidentally snap a stem and break the skin while trying to bend it over, never fear! Vegetative plants can recover from a lot and if you quickly wrap up the injury with duct tape or electrical tape, like a "cast," your cannabis plant will actually be able to repair the broken stem. After a week or two, it will form a "knuckle" at the place that was injured, and you'll be able to remove the tape. Good as new!
