Re-Vegging and Monster Cropping Cannabis

What is monster cropping?

Monster cropping is a plant training technique where clones are taken from a female plant that is already 2 to 4 weeks into its flowering stage. When these flowering clones are placed back under a vegetative light cycle (18/6 or 24/0), they undergo hormonal changes.

As the clone reverts to vegetative growth (re-vegging), it loses apical dominance and begins branching out aggressively from every node. The resulting plant grows into a dense, round bush without requiring topping or high-stress training, saving weeks of vegetative growth time.

How to revert a flowered clone

Take cuttings from the lower branches of a flowering plant in weeks 2 to 4 of flower. These lower branches contain fewer mature buds and root more easily than top colas. Cut at a 45-degree angle.

Trim away the lower flowers, leaving only the small bud at the very tip. Dip the stem in rooting gel and insert it into a starter plug inside a humidity dome under 24 hours of light.

Flowering clones root slowly, taking 2 to 3 weeks. Once rooted, transplant and feed a light, high-nitrogen vegetative nutrient formula.

During the first 2 to 3 weeks of re-vegging, the plant will grow weird, twisted, single-fingered leaves with rounded edges. Do not panic; this is a normal hormonal transition. Standard 5- or 7-fingered leaves will return in week 4.

Vegetative Clones vs. Monster Crops

Compared to standard vegetative clones, monster crops develop a much denser, bushier structure naturally. The main benefit is the massive increase in branch sites without topping, which creates a perfect SCROG layout.

However, monster cropping requires more patience. The rooting and reversion phase combined takes 4 to 6 weeks, which is twice as long as a standard cloning cycle. Ensure you budget this extra time in your grow schedule.

Re-vegging a harvested root ball

If you discover a prized phenotype during harvest that you didn't clone in veg, you can save it by re-vegging the entire harvested root system.

When harvesting, do not cut the plant at the base. Instead, cut the main colas but leave the lower 1/3 of the plant intact, including some green fan leaves and small, popcorn buds.

Switch the grow room lights back to an 18/6 or 24/0 schedule. Water sparingly, as a plant without leaves drinks very little. Within 2 to 4 weeks, new vegetative growth will sprout from the old bud sites, allowing you to take fresh clones or rebuild a mother plant.