Controlling the height of a plant..

Hey all..newb here. I have a question about how to train a plant that wants to grow tall, treelike by nature to grow shorter, bushlike. I'm looking for the effects of a sativa high with the height of an indica. Also when I do grow the indica strains I would like to keep them shorter. Any suggestions?

You can LST (Low Stress Training) or top the plant. Topping the plant will encourage the lower shoots to rise to an even canopy level, while LST-ing takes a bit more work because you have to tie shoots that are "too tall" down. You can also try to use fluorescents, as they put out little heat and therefore won't cause stretching. Also fluorescents don't put out as much light as HPS or MH bulbs, so the plant will inevitably be smaller. Lastly, you want to flower it early to keep it short, because sativas can up to triple in size during the flowering stage. Any combination of these things and you should have a low-ridin' sativa!

PS: NEVER top the plant when it's flowering... do this a week before flowering at the very latest, but I would suggest you do it when the plant is much younger. As for LST-ing you can lean over a flowering plant if you want to, just be careful because the stems are much more brittle/not flexible during flowering

All of the above.

Top
LST
12/12 from seed

You can train these plants to grow anyway you want.

hey Queen, I agree with the above. I've always used high output t5 fluorescent bulbs for seedlings and veg, and they work great, and my plants stay somewhat shorter by topping. not to mention the fluoro's are much cheaper to run

Thanks all for the replies. As far as lights go I've decided to use LEDs for a lot of reasons actually, saving $ being the main one. They're worth trying. Seeing as I want to keep my plants small it looks like I made a good choice as they put out very little heat. While I'm here I have a quick question. I germinate my seeds in a bio dome using seed sponges. How long after the sprout surfaces do I wait to put them under lights? The dome says that I can leave them in for up to 15 days or until they outgrow it, whichever happens 1st. But those aren't directions for what I'm growing in it I know good ol Mary has her own set of rules. I ended up getting hella lucky when I got 2 seeds out of some nebula. I planted them sunday for shits n giggles, not expecting much since the seeds shouldn't have been there in the 1st place. Today I have a small red stemmed sprout just curling out of the sponge. I don't think the other 1 is gonna pop but I don't care. I sprouted my 1st mj pant!! I don't even care if it's a male it's experience. Besides I know someone who wants clones off it either way. He wants to work his voodoo on it Maybe even make me a mama. Sorry I'm babbling but I'm just so friggin excited!!!
Thank you again everyone. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Friday 8/20/10
Just an update. I didn't think that the 2nd seed would pop but it did!!! I put the bio dome with the sprout under lights last night and the 2nd seed has sprouted!