Confused about stretch

Sure, BUT

Given the same mass, a plant wider than it is tall will produce more bud than a plant taller than she is wide. Why? Because, more surface area of the plant is distributed where it receives an adequate quantity of light/lumens.

That can also be manipulated by the placement of the lights. Side-lighting, for example, will cause wider, bushier growth and more buds. There's all kinds of techniques that can be used to amend/adjust a plant's normal growth…but some plants have "normal" growth patterns that are much different than others. If you put a normally tall-growing Sativa in a room next to some normally bushy-growing Indicas and use techniques to make that Sativa grow shorter and bushier, then you will also be influencing the Indica's growth patterns, as well. And, since I like a variety of strains and flavors and effects, I always end up with all kinds of problematic things going on with one plant being too tall and close to the lights and another plant being too far away…or one that's too wide and bumping into the other plants….

And I'm probably never going to truly get my genetics "dialed in" because I prefer to constantly be changing strains for variety.

Genetics!