Defoliation

[OGbobbyjohnsson]

Whatsup guys so i have a quick question im a noob at this its my secund grow. My question is do i have to defoliate or are my girls looking Good is defoliation a must or can i just let them grow... swiched to 12-12 9 days ago
Bless

 

[JSB99]

Whatsup guys so i have a quick question im a noob at this its my secund grow. My question is do i have to defoliate or are my girls looking Good is defoliation a must or can i just let them grow... swiched to 12-12 9 days ago
Bless

When growing inside, I highly recommend trimming. You have to make the best of limited lights, and that means trimming your plants in such a way that it makes the most out of it.

But don't just start hacking off fans. Do some reading on pruning methods for cannabis plants, so that you do it properly, and when you're supposed to.

Whenever I trim away huge fans, to let the light get to the smaller fans below, my plants explode with growth. I'm talking inches per day. Again, it needs to be done properly.

 

[JSB99]

Oh, and I have let my plants grow without trimming a couple times, with very poor results. See my Grow Room link below, and go to around 5 to 10 pages before the end to see that comparisons I did.

 

[Concentratedcam]

When growing inside, I highly recommend trimming. You have to make the best of limited lights, and that means trimming your plants in such a way that it makes the most out of it.

But don't just start hacking off fans. Do some reading on pruning methods for cannabis plants, so that you do it properly, and when you're supposed to.

Whenever I trim away huge fans, to let the light get to the smaller fans below, my plants explode with growth. I'm talking inches per day. Again, it needs to be done properly.

I agree with JSB99. You really have to make the best of what you're given with an indoor grow. I defoliate Before i flip for 12/12. I do it majorly to start the chemical reaction for focusing in on the bud sites

 

[BobBitchen]

 

[xtsho]

I never defoliate. It's counterproductive. Defoliation is the latest trend. It might look cool but it doesn't increase yield. I stick my plants in the tent and let them do their thing. I have no desire to spend my time playing with my plants and trimming leaves. I trim the leaves when I harvest.

 

[JSB99]

View attachment 4511691

When growing via sunlight, I don't trim. The sun's power reaches all leaves, and a large percentage of the sun's light passes through leaves to the ones that aren't getting direct sunlight.

When growing indoors, the lights aren't powerful enough to pass much through the leaves. Yes, the big fans collect, and store a lot of energy, but there's only so much it can store. If I have a huge fan that's blocking 15 or 20 smaller leaves below it, the majority of light goes to the large fan. But 15 to 20 smaller fans have a larger surface area, and can catch much more usable light.

I've heard both sides for as long as I've been growing, so I had to try a few grows using each method, and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the trimmed plants. I mean, without question. But hey, try it for yourself and see what your results are.

 

[JSB99]

I never defoliate. It's counterproductive. Defoliation is the latest trend. It might look cool but it doesn't increase yield. I stick my plants in the tent and let them do their thing. I have no desire to spend my time playing with my plants and trimming leaves. I trim the leaves when I harvest.

Latest trend? I'm pretty sure it's been around for quite some time . (that was being sarcastic, not trying to be an ass).

 

[BobBitchen]

When growing via sunlight, I don't trim. The sun's power reaches all leaves, and a large percentage of the sun's light passes through leaves to the ones that aren't getting direct sunlight.

When growing indoors, the lights aren't powerful enough to pass much through the leaves. Yes, the big fans collect, and store a lot of energy, but there's only so much it can store. If I have a huge fan that's blocking 15 or 20 smaller leaves below it, the majority of light goes to the large fan. But 15 to 20 smaller fans have a larger surface area, and can catch much more usable light.

I've heard both sides for as long as I've been growing, so I had to try a few grows using each method, and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the trimmed plants. I mean, without question. But hey, try it for yourself and see what your results are.

I'll stick to science, if broscience works for you, then by all means, you go girl..

 

[xtsho]

Latest trend? I'm pretty sure it's been around for quite some time . (that was being sarcastic, not trying to be an ass).

I'm just a minimalist grower. I do as little as possible and end up with great results. I also grow using an HID which has better light penetration then most LED's. The OP's plants look fine to me and I wouldn't trim anything. But if they want to grab the scissors and cut off the leaves that's their decision. But photosynthesis occurs in the leaves. More leaves = more photosynthesis = more food for the plant = bigger flowers. That's been my experience over the years. But this topic is like the LED vs HID argument. It will never be resolved so lets all just grow some dope and be happy.

 

[JSB99]

I'm just a minimalist grower. I do as little as possible and end up with great results. I also grow using an HID which has better light penetration then most LED's. The OP's plants look fine to me and I wouldn't trim anything. But if they want to grab the scissors and cut off the leaves that's their decision. But photosynthesis occurs in the leaves. More leaves = more photosynthesis = more food for the plant = bigger flowers. That's been my experience over the years. But this topic is like the LED vs HID argument. It will never be resolved so lets all just grow some dope and be happy.

I totally get where you're coming from. The growers that don't trim all have great results, and the exact same thing can be said about the growers who do. For me, trimming works better. Not sure why, because it's not like I was doing anything incorrect when I was trying the no trimming method.

If anyone's interested, here's a link to the page where I'm comparing the two grows. Some further pics and descriptions may start a couple pages before.

Which would produce more DO in a DWC?

There's a huge difference between how my girls look this grow, compared to last. I usually trim at various points in the grow, to get rid of growth too deep for the light to hit. My canopy's pretty thin this grow, and I have the tops filling out nicely. We'll see what the difference in yield...

www.rollitup.org

 

[Hash Hound]

sometimes the defoliation is more important during veg to shape a plant and encourage more branching
so this....


can turn into this...yielded 94g, thats above average for me. defoled at 3rd week flowering and tune up at 6th and a few others removed as needed.
thats Growstone Gnat Nix on top not perlite,,,my own supersoil underneath, few tea 2x, water only other times.

 

[OGbobbyjohnsson]

When growing via sunlight, I don't trim. The sun's power reaches all leaves, and a large percentage of the sun's light passes through leaves to the ones that aren't getting direct sunlight.

When growing indoors, the lights aren't powerful enough to pass much through the leaves. Yes, the big fans collect, and store a lot of energy, but there's only so much it can store. If I have a huge fan that's blocking 15 or 20 smaller leaves below it, the majority of light goes to the large fan. But 15 to 20 smaller fans have a larger surface area, and can catch much more usable light.

I've heard both sides for as long as I've been growing, so I had to try a few grows using each method, and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the trimmed plants. I mean, without question. But hey, try it for yourself and see what your results are.

Tanks a lot for the detailed answer so its more of a thing that evolves with experiance but you would say that defoliation is a must if i want big buds

 

[OGbobbyjohnsson]

I'm just a minimalist grower. I do as little as possible and end up with great results. I also grow using an HID which has better light penetration then most LED's. The OP's plants look fine to me and I wouldn't trim anything. But if they want to grab the scissors and cut off the leaves that's their decision. But photosynthesis occurs in the leaves. More leaves = more photosynthesis = more food for the plant = bigger flowers. That's been my experience over the years. But this topic is like the LED vs HID argument. It will never be resolved so lets all just grow some dope and be happy.

Hahahah best answer bless

 

[Corso312]

Tanks a lot for the detailed answer so its more of a thing that evolves with experiance but you would say that defoliation is a must if i want big buds

I wouldn't say it's a must, it's really strain dependent..some strains have an abundance of leaves, those leaves are blocking dozens of bud sites that won't even be worth trimming unless you get them some light.

 

[JSB99]

Tanks a lot for the detailed answer so its more of a thing that evolves with experiance but you would say that defoliation is a must if i want big buds

I'd say experience plays a big part. I wouldn't want to change up my method, if I'm having great results

 

[GC_Mospeada]

Yeah nah defoliation is a crock, I'm angry I spent time on it, I'm angry that I actually experimented with it. Yeah I didn't do it properly, I defolled in week 6 flower. Anyways 3 plants that weren't defoliated yielded as much as four plants that were. It's a complete waste of time unless you can't find any other way to keep the humidity under control, which is almost as impossible as thinking cutting off parts of the plant will give you a better end result.

Green Gelato grow journal by Mospeada - GrowDiaries

"RQS Green Gelato RDWC" cannabis grow journal. Strains: Green Gelato by Mospeada. Grow room 1, growing in . Harvest yield, seeds review, grow details.

growdiaries.com

 

[Wattzzup]

Yeah nah defoliation is a crock, I'm angry I spent time on it, I'm angry that I actually experimented with it. Yeah I didn't do it properly, I defolled in week 6 flower. Anyways 3 plants that weren't defoliated yielded as much as four plants that were. It's a complete waste of time unless you can't find any other way to keep the humidity under control, which is almost as impossible as thinking cutting off parts of the plant will give you a better end result.

Green Gelato grow journal by Mospeada - GrowDiaries

"RQS Green Gelato RDWC" cannabis grow journal. Strains: Green Gelato by Mospeada. Grow room 1, growing in . Harvest yield, seeds review, grow details.

growdiaries.com

So you did it wrong and don’t recommend doing it? Odd opinion I would have tried to get it right before dismissing it. But that’s just me. I did it wrong and it didn’t work!!

Yesterday I put gas in my trunk. The next day my car wouldn’t start. Gasoline is a crock. I know I did it wrong but gasoline sucks.

 

[GC_Mospeada]

So you did it wrong and don’t recommend doing it? Odd opinion I would have tried to get it right before dismissing it. But that’s just me. I did it wrong and it didn’t work!!

Yesterday I put gas in my trunk. The next day my car wouldn’t start. Gasoline is a crock. I know I did it wrong but gasoline sucks.

True...I guess because I don't want to waste anymore time on it. If someone is willing to bet me 50k that if I defoliated my plants earlier than week 6 flower will give me a bigger yield than the non defolled side I will do it. Want to take that bet Wattzzup? Put your money where your mouth is?

 

[GC_Mospeada]

So you did it wrong and don’t recommend doing it? Odd opinion I would have tried to get it right before dismissing it. But that’s just me. I did it wrong and it didn’t work!!

Yesterday I put gas in my trunk. The next day my car wouldn’t start. Gasoline is a crock. I know I did it wrong but gasoline sucks.

I yielded 2.7 pounds from that grow...I'm on the way to improving on that by at least 30%....So yeah I get what you mean...People that think defoliating will increase yields must be thinking I can get 6 pounds if I defolled properly, idiots.