Autoflower defoliation

schmdty420

schmdty420

Active Member
Hey guys, this is my first autoflower grow. I’m growing with DWC, 2 Pineapple Express Autos, in a 10gal reservoir under a Mars Hydro TSW 2000, using General Hydroponics nutes. I was really expecting these girls to be a lot smaller with most of the stuff I’ve read about autoflowers, but they’ve almost completely covered my 3x3 tent and are 2ft tall already. Today I’m 30 days into this grow about about 3 weeks into flower. My question is this; should I do a serous defoliation or just let them do their thing? I’ve heard autos are sensitive and I don’t want to hurt them or jeopardize my harvest.
 

Attachments

Hobbes

Hobbes

Well-Known Member
.

Schmdty I've never grown an auto flower but I do lots of defoliation.

From what I've been reading on the forum autoflowers will not have time to recover from defoliation, so bend and tuck leaves instead of cutting. If possible.

.
 
schmdty420

schmdty420

Active Member
Mr. Cheetah said:
really, so they started flowering at day 9? they looks killer otherwise, guess you can chop a few leaves here and there
Click to expand...
Ok my days were off a bit, they started flower at 16 days old, I guess I’m just starting week 3. Trimming a few leaves blocking bud sites was my plan but with them being so bushy I didn’t know if cut all the lower out. Thanks for the advice guys.
 
Mr. Cheetah

Mr. Cheetah

Well-Known Member
schmdty420 said:
Ok my days were off a bit, they started flower at 16 days old, I guess I’m just starting week 3. Trimming a few leaves blocking bud sites was my plan but with them being so bushy I didn’t know if cut all the lower out. Thanks for the advice guys.
Click to expand...
dont cut too much man, plus your light seems to be good, not an expert in LEDs
 
Just Be

Just Be

Well-Known Member
Autos can recover from defoliation without any issues. Just make sure to only defoliate if the plant is healthy and don't take too much at any one time. Leave the larger fan leaves. Pull them out of the way with whatever you tie your LST with. To keep trimming to a minimum, focus more on removing any inward-facing fan leaves only. A good rule of thumb is to have any defoliation wrapped up by day 35. This guy's a test grower for Fast Buds.
 
schmdty420

schmdty420

Active Member
Budzbuddha said:
My 2¢ .... Autos like stress free growing , pop them , grow them , harvest them.
They don’t need haircuts , magic food , unicorn tears or YouTube vids.
Click to expand...
Thank you. This is the direction I was leaning towards. I did do some minor leaf removal and a few spots that were never gonna make it anywhere close to the top, but left it at that. They fill my 3x3 almost completely and that’s why I was asking about defoliation in the first place. They’re some of the bushiest plants I’ve ever grown with no training of any kind. The guy in the YouTube video seems to be cutting off way too much and those are some of the smallest 35 day old plants I think I’ve ever seen.
 
Wattzzup

Wattzzup

Well-Known Member
I’ve found I like to keep about 12” from top of canopy. Anything lower- branches, fan leaves etc. EXCEPT for the ones on the outside of the plant. I’m trying not to take leaves just to take leaves. I’m trying to open the plant up and let the light in. I will also take branches not getting any light and are buried under everything.
 
TevinJonson

TevinJonson

Well-Known Member
Wattzzup said:
I’ve found I like to keep about 12” from top of canopy. Anything lower- branches, fan leaves etc. EXCEPT for the ones on the outside of the plant. I’m trying not to take leaves just to take leaves. I’m trying to open the plant up and let the light in. I will also take branches not getting any light and are buried under everything.
Click to expand...
That sounds fine thats the general idea you can do a little at a time and see how it looks
 
ISK

ISK

Well-Known Member
Budzbuddha said:
My 2¢ .... Autos like stress free growing , pop them , grow them , harvest them.
They don’t need haircuts , magic food , unicorn tears or YouTube vids.
Click to expand...
that's how I treat auto's....I refer to auto's as "plug & play" ....just germinate, plant them in the final pot, then watch them grow

they may not need unicorn tears, but it sure can't hurt ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top