Defoliation vs not what works best? Good or bad?

I have been defoliating the leaves for a while now and its my prefered method of training. I don't underrstand how people can agree that a big fan leaf can block the light but can not see the benefit or letting more light through. What I've found from experiementing is, when you remove all big leaves, it allows all shoots that would not have reached the top, reach the top. fan leaves grow back thick and fast. The reason I like to do this is because I only have to top once and end up with an even canopy of about 15+ tops. I do stop when the stretch starts and depending on the plant I continue until after stretch.

i don't defoliate because I believe there are always ways around it.
I'll cut the lowest branches off early in a plants life if i bury the stem down during transplant, especially if the leaves are small , besides bonsai mothers or revegged plants, I don't defoliate. I don't see how defoliating would ever increase yield unless you overgrow your area and need to cut growth off so that other growth will thrive. It's better to avoid this and try and predict how much space you will need, and do low stress training to get light to the lower branches, My dad talks about "suckers" and i believe this is limited to tomatoes ; with weed its different just make sure the plant is getting enough light. If you need to low stress train or add secondary lighting so be it, but there's no point in vegging extra time just so you can cut off the extra growth know what i'm sayin?

you asked what works best and I can tell you that in my experience defoliation (removing 10%-60% of MATURE leaf material) is absolutely necessary from time to time and even sometimes on a regular basis....

allow me to explain... and remember all I said in MY experience. Thnx.

I have vegged some of my plants for long periods of time and generally grow plants on the larger side. I find that the plants are healthier, more vigorous, and more able to handle neglect. I suspect that a more mature plant is more capable of creating quality bud. It is a hunch but i bet if you ask just about anyone who has vegged longer than 2 months (indoors) and they will likely tell you that they defoliate to some degree. It is a natural part of the plants life anyway right?

That being said I could see growers killing or injuring their plants if defoliation is not used properly. It can actually be a very effective way of murdering your baby if you got carried away.

All i am trying to say is. Defoliation is a useful technique that should be understood and available to all growers. I find it effective for lst, pest control, dealing with rich soils, light penetration, bud development, air flow, slow growth down. etc. etc.

Some leafy strains I may defoliate twice. Once in veg and another light defoliation 1-2 weeks into flower depending on things. I have not had as much success with defoliation on Sativas and I strongly recommend not defoliating sativas much at all. They just really dont seem to need it or react well for me so i generally leave them alone. My grow environment has always been hard on sativas though.
Now i have fallen back on defoliation as a technique to help with the way I grow (certain strains). Others find other ways of dealing with the same issues I am sure. Others use chemical fertilizers, or Others also do not veg anywhere close to as long as I do and any defoliation for them would likely result in a setback... not necessarily in quality or even yield but in the time it takes to get there. I am not a commercial grower so I can afford to wait for my ladies.
I like short flower times as much as the next grower but defoliation is necessary for me to manage my perp grow and get my plants the way i need them.

I dont know about the rest of you but my flower room gets crowded and there is a line to get in there. Defoliation allows me to slow their growth uniformly while the root system continues to strengthen before flower. They enter flower looking squat but robust and ready to work.

I gro organic with soil.

New growers should just stick to the basics and learn to grow a healthy plant. Leave all the other bullshit out for now and don't fuck with your plants. Learn how to keep your plant healthy and green, it will serve you better in the end. Keep it fucking simple, and once you can actually grow some healthy mature plants then start the experiments.

tropicalcannabispatient said:

i wonder what works best pros and cons?

Click to expand...

I will put it this way..you want to make something to eat,and you need your hands for that,don'you? If i cut your hands off,will you be able to make something? You won't be able to. Same goes for mj. A plant like her,needs foliage to provide flowers. Keep it ON and HEALTHY. You also LEAVE the lower budsites ON. You firstly harvest the top colas and then,you lower the lights for 2-3 weeks to bulk up the lower part of the plant. KEEP EM GREEN AND ALIVE.

and if anyone else needs more info on this there are at least 10 other threads with 50x the pages, discussing the same thing

P.S :
In order to keep and maintain foliage at alltimes (veg&flower), you need a balanced npk ration OR a high N food. o not fall for the hype regarding "bloom" foods. I am fuc king new to this, but i can see my plants happy and foliage was always ON ..