Do You Pluck Leafs To get More Light To Bud Sites? Can I change Your Mind?

I read all the time when growers pluck leafs to get more sun to the bud sites. I do not agree with this. If you will listen I would like to change your mind. Or even have a debate if you care to do so.

First off the #1 debate is food for the plant thats in the leafs. I agree with this. The leaf is the plants main energy source. If anything goes wrong in your soil the plant will pull the food from the leafs. This is why you see yellow leafs when problems start. If you pluck leafs your plant just go to leafs left on our plant. This making your plant lose more leafs that it should have until you fix the problem. This is why you see the leafs turn yellow in flowering. it no longer pulls some nutes from the soil. it pulls from the leafs during flower. But wait you pluck all those. So your plants looks bare come finishing time.

from what I read not many grower know that sunlight will travel right thru a pot leaf. I cannot remember the exact % that travels thru a leaf. But it is higher 70% range or even higher. So if sunlight will travel right thru a pot leaf why would you pluck it to get more sun inside? Take a bright flash light and shine it onto a pot leaf at night. The light goes right thru it. Now take the same bright light and shine it up thru the bottom of your plant. You will see how light will travel thru the plant. It will light up every leaf like a light bulb. If a bright light cannot travel right thru. So can the sun and much better rate. Again why pluck when it travels right thru the leafs?


Now this is the hardest part to do. But if you can get the plant to respond and be in perfect health. You will notice that there is also no need to pluck any leaf at all. A happy plant growing in perfect health and harmony will have every fan leaf and inside leaf sticking almost straight up and out. If your plant has all it's leafs sticking straight up they leafs will not be in any sunlight way anyway. A plant that is not sticking it leafs straight up and drooping. This making the grower think he needs more sun inside the plant and starts plucking. Here is a pic to show you what I talking about. Notice how all the leafs are straight up? They are not blocking any sun at all. And if they were the sun would go right thru them. If thei plants leafs were not sticking straight up. it would looks like it needs more light. Also when sticking straight up. Notice the air flow factor thru the plant? If they were drooping there would be no air flow.





This plant will even stick up at night. It only does this the night befor it needs water. Why? The roots are working extra hard to find water. Those growing at the same time. Another reason never to over water. And only water plants when they start to droop. If you over water you miss this process letting your plant miss out on growth.



This pic is good to how how sun can get into your plant with a healthy growing plant. Nature has a way of taking care of them.



The most common reason for droopy leafs is over watering. and not watering plants heavy until about a gallon of more water runs out the bottom of your pot. You need to ge the salts out of your soil. So water when they droop and water heavy heavy heavy when you do water. There can be other problems sure. But these two will stop many of them or sure.
Sme times the mega huge bottom fan leafs cannot stick up for they are to heavy. Just let them be. Remember sun goes right thru them. I pick any and all leafs that touch the ground. I only pick yellow leafs when they come off with the small tug.


Okay friends not trying to argue here. Just wanted to share my findings. If you do not agree fell free to post up. I am to hard headed not to listen and will be nice.

looks great!

GREAT GROW! in my opinion i don't pluck any fan leafs,
mabe half cut the leafs but never take the full thing unless it yellows off.

Here is my grow thread from the pics above. Notice the plant on the left? She needs water. All my plants I water at different times.

https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/453661-5150s-monster-backyard-2011-hello.html




Think about how my plants will stick up at night. When they do that they will need water the next afternoon. The same night I water the same plant will NOT stick up at night. Why? it is not working for food. The plant needs water so bad it does not let the plant sleep. This is when the roots are growing I am thinking. Thats what you hear me say roots do not seak and search out water when the plant is over watered. The do not need to for they have plenty. Just think if you have not ate for a week. And you knew there was food near by. Would you sleep or walk around the corner and gets some free food?

i trim off all fan leaves during veg once in a while because i have noticed that it helps fill the plant in. everytime i do it the plants gets bushier and fuller. also during flower any fan leaf that dares block ANY amount of light from my budsites has a death wish in my opinion. even if 80% of light goes through the leaf that is still 20% that doesnt.... i also believe just like in cloning when you cut leaves in half to help the plant use all available energy and nutes to push roots during flower if you thin out your plant it will use more nutes and energy to maintain buds instead of fan leaves. there was a comparrison done on another site before where the guy left all leaves on a bunch of plants and cut off all fan leaves on another set the ones without fan leaves had noticeably larger fuller buds at harvest.

Can you post the thread. I would like to see if his leafs were sticking straight up. If not the side by side was not done right IMO. A leaf sticking straight up should not block anything as the suns goes by all day.

Thanks for the reply friend.

5150 said:

Can you post the thread. I would like to see if his leafs were sticking straight up. If not the side by side was not done right IMO. A leaf sticking straight up should not block anything as the suns goes by all day.

Thanks for the reply friend.

Click to expand...

we are talking indoor not outdoor growing. i dont think we are supposed to post up links to other sites. i will try to find it and PM you

I got your post in the PM. I did not see a side by side. Also the grower tied the plant over. Taking real leafconcern out of the question. I am not sure what % a of a halide goes thru an indoor plant. Perhaps thats a factor indoor. Those were nice buds. But we both seen bigger buds with huge leafs sticking out of them indoor and out.

Show me a 3lb,4lb or 5lb plant that has been plucked.

I agree with the OP. Removing green foliage will always(prove me wrong) result in a net loss at harvest.

You may get prettier buds, but you won't get more buds.

We use the entire plants for buds, hash, and butter. Nothing wasted.

No complaints with bushy plants.

I feel there is no benefit to removing fans on out door plants.Indoor i feel it is acceptable to an extent.

Indoors you can have air circulation issues that can be more damaging than not. So you do have to thin em' sometimes indoors. But I agree on outdoor plants....leave em' be and let nature take it's course. My plants always do much better when I leave everything on em' till it falls off on it's own. That's when the plant is done with the leaf, when it drops off on it's own.

Hi dude, I dont really suffer from any probs that mean I have to remove leaves for light penetration etc... However I thought about what you said with the Flash Light and holding up a leaf at night etc... however.. Depending on the size of the plant in question and the bushiness of it, larger bushier plants can have multiple leaves in the way of a bud-site, and if you hold say 7 - 10 leaves in front of a Flash Light at night the light coming through the last leaf will be significantly reduced.

So for denser plants that are very bushy I think removing smaller leaves is ok..But I do not recommend removing fan leaves, as they are very important in the plants well being!

Most indoor growers are more concerned with air-movement.. and reducing the risk of bud-mould.. which is why I personally use a SCROG screen to pull the branches apart to allow more light to the important area/s, and also to allow good air movement - STELTHY

Hay about the watering point you suggested. Its around 90 but long ass days that appear to make dry spots in my plants.
I have to water twice a day or they simply wilt with smart pots.

I have noticed some plants not taking the water any more and I had to use shade cloth!

Do I flood the salts out? I water with food in the AM and night about one gallon with water.

Iv got wilters and the 100 temps have not even hit yet!

I will save you a lot of trouble since I asked this same question last year. The thread got a little ridiculous with some of the responses but it's entertaining and somewhat informative.

Here's a link to my post, https://www.rollitup.org/outdoor-growing/357024-wise-cut-upper-leaves-during.html