Pruning

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buddynuggzz

New Member
Once the plant starts to flower should you start trimming the sun leaves? I’ve been told to trim them by some people & not to by others. Does it make a difference?
 
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SnidleyBluntash

SnidleyBluntash

Well-Known Member
buddynuggzz said:
Once the plant starts to flower should you start trimming the sun leaves? I’ve been told to trim them by some people & not to by others. Does it make a difference?
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No don’t do it. You will need all the leaves you can get. No more will grow once in flower. If you mess up, the leaves will be your signal to tell you info. Unless you are perfectly dialed in and know everything then leave them.
 
HibbityJibbity

HibbityJibbity

Member
buddynuggzz said:
Once the plant starts to flower should you start trimming the sun leaves? I’ve been told to trim them by some people & not to by others. Does it make a difference?
Click to expand...
It's really a personal choice, the plant will grow either way. Some people believe you should never cut a viable leaf because you're taking the sugar away from that area and the plant has to compensate to produce good bud in that area. The idea being taking leaves stresses the plant and may slow growth or stunt, so they believe in folding the leaves underneath the canopy or out of the way of any nearby bud sites to allow better light penetration.

The other side of the coin are those that pull fan leaves for better light penetration, with the thinking being if you can get more light farther down the plant you'll get bigger buds down the plant and increase in yields. You can do either or none. I'd at least offer this tidbit, if you're 'going to defoliate during flower, at least keep a good canopy. I've seen people defol nearly the entire plant, which lets light penetrate sure, plants had buds stacked nicely. Buds were smaller and overall the plant never really recovered and produced. What I saw in that grow was the most of the light was hitting the floor of the tent because he took so much off.

If you're going to do it, try waiting until around week 3 or so to defoliate, and when you do try taking only those fan leaves that are blocking bud sites above the canopy line without taking too many at one time. If you're in the tent every day you can see what's growing over what and remedy the problem. If you're not sure you can do this correctly on your next run, try folding the leaves underneath other leaves so you can keep the sugars the plant needs. Try not to make the plant restart all it's leaves, it's just one more thing that messes with your harvest date and yield and when you're in flower you're usually not throwing a lot of nitrogen at the plant to help regrow leaves.


edit.... just noticed I really didn't try to answer your question. Defoliating or bending leaves away from bud sites can increase yields if done correctly (just my personal opinion). The point of either method is to get more light farther down the plant to increase yields. It CAN make a difference depending on how it's done, plant genetics and overall plant care. If your plants are stressed bad enough don't do it because it'll just add more stress and stunt you for sure. Only defoliate a healthy plant, and do it with care with the objective of opening up bud sites that were previously blocked by a fan leaf. That should be enough to increase bud size yet keep the plant running near top speed. If you defoliate too much you'll degrade your yield and possibly screw up your harvest date and method of determining ripeness.

If you're growing commercially or for others, yield makes a difference. If you're growing for yourself and have a 4x4 tent and a good light you're going to have plenty of smoke to last you beyond your next grow. Unless you only grow once a year. With proper lighting, genetics, fertilization and general good husbandry there aren't too many reasons left why you can't approach a pound out of the tent. Full canopy required*
 
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ProPheT 216

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
Only remove what's needed for air flow and light penetration. Also try to do 5-8 leaves at a time to not shock the plant.
 
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