Should I defol? Also lst help

This is about the plant on the left

Fast Buds purple punch auto.
autopot and Jack’s 321. Just started stretch a few days ago. Switched to 2-2-2-1.5 then.

It’s so shrubby. I’ve read both arguments regarding defoliating autos. Just let it go?

I’m concerned the branches will all be touching (happened before). I’m not sure how to lst without cutting into my autopot. Have you found any other way? The plant looks great, doesn’t it just need some breathing room?

You can use little binder clips around the pot and tie string or pipe cleaners to those. Or safety pins. I prefer binder clips because they are quick and easy to move around if needed.

I’d mainly focus on spreading the branches with ties of some sort to the edges of the pot to allow more room for growth and light into the denser areas. You might thin it just a little. Pot looks small. What size is that? I’d also trim any lower branching growth that’s getting lost in the dense growth - future larf. But generally less is more when it comes to cutting autos, imo.

TCH said:

You can use little binder clips around the pot and tie string or pipe cleaners to those. Or safety pins. I prefer binder clips because they are quick and easy to move around if needed.

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Great idea! Thanks.

DeadHeadX said:

I’d mainly focus on spreading the branches with ties of some sort to the edges of the pot to allow more room for growth and light into the denser areas. You might thin it just a little. Pot looks small. What size is that? I’d also trim any lower branching growth that’s getting lost in the dense growth - future larf. But generally less is more when it comes to cutting autos, imo.

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When do I trim the nothing branches? Already in stretch.

When all the growth tips look like this Id say its mostly done with stretch. I prune and defol a little as needed right before that as I can see all the scraggly growth better.

I run clones over and over so Im not learning much. See that indoor its true the lowers dont get any light. I wouldnt over think it its a improvement thing thatll develop as you go.

Im still learning too but yea nice job keeping them happy.

medidedicated said:

When all the growth tips look like this Id say its mostly done with stretch. I prune and defol a little as needed right before that as I can see all the scraggly growth better.

I run clones over and over so Im not learning much. See that indoor its true the lowers dont get any light. I wouldnt over think it its a improvement thing thatll develop as you go.

Im still learning too but yea nice job keeping them happy.

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Nice praying leaves on yours!

I heard praying isnt good its trying to deflect light which Im not surprised Im really lazy this run since clones over grew. Lights a bit close.

wheelyman said:

This is about the plant on the left

Fast Buds purple punch auto.
autopot and Jack’s 321. Just started stretch a few days ago. Switched to 2-2-2-1.5 then.

It’s so shrubby. I’ve read both arguments regarding defoliating autos. Just let it go?

I’m concerned the branches will all be touching (happened before). I’m not sure how to lst without cutting into my autopot. Have you found any other way? The plant looks great, doesn’t it just need some breathing room?

Click to expand...

Those plants are looking really good. Congrats. You're giving them lots of food (light is how plants make food).

And thumbs up on the Jacks' — I switched to Jacks after a few grows. Works just great.

There's nothing magic about growing autoflowers though I do understand the complaints about the results from years ago (> a decade, it seems).

Most seeds we buy are hybrids of indica and saliva, created by growers who want to include certain characteristics from those two different strains. Autos have genes from ruderalis included with the indica and sativa genes.











One of the photos has autoflowers, the other two are photos. Which is which?

Re. pruning - my practice has been to remove only leaves that are heavily senesced, that are damaged, or that are blocking air flow. Other than the, I'm at a loss as to why I would want to remove leaves from a plant. As cannabis leaves get older, they lose their photosynthetic efficiency and move closer to becoming a net photosynthetic loss. When that occurs, the plant will start to draw nutrients from the leaf for use at the top of the plant - that's what we see as "senescence". If you remove those leaves, the nutrients will not be available.

I'm far from a "nature knows best" thinker - nature takes a lot of wrong turns along the way (that's the idea behind evolution, right?) but when it comes to removing leaves from a plant, I leave (pardon the pun) most of them on the plant one reason being that researchers get a quizzical look on their face when asked about it and I've never seen any robust evidence that removing leaves, other than for the reasons I've mentioned, increases crop yield or quality.



Top two pix are photos, the bottom one is autos.

Top picture is the result of a truly staggering fuckup on my part due to adding hydrogen peroxide to my humidifier water to stop algae from growing. I was so pleased with myself that I didn't have to clean the humidifier that it wasn't until a few weeks too late that I noticed how much I was adding* and then pruning too much of the plant away because of an irrational fear of bud rot. Totally stepped on my dick.

Second picture is my first photo grow - which I lost to bud rot (which is why I over-did the pruning on the plant above)

Third is a couple of autos. They're beasts. That grow ended up using three lights and yielded 699 gm/24.7 ounces even though my average DLI was only 49mol.



*I refer to it as a "Claus von Bulow" moment.

A little prayings good but if its excessively, I think its not good, bust out the ppfd meter and etc.

medidedicated said:

A little prayings good but if its excessively, I think its not good, bust out the ppfd meter and etc.

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"They're so happy they need to get a room."

Delps8 said:

Those plants are looking really good. Congrats. You're giving them lots of food (light is how plants make food).

And thumbs up on the Jacks' — I switched to Jacks after a few grows. Works just great.

There's nothing magic about growing autoflowers though I do understand the complaints about the results from years ago (> a decade, it seems).

Most seeds we buy are hybrids of indica and saliva, created by growers who want to include certain characteristics from those two different strains. Autos have genes from ruderalis included with the indica and sativa genes.


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View attachment 5406235


View attachment 5406236

One of the photos has autoflowers, the other two are photos. Which is which?

Re. pruning - my practice has been to remove only leaves that are heavily senesced, that are damaged, or that are blocking air flow. Other than the, I'm at a loss as to why I would want to remove leaves from a plant. As cannabis leaves get older, they lose their photosynthetic efficiency and move closer to becoming a net photosynthetic loss. When that occurs, the plant will start to draw nutrients from the leaf for use at the top of the plant - that's what we see as "senescence". If you remove those leaves, the nutrients will not be available.

I'm far from a "nature knows best" thinker - nature takes a lot of wrong turns along the way (that's the idea behind evolution, right?) but when it comes to removing leaves from a plant, I leave (pardon the pun) most of them on the plant one reason being that researchers get a quizzical look on their face when asked about it and I've never seen any robust evidence that removing leaves, other than for the reasons I've mentioned, increases crop yield or quality.



Top two pix are photos, the bottom one is autos.

Top picture is the result of a truly staggering fuckup on my part due to adding hydrogen peroxide to my humidifier water to stop algae from growing. I was so pleased with myself that I didn't have to clean the humidifier that it wasn't until a few weeks too late that I noticed how much I was adding* and then pruning too much of the plant away because of an irrational fear of bud rot. Totally stepped on my dick.

Second picture is my first photo grow - which I lost to bud rot (which is why I over-did the pruning on the plant above)

Third is a couple of autos. They're beasts. That grow ended up using three lights and yielded 699 gm/24.7 ounces even though my average DLI was only 49mol.



*I refer to it as a "Claus von Bulow" moment.

Click to expand...

You’ve got character! And thank you for all the information. Really good stuff here. Grats on the almost 700g club. (It’s not really one, but it can be).