Should I prune a little or wait?

What's up everyone, I have 4 girls that are a bit out of control. They are just starting the second week of flower(no buds yet). I'm thinking i may need to lollipop or cut some of the leaves back but not sure when the best time to do it is...

Any advice is very appreciated. Thanks View attachment 4120796 all!

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You seem to have good side lighting set up there so I would probably just stay as you are. Otherwise you can take the lower 1/3 off (or lowest 1/4 is straggly needle thin branches just make sure they aren’t main leaders) , but in all honesty I would go with the sea of green you have going on!

slinkysaurus said:

You seem to have good side lighting set up there so I would probably just stay as you are. Otherwise you can take the lower 1/3 off (or lowest 1/4 is straggly needle thin branches just make sure they aren’t main leaders) , but in all honesty I would go with the sea of green you have going on!

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Ya, I just know some of the bottom stems will steal from the upper ones. I've never lollipopped before so this is a learning experience for me.

Once you start chopping it becomes a habit! Very easy to go too far as well for aesthetic reasons lol.
Take off the lowest set of scraggly branches that’ll give you popcorn. Or try it on a few. It’s the only way to learn and be shown just how resilient they are! Once you start learning to prune heavily and train, it’s very veryyyyy rewarding

slinkysaurus said:

Once you start chopping it becomes a habit! Very easy to go too far as well for aesthetic reasons lol.
Take off the lowest set of scraggly branches that’ll give you popcorn. Or try it on a few. It’s the only way to learn and be shown just how resilient they are! Once you start learning to prune heavily and train, it’s very veryyyyy rewarding

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I seen a how-to video, and it said use a razor and cut all the way to the main stem. does that sound about right to you, or should i stay back from the main?

Meh..I just get a pair of garden snips (for the grow room) and nip it off a few cm away from the stem and pull it out. I’m probably a little rough compared to those fine how to videos. I’ve never had any problems tho. I certainly don’t go in right to the main stem cos it’s just another point to split open when it gets dry.

A sharp pair of garden shears is all you need, the cleaner the cut the better and less chance of infection, I use wood glue on the wound with my fingertip to seal the wound up but thats just my thing and most people wouldn't bother doing anything. Just take off small bottom branches and suckers I also take off small bits from inside branches tgat turn into popcorn but everyone has their own process. Just don' get carried away it' easy to do lol

Ya buddy. time for haircuts. beautiful tho.

I have 2 plants that look fairly similar to these. I would like to prune but as it being my first grow and i really don't want them to hermit due to stress, and the fact I would like to see what produces bud and what doesnt so the next grow I will be more than enough prepared to prune as needed. But they are some bushy bitches..

let me show you pruned to hell. You cant stress the plant out from pruning. Its not even easy to stress out this plant. in breeding projects we try hard to force stress upon the budding plants to obtain the pollen produced buy the "Hermi" male bananna organ. In this picture you are looking at my master gold Kush mother that has been lopped off of about 50 times in the last 6 weeks.

So going in to the first of week 2 should be an excellent time to do it then. Maybe I will do a little bit when I get home and see how it turns out.

If It doesn't seem like it's getting good light down below the canopy, you can either slowly and gently pinch some of the upper branches so they bend away a bit, opening up the next set down to be more exposed. Or you can completely remove the bottom smaller shoots. Just a sharp pair of snips or a razor will do. I cut right at the base so theres no nub or anything and it heals up pretty quickly too. If you're unsure, just do a little bit at a time because you can always take more later, but never can put any back. I go overboard sometimes but never had any issues from that lol. But all in all, if it isn't getting any light, it might as well be gone anyway right? Although, buds further down will still develop, they just will be more airy and more of a pain to trim at harvest. From experience, doing side by side comparisons, the plants who get lollipopped seem to have denser colas due to the plant not wasting energy on the smaller stuff. It's really just a choice or preference how you want the end product to be.

MisssMaryjane said:

I seen a how-to video, and it said use a razor and cut all the way to the main stem. does that sound about right to you, or should i stay back from the main?

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I learned to cut branches at an angle and a little away from the main stem. The short half of the angle cut is on bottom so moisture does not collect at the wound.

But I would just bend branches so it all fits well with those tomato rings. Although I don’t know how powerful your light is and previous results with lower buds.

I space them out and keep air space in between every plant so they don’t touch and get good dense lowers from the airflow and bent branches.

When I grew in a tent I flowered them smaller and did the same thing. Bend main stem before week 2 and train branches to be a bush with tops all over.

So many ways to do it. We have to find a method that fits our space and style.

Great work by the way! Plants are nice n healthy and happy.

MichiganMedGrower said:

I learned to cut branches at an angle and a little away from the main stem. The short half of the angle cut is on bottom so moisture does not collect at the wound.

But I would just bend branches so it all fits well with those tomato rings. Although I don’t know how powerful your light is and previous results with lower buds.

I space them out and keep air space in between every plant so they don’t touch and get good dense lowers from the airflow and bent branches.

When I grew in a tent I flowered them smaller and did the same thing. Bend main stem before week 2 and train branches to be a bush with tops all over.

So many ways to do it. We have to find a method that fits our space and style.

Great work by the way! Plants are nice n healthy and happy.

View attachment 4121253

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Thanks for the response. I wish i could space them out a lil but my 4x4 tent is full and out of room. That's why i'm thinking i need to do some lollipopping. Never done it before but im gonna give it a go. I think ill take a few lower branches today, and maybe trim whats left in a week or so.

MichiganMedGrower said:

I learned to cut branches at an angle and a little away from the main stem. The short half of the angle cut is on bottom so moisture does not collect at the wound.

But I would just bend branches so it all fits well with those tomato rings. Although I don’t know how powerful your light is and previous results with lower buds.

I space them out and keep air space in between every plant so they don’t touch and get good dense lowers from the airflow and bent branches.

When I grew in a tent I flowered them smaller and did the same thing. Bend main stem before week 2 and train branches to be a bush with tops all over.

So many ways to do it. We have to find a method that fits our space and style.

Great work by the way! Plants are nice n healthy and happy.

View attachment 4121253

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That's a nice looking lady!

Thanks all for the responses. I'll be trimming today. wish me luck.

MisssMaryjane said:

Thanks for the response. I wish i could space them out a lil but my 4x4 tent is full and out of room. That's why i'm thinking i need to do some lollipopping. Never done it before but im gonna give it a go. I think ill take a few lower branches today, and maybe trim whats left in a week or so.

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i'm a trimmer lol.it was recommended to me to do after week two but no later than week 3 after introducing your 12/12 schedule.waiting a couple weeks after 12/12 to prune may slow it from stretching even more due to being pruned(if that makes sense).i run cobs and those lower branches dont add up much for me,i could make oil i suppose,but i mainly prune to increase airflow/circulation.good luck,your plants look great!

natureboygrower said:

i'm a trimmer lol.it was recommended to me to do after week two but no later than week 3 after introducing your 12/12 schedule.waiting a couple weeks after 12/12 to prune may slow it from stretching even more due to being pruned(if that makes sense).i run cobs and those lower branches dont add up much for me,i could make oil i suppose,but i mainly prune to increase airflow/circulation.good luck,your plants look great!

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Thank u! Surprisingly their not really stretching too much. I'm glad because i'm a runnin' outta room

MisssMaryjane said:

Thank u! Surprisingly their not really stretching too much. I'm glad because i'm a runnin' outta room

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lol.i feel your pain.i had to use some chain and washers to weigh some branches down in my grow.do what you have to!