Should I trim fan leaves?

I have heard NEVER to trim fan leaves because they are the "power plants" of the plants obsorbing most of the energy they intake.

But I have some huge fan leaves on my plants, and some are blocking/shading bud sites Underneath.
I probably won't trim them but would love some input from more experienced growers on this. Does anyone trim their fan leaves? I am around 7 weeks into veg and switching to 12/12 this weekend.

Buds don't photosynthesis, leaves do..

racerboy71 said:

Buds don't photosynthesis, leaves do..

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Your point being....

I trim any that shade bud sites and it works great.

I don't trim. I let the plant yellow and drop the fan leaves it no longer needs. I've used both HID and LED lighting and in both instances the plants get plenty of light all the way down to the buckets even though the light is passing through several layers of leaves. Trim don't trim. Up to you and there are plenty of threads on here supporting both methods, see defoliation.

My last grow...I used some fluros to support growth down below, beats trimming the leaves.

Fan leaves are the leaves that absorb the light and turn it into food for ur plant... How the fuck u not not what photosynthesis is?

GKID69 said:

Fan leaves are the leaves that absorb the light and turn it into food for ur plant... How the fuck u not not what photosynthesis is?

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Im still learning asshole, don't have to be a dick about it damn get the fuck
out of my thread if your only going to talk shit

cannabis culture:

photosynthesis; to convert light energy into chemical energy that can fuel the plant
Dr. Jekyll

the point being that the leaves are the fuel engine to drive the growth of the buds
Mr. Hyde

In my opinion it is ok to take a fan off the main stalk as long as the shoot growing from it ts well developed. Spidermite eggs are usually layed under these leaves. This also makes room for the seven, nine and eleven span fans.

Fan leaves produce energy that supports the plant so it can make flowers. Never remove healthy leaves unless doing so on the bottom of the plant to help with airflow. Removing leaves to open up a bud site is just crazy. Simply move a branch.

Everyone always says 'DO NOT TOUCH THE FAN LEAVES!!', 'SOLAR PANELS!!' and all that shit but you know what - from what I've seen experimenting with this, that's a bunch of bullshit. You ever notice how towards the end of flower all the big fan leaves are either yellow or dead? Following that logic, the growth should stop right there and then. But in reality - that is when you get the most increase in size an potency. Buds have clusters of smaller leaves that do most of the work for those specific buds. But fuck the speculation, you know how I know this to be true by myself and not giving a damn about what anyone else says about this? When I had the same question and couldn't find anything conclusive here, I took two identical plants a few weeks into flower and trimmed the big fan leaves off one and left the other alone. The one I trimmed grew better and frostier than the one left alone. I am not saying trim them naked in the middle of flower, but if your leaves are blocking the light and reduce air flow (especially SOG when you're risking mold hiding in the jungle) cut those fuckers off! By then you should know how your plants respond to stress and how not to overdo it.

GKID69 said:

Fan leaves are the leaves that absorb the light and turn it into food for ur plant... How the fuck u not not what photosynthesis is?

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Bagging on this person? You can't even spell the words you are trying to use. We are on an english speaking forum. Maybe this will help. how da fuk du yu not kno hw to rite n inglish?

Kanaplya said:

You ever notice how towards the end of flower all the big fan leaves are either yellow or dead? Following that logic, the growth should stop right there and then. But in reality - that is when you get the most increase in size an potency.

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That's not logic, that's underfeeding your plants. Bet you're using "bloom" food, right? If you feed your plants correctly (balanced nutes high in nitrogen) the fan leaves will stay green to harvest and the plants will produce more buds. Go read some botany books and save the logic for science, where it belongs.

prosperian said:

That's not logic, that's underfeeding your plants. Bet you're using "bloom" food, right? If you feed your plants correctly (balanced nutes high in nitrogen) the fan leaves will stay green to harvest and the plants will produce more buds. Go read some botany books and save the logic for science, where it belongs.

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Save the logic for science and read botany books? Botany is a science you genius. If your leaves are dark green when you harvest, you're drowning your plants in nitrogen which is not gonna help your yield any. There is a reason why flowering is different from veg. But like I said, you can talk out of your ass all day. Show me some results of your non-scientific growing techniques (unless you're growing with god or something in which case I simply don't care).

this is why i use light rails. they expose more leaf surface area to light. i don't trim off big fan leaves.

Don't trim anything man, no matter who says it. When the plant is done with the leaf it will drop it.

Say you have a 1000 watt HID/HPS lighting your grow....
If you pull 75% of your fan leaves at the wrong time, or too many at a time, it would be like putting your plant under a 200 watt light for a while...
Why?
You have not changed your light, why did it stop growing?
You slowed it 75% by taking 75% of its energy receiving leaves.... GET IT?
Every time, you cut any portion of your plant off, you will slow it's growth...
Top it... it slows
Clone it... it slows...
Remove leaves.... it slows
I have done and do all these things when they need to be done....
You remove a portion maybe it's only a .005% leaf... you just slowed it that equal %....
Einstein: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
You pull a leaf, you plant will slow at the same proportion... now, you leaf pullers, go argue with Einstein....
I try really hard to not remove leaves....
Sometimes there is no choice...

You can trim fans until you notice that new greenery is actually white. Then you know you went to far and have to scrap the plant. Been there done that. Bottom line -- you can trim a few fans and be OK. But there is a point where the plant quits maturing if too many fans are missing. Roll the dice. BigSteve.

I grow bud, not leaves.

pull them pesky leaves. It works just fine. Try it yourself, you have nothing to lose. This is how you learn.



Cheers itsme.

GKID69 said:

Fan leaves are the leaves that absorb the light and turn it into food for ur plant... How the fuck u not not what photosynthesis is?

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ALL of the leaves not just fan leaves will produce energy for the plant via photosynthesis
exposing as much of the (green) parts of the plant (all leaves) to the light will produce more yield
and more uniform colas

picking all the leaves off your plant is only slightly more stupid than letting fan leaves completely shade lower and middle sections of the plant
shaded colas often do not develop to their full potential and can produce bud that looks bleached or yellow with the white calyx

before you remove leaves you can tuck them under the canopy, you can use a screen or cage to pull the branches away to allow more light to penetrate
side lighting can be used, or selectively some leaves can be removed
experiment and find what works for your setup/environment

peace