Removing lower bud sites
- Thread starter Flowki
- Start date
DemonTrich
Well-Known Member
I pluck all the lower garbage, but leave all the fans. The plant will drop a leaf if not needed, until then they stay on the plant
Flowki
Well-Known Member
Does it benefit?
DemonTrich
Well-Known Member
The plant will focus it's energy on the upper buds and not waste it on the lower garbage.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
It always benefits to do a little light leaf pruning (actually use scissors, don't just pluck them off), even in late flower. It helps to stimulate terpene production! Which brings out more flavor and smell. Don't over do it though.
And I'd say you're better off pruning leaves towards the top to let light through to the lower canopy. Yes, their energy will transfer up. But again, don't over do it. You want fan leaves at all points of the plant, but big obnoxious ones that are blocking light access to other parts of the plant should be removed.
In your first two weeks of flower you'll want to go through the lower sections of your plant and cut off any branches that hold bud that wouldn't get enough light to bulk up into anything. That way when your plant enters it's bulk up phase it won't waste any energy on buds that won't be anything more than popcorn. Making your top colas that much fatter. You won't want to do anything this stressful for the plant past the second week of flower though.
WeedFreak78
Well-Known Member
Prune lower bud sites and minor side branching, not leaves, according to your lightings penetration depths. A 600 will effectively penetrate about 24"@ ~12" above the canopy, 1000 will penetrate around 30". Leave as much leaf mass as possible, they have stored energy/nutrients as well as energy producers, as long as they are green and healthy, the plant will shed them as it needs to.
Ideally you would grow your plants so no pruning is needed and you get full light penetration to the bottoms of the plant. Anything your cutting off is just wasted time and nutrients.
Ideally you would grow your plants so no pruning is needed and you get full light penetration to the bottoms of the plant. Anything your cutting off is just wasted time and nutrients.
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
Why would you remove the leaves that are doing the majority of the heavy lifting? This doesn't make sense. Big obnoxious leaves blocking all the light? That's what they're supposed to do!
This is one of the worst things you can do.
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
Lower sucker tips can be removed to shape the canopy, but if you're going to chop them, don't wait until they're branches. Cutting off branches is a waste of energy and time. Any mass of plant matter thrown away in pruning is wasted energy/time so if you have a huge pile after you're finished, you butchered it. If you have a pile of tiny suckers, you've wasted very little time/energy.
Resinhound
Well-Known Member
There is so much wrong with this post, total nonsense. Dont remove leaves exposed to light, that's just ridiculous. This post reeks with bro science.
harris hawk
Well-Known Member
just leave a 2 inch space from soil to first set of leaves - which means taking off lower branches (weak ones)
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
I am more bro than scientist! In my experience, I have had more success by removing large, inward growing leaves that block light from reaching the middle and lower growing portions of the plant. It has gotten me more even nug size from my middle and lower parts of the plant. And an overall better yield. Just sharing the experiences that have worked for me. I will always yield my opinions to the scientists.
since1991
Well-Known Member
Removing lower branches that dont amount to much is for ease of harvest later on and trimming period. And to help in opening up the lower area for better air circulation and bug out breaks (mites like to "hide" down there). My grandma pruned lower growth on her veggie, herb, and houseplants. She called it thinning. But this whole "focuses energy on the prime tops" bullshit reeks of bro science to me. So called "focused energy" is the lamps...not the plant. And the plant responds to it...hence a canopy of flowers. I do lollipop. But mainly for ease of trimming reasons. My top buds get no bigger nor more potent with or without chopping lower non producing growth.
Last edited:
Diabolical666
Well-Known Member
Ive harvested the ripe tops of a plant and let the smaller bottom buds finish out bc they were still throwing whites. They never really amount to too much...just dense up a bit. It does help alot when trimming you lolli the bottom branches. Bro science naaaaa. I think some strains really benefit from this...yes, the energy wants to go straight to the tops. Apple tree growers taught us this trick
since1991
Well-Known Member
Before the forums and state legalization. ....how many were growing dope number one? Number two...how many were using wonky nutrient additives , "flushing" plant media before harvest , and pruning lower growth to "focus energy on the tops" ??? I swear we have come full circle from the hippie generation and hanging plants upside down to "let thc drain into the buds" or boiling roots and other crazy tales. Once cannabis goes fully legal and real scientists and botanist get a hold of this in a mainstream sort of way....alot of our underground practices are going to seem ridiculous.
Diabolical666
Well-Known Member
I was just saying that yesterday...I have done all kinds of unnessesary shit when I started to grow. Now I see they were a waste of time. We are kind of setting history here talking about what works and what doesnt
skunkwreck
Well-Known Member
Yep Apple trees , peach trees and Grape vineyards do this very practice .
Edit: I now do the least amount possible and have had some if the best grows since .
WeedFreak78
Well-Known Member
People have grown cannabis for millenia, using tailored nutrients at different times. Fish, blood, bone. .all known additives to soil, for specific needs, and to pump up harvests. Pruning has also been a standard practice in gardens to control crops. Many plants produce better with limited fruiting sites, producing more useable fruit when pruned. Pruning can even trigger a defensive response in cannabis enhancing terpine and tricome production, 2 of cannabis' main defense mechanisms, in the same way UV exposure does. We pretty much understand how similar herbaceous plants act, it's not much different. Most of the stupid shit is loosely based on actual science, just not carried out very well. Science will only correct and fine tune what's already known.
Rasta Roy
Well-Known Member
This is exactly what I was saying to do, but it was too bro science for some apparently.
Flowki
Well-Known Member
You'd probably be foolish to say theirs not at-least a bit of truth on both sides. Obviously the question is how much.
What does seem to be a constant is that most indoor people are on side with mild to severe pruning/training while most out door people tend to lean toward leaving shit be, aside form some topping/fimming. Those opinions are surely forming off of collective results.
Taking a guess, stretch is the problem indoor due to light penetration issues. Particularly if veged under cfl/mh that keep a tight low canopy then flipped under HPS. Hps as read contributes to extra stretch of dom sites degrading the efficiency of the once level canopy and now ''secondary'' sites.
It would be interesting to see side by sides of loli-defo/none loli-defo on veged 600w cmh also used during first 4 week of flip. Also slowly reducing light cycle from 18 > 16 > 14 > 12 on the run up to it. Again speculating, it would? reduce stretch and need for cutting anything far below stretch away that in turn would shorten veg time or allow more productive veg time (thickening of stems). As somebody said, cutting things away is wasted time, won't argue with that.
What does seem to be a constant is that most indoor people are on side with mild to severe pruning/training while most out door people tend to lean toward leaving shit be, aside form some topping/fimming. Those opinions are surely forming off of collective results.
Taking a guess, stretch is the problem indoor due to light penetration issues. Particularly if veged under cfl/mh that keep a tight low canopy then flipped under HPS. Hps as read contributes to extra stretch of dom sites degrading the efficiency of the once level canopy and now ''secondary'' sites.
It would be interesting to see side by sides of loli-defo/none loli-defo on veged 600w cmh also used during first 4 week of flip. Also slowly reducing light cycle from 18 > 16 > 14 > 12 on the run up to it. Again speculating, it would? reduce stretch and need for cutting anything far below stretch away that in turn would shorten veg time or allow more productive veg time (thickening of stems). As somebody said, cutting things away is wasted time, won't argue with that.
Last edited: