Defoliation Opnions Needed! Pics Provided!

Should this plant be trimmed up?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 31.3%
  • No

    Votes: 11 68.8%

  • Total voters
    16
1 foot candle = 10 lux

I haven't heard of the term in a long ass time, back when Alkaline flashlights used to advertise candle power lol.
 
This is a good discussion.
I definitely trim the bottom third of the plant around week 3 of flower.
It's mostly good hygiene, but it does redirect energy to a degree.
Re: the fan leaves being "energy panels".
There are so many leaves on a plant other than the fans. The buds are full of leaves.
You can select the fans to keep by looking at the growth it is feeding.
The lowest fans are not feeding your top buds.

Earlier in the thread I read a post stating that mother nature knows what it's doing and don't prune.
Wrong.
Left to nature, an unstaked tomato plant would fall over and rot. The suckers would overwhelm the best fruit too.
Want more rosebuds? You deadhead.
Unpruned plants don't perform as well.
You can absolutely improve the conditions for your plant to grow and produce.
 
This is a good discussion.
I definitely trim the bottom third of the plant around week 3 of flower.
It's mostly good hygiene, but it does redirect energy to a degree.
Re: the fan leaves being "energy panels".
There are so many leaves on a plant other than the fans. The buds are full of leaves.
You can select the fans to keep by looking at the growth it is feeding.
The lowest fans are not feeding your top buds.

Earlier in the thread I read a post stating that mother nature knows what it's doing and don't prune.
Wrong.
Left to nature, an unstaked tomato plant would fall over and rot. The suckers would overwhelm the best fruit too.
Want more rosebuds? You deadhead.
Unpruned plants don't perform as well.
You can absolutely improve the conditions for your plant to grow and produce.

True. Mother Nature can handle what was created originally by her. I am sure tomatoes, cannabis and other plants did well before we modified them to get what we need
 
True. Mother Nature can handle what was created originally by her. I am sure tomatoes, cannabis and other plants did well before we modified them to get what we need
Absolutely. Mother Nature doesnt need us.
But she wants plants to reproduce.
We want plants to produce.
That is why we exploit her by doing simple things such as pruning, cloning, trellising etc...
In some extreme cases we take it beyond that, like genetically modifying.
 
Day 16 of flower. Lowered lights to about 15". Not crazy am I? 276watt equivalent LED. Absorbing roughly 1150 umol @ top canopy
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2867.JPG
    IMG_2867.JPG
    1.9 MB · Views: 12
This is a good discussion.
I definitely trim the bottom third of the plant around week 3 of flower.
It's mostly good hygiene, but it does redirect energy to a degree.
Re: the fan leaves being "energy panels".
There are so many leaves on a plant other than the fans. The buds are full of leaves.
You can select the fans to keep by looking at the growth it is feeding.
The lowest fans are not feeding your top buds.

Earlier in the thread I read a post stating that mother nature knows what it's doing and don't prune.
Wrong.
Left to nature, an unstaked tomato plant would fall over and rot. The suckers would overwhelm the best fruit too.
Want more rosebuds? You deadhead.
Unpruned plants don't perform as well.
You can absolutely improve the conditions for your plant to grow and produce.

I don't disagree that slimming up the bottom third is a great idea but I did trained this thing to be short. Bottom 1/3 of this plant gonna be.. juicy..
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2869.JPG
    IMG_2869.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 10
Certainly have plenty of bud sites!

You know, you're right about the height.
Taller they are the better off you are pruning the bottom.
But if you slam the lights down hard and keep 'em squat, you'll have a better chance of production lower down.
Still, they won't be anywhere near what you'll get at the top.
Great for butter though.
Or grinding and vaping.
 
Day 18 of flower, did a good defoliation. Changed light distance to 18" from top of canopy to ease recovery. Pretty happy with the result. Let's hope she is too.. lol
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2871.JPG
    IMG_2871.JPG
    2.1 MB · Views: 10
defoliate the leaves that arent getting light and are gonna die anyway. if a leaf is blocking a bud, bend the leaf under the bud.
 
defoliate the leaves that arent getting light and are gonna die anyway. if a leaf is blocking a bud, bend the leaf under the bud.

Just because he leaf is not directly covering a cola does not mean the leaf is not blocking lateral light. Life is 3D. In my case I went ahead and used that ideology.
 
Just because he leaf is not directly covering a cola does not mean the leaf is not blocking lateral light. Life is 3D.
healthy leaves are laying back and absorbing light vertically. typically an up-down thing when using a scrog. hell, lay the fan leaves underneath the scrog and let the colas stick out.
 
Day 52 of Flower. Lights adjusted to 12.5" from top of canopy.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3218.JPG
    IMG_3218.JPG
    2 MB · Views: 7
  • IMG_3219.JPG
    IMG_3219.JPG
    1.1 MB · Views: 6
Looking very nice.
Do you think defoliating made a difference..
Have you noticed the lower buds have hardened up.
Scrog can reduce the amount of defoliation as you tend to trim below canopy only and if leafs are in the way, you tuck them under the scrog out of the way.
But then again with the size of your plant, scrog could use up the whole grow space, so you couldn't grow anything else.
 
Looking very nice.
Do you think defoliating made a difference..
Have you noticed the lower buds have hardened up.
Scrog can reduce the amount of defoliation as you tend to trim below canopy only and if leafs are in the way, you tuck them under the scrog out of the way.
But then again with the size of your plant, scrog could use up the whole grow space, so you couldn't grow anything else.

What I have taken from this grow is that any defoliation during flower directly hinders the overall yield.. it is best to only defoliate during vegetation stage. I truly believe these colas had a lot more going for them. The weeks they took off to recover was vital.
 
Back
Top