Pruning in bud

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Smokescreen80

Member
I'm a week into flower. I have a decent canopy of healthy plants. I've seen and heard of taking most of the fan leaves off the plants and it will produce bigger colas thus a bigger yield. Is this fact or fiction? Thanks in advance.
 
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oill

Well-Known Member
Smokescreen80 said:
I'm a week into flower. I have a decent canopy of healthy plants. I've seen and heard of taking most of the fan leaves off the plants and it will produce bigger colas thus a bigger yield. Is this fact or fiction? Thanks in advance.
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Hard to prove, but the theory is that indoors they get so much good light they don't need all fan leaves. The air circulation can be improved and getting light to lower buds increases overall weights. I do it and I think it works... I have never a/b tested it tho
 
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Smokescreen80

Member
oill said:
Hard to prove, but the theory is that indoors they get so much good light they don't need all fan leaves. The air circulation can be improved and getting light to lower buds increases overall weights. I do it and I think it works... I have never a/b tested it tho
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Gotcha. Do you feel it's ok to prune the smaller growth also even if I'm in flower? Still early only a week. Figured I'd try to focus the energy on upper growth if I followed directions and it didn't harm the plants in flower.
 
Beehive

Beehive

Well-Known Member
Imagine a cannabis plant outdoors. Flowering and a goat comes up and munches away. There's a limit to how much damage the plant can take. I suspect the theory of bigger buds is due to a better view from leaves not being in the way.
 
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oill

Well-Known Member
Beehive said:
Imagine a cannabis plant outdoors. Flowering and a goat comes up and munches away. There's a limit to how much damage the plant can take. I suspect the theory of bigger buds is due to a better view from leaves not being in the way.
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Do it too late and you can make them hermie tho. Depending on genes obviously
 
osowhom

osowhom

Well-Known Member
why a goat?
Beehive said:
Imagine a cannabis plant outdoors. Flowering and a goat comes up and munches away. There's a limit to how much damage the plant can take. I suspect the theory of bigger buds is due to a better view from leaves not being in the way.
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how about a feral cat lol and you are correct too much plucking can cause shock just do a little here and there get to know your plants they will tell you what they want
 
ilovetoskiatalta

ilovetoskiatalta

Well-Known Member
Smokescreen80 said:
Gotcha. Do you feel it's ok to prune the smaller growth also even if I'm in flower? Still early only a week. Figured I'd try to focus the energy on upper growth if I followed directions and it didn't harm the plants in flower.
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Find your light penetration line and wait until day 23(stretch will be finished) then strip what is below that line. The fan leaves is a a debate for the ages. I remove some fan leaves towards the end of flower just to open up the canopy. Good luck.
 
StareCase

StareCase

Well-Known Member
Smokescreen80 said:
... I've seen and heard of taking most of the fan leaves off the plants and it will produce bigger colas thus a bigger yield. Is this fact or fiction? ...
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Leaf stripping - removing all the fan leaves except the ones at the very top just prior to flower and again following the stretch.

I have done a crop using that leaf stripping technique following a crop grown with pruning selective fan leaves only. Both crops were grown in the exact same environment - identical cultivars in a tent with the SCROG method. Same lighting, buckets, medium, ventilation, nutes, water source ... the whole smash, as it were.

I hauled about 1.5 oz. less with leaf stripping than I did with the selective pruning grow. In my opinion - it's fiction.
 
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Northwood

Well-Known Member
StareCase said:
Leaf stripping - removing all the fan leaves except the ones at the very top just prior to flower and again following the stretch.

I have done a crop using that leaf stripping technique following a crop grown with pruning selective fan leaves only. Both crops were grown in the exact same environment - identical cultivars in a tent with the SCROG method. Same lighting, buckets, medium, ventilation, nutes, water source ... the whole smash, as it were.

I hauled about 1.5 oz. less with leaf stripping than I did with the selective pruning grow. In my opinion - it's fiction.
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I'm not surprised at the results you had between leaf stripping with selective pruning. I think more cannabis growers should grow indeterminate staked tomatoes in their backyards. Then everyone would know better how to train cannabis so that defoliation is hardly necessary. You pick and choose what growing tips are going to give you a cola before flower based on their height and vigor. You can "sucker" all the branches that grow out from the stem just above the leaf without taking the leaf too. This "pruning" aspect is much more important than defoliation. If you're defoliating, it means you fucked up with your plant's training.

I do defoliate in late flower though, just along the cola (leaving the upper fans on) to get more light to the lowers. But it's very gradual and I still don't get much light passing through my plant to be wasted on the floor of the tent.
 
Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
One thing that I recommend when experimenting with defoliation in various stages of growth, try it on one plant and not another, or on half of a plant. This way you can see what the real difference is. Another tip, less is more, if defoliating in flower the only reason to remove a living leaf is if it's blocking bud sites below from getting any light. Sometimes tucking works, other times you clip them but don't go clipping when you are on adderall or you are gonna overdo it. Leaving lower fan leaves is a good thing because they are nitrogen reserves for late flower, sometimes you need to thin them out some to promote better air flow but lollipop first and leave the lower fans, then see how things look before taking those fans.
 
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