Have some nice plants 6 days in flower and im wondering whether they would benefit from a bit of defoliation. Have been leaf tucking as best i can but they seem to be quite bushy. I dont want to stunt them now im on flower as they are feeding well and growing strong
Strip or no strip?
- Thread starter Marcorfl
- Start date
How much would you do mate? Just a tad at the bottom and middle? Would you remove lower shoots and the ones in the middle? Cheers
HydoDan
Well-Known Member
I basiclly "defoliate" the bottom part for watering and top dressing access.. Then do like @Jjgrow420 said..
Clean out the middle and leave as many big fans as possible around the edges.. They do look a little heavy on N.. You'll get it..
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
I think you would be better served if you removed the lower growth and left the upper leaves.
We grow for tops, not bottoms right?
These plants grow some giant leaves and I thought removing those to gain light to shoots completely shaded who be a better trade off. I could wrong
Boatguy
Well-Known Member
Removing suckers that will never reach the top canopy is more effective imo.
Leaves feed the plant, act as a signal that something is wrong, as well as emergency food source for new growth
I do remove leaves for better airflow through the plant if it is a leafy bitch
fatboyOGOF
Well-Known Member
i think defoliation for cannabis is a joke. others think it's a miracle of botanical science. there are no scientific studies done on it yet, but tell a true believer that it's nonsense, you've got a fight on your hands. somebody will provide a list of the plants that do get better with some defoliating but it has NOTHING to do with weed. they just like to pretend they have a secret grow method. makes me laugh.
i tuck once in a while, with huge indica leaves, but that's about it. i don't do it thinking i'm going to get bigger buds or more trichs, i usually do it when i'm stoned and bored. if defoliating cannabis was a great thing and only fools and old farts like me laughed at it, everybody, and i mean everybody would be doing it.
some who crowd their grow areas very tight will cut some leaves to allow for better air flow and if their lights aren't up to deep penetration, they'll cut some leaves to allow for more light, i just keep them short and bushy. unfortunately they will claim that defoliation makes them produce more, which is kind of true when considering crowding and very tall plants, but the people reading their posts think it's good to do under all circumstances. something for nothing and your chicks for free.
i'm old and have grown most of my life, i've spent hundreds of hours reading and posting on grow boards and if i thought i could get a decent, worthwhile increase in weight or quality by chopping off the fan leaves, those things would be worm food.
just do a lot of grows and try all the wacky stuff folks come up with. other than defoliating (which enough friends tried back in the day and stopped doing it) i have tried a bunch of things, but only when my cupboard is stacked with 3/4 full jars of buds.
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calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
I strip all large & medium leaves, mostly all the leaves with long stems on day 20 of flower. I want the biggest buds possible top to bottom and I've grown both ways leave it be and strip and definitely when stripping them you will get better flower yields and less small buds.
Other benefits are less watering, humidity steadies out and all buds get way better airflow.
Other benefits are less watering, humidity steadies out and all buds get way better airflow.
Grow Monster
Well-Known Member
Defo will not give u bigger yield. It will give better air flow. Indoor plants don't need as many leaves as outdoors. U got way more then needed. Imo in your situation strip away.
Just wondering if pic was taken at bedtime. Plants look great but posture seems like their exhausted.
Just wondering if pic was taken at bedtime. Plants look great but posture seems like their exhausted.
amneziaHaze
Well-Known Member
Trust me do a lolipop you will hate your selfe when triming starts if you dont.yes you get nice popcorns for brownies but pain in the ass to work
Day 16 from 12/12 plants and im happy with how they are looking, not a large stretch on these girls and i seem to have one pheno that is flowering faster than the rest. I did pull a few big fans off to allow more light to smaller bud sites but nothing major. They are getting very bushy now. Feeding well on 2.0ec ph stable at 5.9/6
Led on 75% (450w) and a 600w hps dimmed to 400w until next week where I’ll probably switch to 100% on both
Led on 75% (450w) and a 600w hps dimmed to 400w until next week where I’ll probably switch to 100% on both
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Treesomewanted77
Well-Known Member
They look healthy and that is the most important part just keep up the good work
Thanks mate, starting pk this week…not sure if I’ll push the ec much more than 2.0 for 50/50 hybrids they definitely lean towards indica growth
Day 22 and the stretch looks close to being over. Happy with Bud development for this early on…hopefully they can just start to stack and swell now. Pulled a handful of leaves off each plant to allow for better airflow as these are super bushy! The led plants seem to have bigger buds than the hps plants although the leds are getting slightly less ppfd which is interesting. E.c 2.1
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MtRainDog
Well-Known Member
I won't advocate for stripping a plant bare, but selectively pulling a few fans here and there won't hurt anything if you're looking for better airflow and maybe better light penetration. I've never seen any difference in bud though. Lollipopping works, but that's more about removing lower bud sites.
I get a little more aggressive with removing fans toward the end of flower, just to make the trim job a little easier.
I get a little more aggressive with removing fans toward the end of flower, just to make the trim job a little easier.