Which and how many leaves do I remove as my plant moves into flowering

grow the doe doe

grow the doe doe

Member
YO! I know to remove the new sprouts towards the bottom of the plant but i have some really bushing Train Wreck and it seems like i have too many fan leaves cutting out light.

I super cropped it too.

Whats the rule with removing unwanted leaves and how do i determine if they are un wanted?

GRACIAS ARRIBA! :joint:
 
K

kermit2692

Well-Known Member
Remove almost zero leaves..yes pull bottom shoots going into flowering but that is all...your best bet if a leaf is in your way is to use a twist tie or anything else you prefer to relocate the leaf a bit..or just tuck them around buds and out of the way one or two times a day...that's what's best, that said, if you must remove one or two bothering you that won't stop covering an important bud then it won't make a huge detrimental effect off you clip them
 
K

kermit2692

Well-Known Member
Should add if you clip to many it will kill yield...the big leaves "in the way" are actually collecting the most light.
 
topfuel29

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
do your pruning about 2 weeks before you go to flower.
cut off the lower sucker branches.
bud sites closet to the shoot usually don't produce much either.
Take advantage of how the plant grows naturally.
I agree don't touch your fan leafs. The plant will get rid of them later in flower on it's own.
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stvitusdance

stvitusdance

Well-Known Member
you don't have to chop anything. those bud sites will grow no matter how much light is hitting them. i will tuck the big fans leaves down if they are annoying me but i don't remove them until they are mostly yellow. now if you want to lolipop and get a big main cola that's another deal. personally i grow bushes in my tents and they flop all over like trainwreck.
 
potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
As I've said many times before, leaves are an asset, not a liability. Leaves collect light, not "block" it; their sole purpose is to collect light and transform it into complex sugars. Good roots produce good leaves; good leaves produce fruits or flowers.
 
Dboi87

Dboi87

Well-Known Member
Is there a difference in the defoliation people talk about here and the stuff Riddle advocates?
 
potpimp

potpimp

Sector 5 Moderator
Charliebrowntree.jpg

Removing top leaves so light gets to the bottom leaves is like amputating arms and legs to say you lost weight.
 
Jogro

Jogro

Well-Known Member
grow the doe doe said:
Whats the rule with removing unwanted leaves and how do i determine if they are un wanted?
Click to expand...
Its pretty simple. Dead and dying leaves really do block light, attract insects, and provide a good site for mold to grow. If any leaves are yellow, brown, or have mold on them, remove them.

Otherwise, keep them in place.

I've never subscribed to the idea of removing all fan leaves from a plant. IMO that's bad practice. Some people do think you can judiciously remove a few of the larger leaves to improve growth of lower buds, but I think its always better to err on the side of leaving as many fan leaves as possible.

If your lower branches leaves aren't getting enough light that's probably more an issue of how your plant was trained, than too many top fan leaves. Work on spreading out the plant via SCROG or other training, or just grow single-cola plants, and this won't be an issue.
 
jacksthc

jacksthc

Well-Known Member
Fan leaves help the plant grow and sugar leaves help the buds grow, fan leaves in flower is just a back up food, thats why a lot of the fan leaves go yellow and fall off

Also in veg you can cut a fan leaf in half to slow the node its attached to, doing this on a few fan leaves on a shoot will slow the growth, a great way too control plant growth, often do this and top the plant, you can get 4-8 top+ shoots just doing this :)
 
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