Can I cut these leaves to provide more sunlight?

I wanted to know if i could cut these big fan leaves or trim them so that the light could get to this new growth? It just started to flower so i wanted the new growth to see light.

well, some things to consider:

- how much production ability would you be losing if you cut that big healthy leaf off?
- since you're using CFLs, the light penetration fades very quickly. will it be worth the sacrifice of a closer, healthy, larger leaf to try to promote further away, smaller leaves to grow more?

generally, i just try to LST big leaves out of the way. or if they're very old and far away from lights, i will cut them, regardless of whether they're blocking anything or not.

lastly, understand that those lower leaves are going to grow no matter what, and the direction they'll grow will be upwards. whereas the big fan leaf really can't grow up at all. so, they may just catch up and surpass it anyway.

...enough to think about?

There is no reason to cut off good leaves. Try to tuck them out of the way or tie them out of the way. This is a subject of much discussion

Why are people so eager to mutilate their plants?

haha i just wanted more bud man but thanks for the advice i will try tying them down

Does she look as pale as she does in the photos or is she alot greener?

oh no she is green i think that's just the lighting and plus i took the picture with my camera on my phone

Makes sense

You will not harm the plant or production if you cut off fan leaves. If your plant only has a few, then you should cut them down about half way or cut off fingers half way to alow further light to penetration to the lower sets of leaves.

ghostsamurai25 said:

You will not harm the plant or production if you cut off fan leaves. If your plant only has a few, then you should cut them down about half way or cut off fingers half way to alow further light to penetration to the lower sets of leaves.

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i think you misunderstand what i mean by production. i don't mean final yield or anything like that, just the efficiency of the plant's growth.

if you are cutting anything off, it is detrimental, even if only temporarily. it harms the growth efficiency of the plant. while this may be beneficial in conditions where light penetration is better because it would help the lower leaves mature more quickly, i don't think that's the case with CFLs.

if you've got a big healthy fan leaf doing some good photosynthesis, why get rid of it on the CHANCE that the lower leaves might get enough light to benefit? just move it out of the way, or leave it alone. it's easy to tuck leaves under others, or tie them out of the way.

most trimming should only be done to cull downward growth that results from LST.

or maybe i'm just a rambling insomniac.

ghostsamurai25 said:

You will not harm the plant or production if you cut off fan leaves. If your plant only has a few, then you should cut them down about half way or cut off fingers half way to alow further light to penetration to the lower sets of leaves.

Click to expand...

I agree with above, many 'scroggers' will trim away big fans, others will tie them, personally I do what the guy quoted above suggests...trim the leafs down without actually removing them completely, I know a few outdoor growers who do that too, trim those big leafs to a shorter round shape, it really helps disguise them from a slight distance. Your call really, but this debate has been going on for over 10 years that I know of......... from personal experience it wont harm them and improves light penetration, and with CFL's you want all the light you can get.