an absolute statement that is only partially true is invalid
the comments about defoliation are misguided
many growers practice canopy management, selective removal of leaves and branches when attempting to maximize the bud produced in a given space
screen of green, LST these methods benefit from some leaf removal, sog can benefit from lower branch removal and leaf removal to create a single cola
i have practiced these kinds of grows successfully for around 20 years, i am happy with the results
defoliation is a word that generates strong reactions, the term itself is misused much to the delight of trolls
all "green" parts of the plant can be considered foliage branches and leaves
removal of any parts of the plant is a form of defoliation or pruning
defoliation has become so much more of an issue than it really is, this is mostly because of trolls like uncleben
it's not magic and its not going to turn the plant hermi or kill it either, it is just another method of pruning that needs to be tailored to each individuals environment
practiced until the grower either gets it right for their grow, or decides other methods are more practical,
sometimes bending branches tucking leaves under and using cages to open up the structure of the plant can also be used instead of, or to assist defoliation
it flies in the face of logic to assume that plants left to grow shaded will produce the same yield as organised plants trained to occupy a given space with cola
removing some leaves and branches can help shape the crop, so the maximum amount of branches are in the maximum amount of light
each branch will have some leaves remaining each bud will produce leaves
this is much better than having leaves shading these branches and shading each other
indoors under static artificial light where the light is only coming from directly above, which accounts for the majority of grows
the plant would not grow in its best possible shape under these conditions, the top heavy shaded shape many indicas grow in under these conditions is not helpful
left to themselves they would yield not so well
open them up with a tomato cage or something similar, remove a few leaves and the inner branches will develop into colas
overall the result is more cola in a given space since the space is only filled with healthy branches that produce colas
peace
