Is it a good idea to remove large fan leaves?

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thekman1964

Active Member
Hi all,

I have a plant that is in a 3 gallon pot and doing quite well under 135W LED lights. Just flipped to 12/12 a week ago.

My problem is that some pretty big fan leaves are emerging and they are preventing light getting to places on the plant where I need to get it to. I have done a bit of LSTing, but restricted space means this has been of little use.

Can anyone suggest what I should do about these fan leaves? How does removing them effect the plant?

20130803_094340.jpg20130803_094424.jpg20130803_094354.jpg20130803_094411.jpg

Thanks.

TKM
 
stvitusdance

stvitusdance

Well-Known Member
Those are some big leaves! What strain of plant is that? IMHO I think the consensus is leave the big fan leaves. They are the light gathering power for the plant. At times I've just tucked mine sideways under the buds sites. After a while they tend to droop and start to yellow and then I remove them.

thekman1964 said:
Hi all,

I have a plant that is in a 3 gallon pot and doing quite well under 135W LED lights. Just flipped to 12/12 a week ago.

My problem is that some pretty big fan leaves are emerging and they are preventing light getting to places on the plant where I need to get it to. I have done a bit of LSTing, but restricted space means this has been of little use.

Can anyone suggest what I should do about these fan leaves? How does removing them effect the plant?

View attachment 2760593View attachment 2760598View attachment 2760595View attachment 2760597

Thanks.

TKM
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HankDank

HankDank

Well-Known Member
those are some huge leaves, but remember thats GOOD, fan leaves are the power plants, they take in all the energy from the light for the plant to use. What you can do is get some tomato stakes or some string and tie your plants branches outwards from each other to let some more light into the center. But whatever you do, dont remove your fan leaves unless they are dead
 
HankDank

HankDank

Well-Known Member
btw, i think your lady is wanting some more nitrogen, dont forget that you dont want to cut out those nutrients once you flower, you want to gradually transition from veg nutes into flowering nutes
 
T

thekman1964

Active Member
Thanks folks. Great advice, muchos gratis. I will do a little more LSTing thanks to your advice.

HankDank - What makes you think the plants need nitrogen? Just a curious newbie:-)

TKM.
 
HankDank

HankDank

Well-Known Member
notice the new growth is that bright lime green? Thats what signaled me to thinking you need some more nitrogen, its new growth and being that bright green tells me that it could use the N, whenever mine look like that, and they sometimes do, I just up my nutes regimen a tad more and a few days layer that bright green is gone or nearly gone and looks same color as the rest of the plant. This usually happens right when i switch to 12/12 at that
 
BluJayz

BluJayz

Well-Known Member
I'm toying with the defoliation process right now. (check out the link in my sig for details)

However that's not the same as plucking some fan leaves.

I think if your girl is used to it then it's not an issue however if you never did it before and she's a week into flowering. You really don't want to fuck with her, tie them or bend them out of the way. Be sure to do this a few days after you water her. Freshly watered leaves will snap easier.
 
LetsGetCritical

LetsGetCritical

Well-Known Member
You seem to have 5 flowering points in the clear, why don't u just cut off all the lower bud sites? or if it's only that one or two just tuck/tie those big fan leaves out the way:-o
 
ThorGanjason

ThorGanjason

Well-Known Member
HankDank said:
notice the new growth is that bright lime green? Thats what signaled me to thinking you need some more nitrogen, its new growth and being that bright green tells me that it could use the N, whenever mine look like that, and they sometimes do, I just up my nutes regimen a tad more and a few days layer that bright green is gone or nearly gone and looks same color as the rest of the plant. This usually happens right when i switch to 12/12 at that
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Nitrogen is a mobile element, so a deficiency will show up in the older growth first.
 
ThorGanjason

ThorGanjason

Well-Known Member
Also, the green is the "tan" of the plant. Chloroplasts produce chlorophyll with light, and it turns darker green. The new growth doesn't have its tan yet, and can tale a couple days.

That does look a little light on the new growth tho.
 
allybam

allybam

Well-Known Member
So many people say the fan leaves are the sugar factorys of a plant don't cut them..... I call bullshit, what about cuttings, the big leaves of them in a sense are not fan leaves, yet ppl get slightly better yields of a clone, if the fan leaf is blocking out light to a couple of side branchs then take it of, how do I no years n shitloads of grows n trail and error ;)

All the leaves do the same thing btw, fans just have a bigger surface area compared to smaller leaves, but also cast a bigger shadow which will cover a bigger surface area on the leaves below them!

I think I worded that right, if ur not stoned or thick u should understand it lol :P
 
M

matty357951

Member
LetsGetCritical said:
You seem to have 5 flowering points in the clear, why don't u just cut off all the lower bud sites? or if it's only that one or two just tuck/tie those big fan leaves out the way:-o
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wud u be able smoke the little chopped off buds, if theyve still got lots on whites hairs all over?
 
M

matty357951

Member
ok, just thort about trimming cus im quite low on light at the moment, but if it cant get me stoned then its not coming off the plant ha.
Thanks for the replies.
 
reddiamond

reddiamond

Well-Known Member
LED's don't have a lot of light penetration so just move them out of the way if you can.
To me it looks like there's plenty of N in that plant, the older leaves are dark green and thats where it would show an N def 1st.
its just the new growth thats a bit light and that will catch up as the N moves through the plant being mobile, but i am a newb on my 1st grow so could be wrong :bigjoint:
 
BluJayz

BluJayz

Well-Known Member
Anything you cut off at this time forward should be saved to make hash or edibles.

Typically we don't smoke any trimmings that includes immature buds.
 
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