Questions about pruning

Hi guys this is my first grow and I'm gonna be switching to flower here in the next week or so. I have 2 white widows that are showing preflowers with little tiny pistils showing on some of them. They are 12" and 13" tall at 5 weeks and 4 weeks. One is in 3 gallon pot and other is in 2.5 gallon. Ocean forest for one and happy frog for the other. 400 watt mh for veg and have a 400 watt hps for flower. Been slowly introducing the fox farm trio nutes. Grow big and big bloom. Will introduce tiger bloom whem starting to flower. But my questions are whem cutting some of the lower leaves that aren't getting light I cut it back all the way to the stem right? And do I cut any secondary growth off? I know I will cut my spear leaves (1st true set) as they are yellowing and dying off. Should I trim the secondary growth that come from those nodes also as they have not made the progress the other secondary shoots have as far as growing out to where it is receiving light. And how many sets should I trim off? There are some little fan leaves at the bottom that aren't receiving light but the secondary shoots associated with those leaves have grown to where they are receiving light. So Just kind of wanting to know what to trim and how many nodes up should I trim. Thanks in advance.

I see no reason to cut anything off those plants. If anything, a little low stress training to spread them out a little before flowering would serve you much better.

NanoGadget said:

I see no reason to cut anything off those plants. If anything, a little low stress training to spread them out a little before flowering would serve you much better.

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So Just pull them over to one side to bend it over a little bit?

Dilan R Wertz said:

a)But my questions are whem cutting some of the lower leaves that aren't getting light I cut it back all the way to the stem right?
B)And do I cut any secondary growth off?
C)I know I will cut my spear leaves (1st true set) as they are yellowing and dying off. Should I trim the secondary growth that come from those nodes also as they have not made the progress the other secondary shoots have as far as growing out to where it is receiving light.
D)And how many sets should I trim off?

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a-yes
b-sure, if you need/ like to have clean access to your topsoil for watering inspection etc
c- keep in mind if you trim nothing ever your plant will flourish as long as you're provided needed resources
those lower leaves are there to capture any light available to power the whole plant organism, not just the little larf buds that grow on them, those are there to trap any pollen that may fall down to their height. they dont steal nutrients form the plant, the plant doesnt concentrate on any lower or upper growth, it doesnt care, until you start removing too many leaves for no reason.
d-no rules. if you need more light get more light. you can trim plants in a scrog to flatten and open up the canopy .
this is a picture of 400 watts and no training, so I'd leave it all alone until you get intimate with growing and providing.

chemphlegm said:

a-yes
b-sure, if you need/ like to have clean access to your topsoil for watering inspection etc
c- keep in mind if you trim nothing ever your plant will flourish as long as you're provided needed resources
those lower leaves are there to capture any light available to power the whole plant organism, not just the little larf buds that grow on them, those are there to trap any pollen that may fall down to their height. they dont steal nutrients form the plant, the plant doesnt concentrate on any lower or upper growth, it doesnt care, until you start removing too many leaves for no reason.
d-no rules. if you need more light get more light. you can trim plants in a scrog to flatten and open up the canopy .
this is a picture of 400 watts and no training, so I'd leave it all alone until you get intimate with growing and providing.
View attachment 4046375

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hey man, I had a question. So my plants are in 2.5 gallon and 3 gallon pots. I can just now start to see roots starting to show out the bottom. I was planning on switching to flower in the next week. Should I transplant into 5 gallon pots before I begin flowering or you think if I started flowering now it would be fine?

Dilan R Wertz said:

hey man, I had a question. So my plants are in 2.5 gallon and 3 gallon pots. I can just now start to see roots starting to show out the bottom. I was planning on switching to flower in the next week. Should I transplant into 5 gallon pots before I begin flowering or you think if I started flowering now it would be fine?

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entirely up to you and your expectations.
if you up pot to a larger pot now and let your roots reach the bottom of that container, assuming all other resources are provided your plant will be larger with more budding sites, and will need less watering frequency too.
I use five gallon pails in the summer and 2.5 gallon squares in summer. My 2.5's are way happier and healthier because they dry out faster between waterings. Final yields are the same controlled by me, plant size etc.

chemphlegm said:

entirely up to you and your expectations.
if you up pot to a larger pot now and let your roots reach the bottom of that container, assuming all other resources are provided your plant will be larger with more budding sites, and will need less watering frequency too.
I use five gallon pails in the summer and 2.5 gallon squares in summer. My 2.5's are way happier and healthier because they dry out faster between waterings. Final yields are the same controlled by me, plant size etc.

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I've read where after about 5 weeks of flowering root growth really slows down but could it become root bound by that time? I water them pretty much every 3 days. I don't mind keeping them in the pots there in now, I just don't want to run into a problem later in flowering.

I've mothered plants in small containers for several years in a row and then flowered them in the same pots, roots all climbing out the top and hanging out the bottom. no rootbound. rootbound= inability to supply all necessary resources to the plant in a timely manner.

larger containers are easier to maintain. if you can be there to feed and water properly then any size container will work depending on your expectations. I've flowered in dixie cups, one gallon, five gallon, 10, and 55, all ofthem had roots hanging out the bottom in flower and when done and flipped the roots were seen twirling the bottom of the containers dozens of times around, no root bound issues here.
watering is a not done on days, its done when the pot is dry and light, before the plant wilts. if you never let the pot dry out some you're slowing growth, killing beneficial orgs, robbing 02 in the root zone and killing fugal webs.

chemphlegm said:

I've mothered plants in small containers for several years in a row and then flowered them in the same pots, roots all climbing out the top and hanging out the bottom. no rootbound. rootbound= inability to supply all necessary resources to the plant in a timely manner.

larger containers are easier to maintain. if you can be there to feed and water properly then any size container will work depending on your expectations. I've flowered in dixie cups, one gallon, five gallon, 10, and 55, all ofthem had roots hanging out the bottom in flower and when done and flipped the roots were seen twirling the bottom of the containers dozens of times around, no root bound issues here.
watering is a not done on days, its done when the pot is dry and light, before the plant wilts. if you never let the pot dry out some you're slowing growth, killing beneficial orgs, robbing 02 in the root zone and killing fugal webs.

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Gotcha. Yeah that's what I mean as far as my watering. When the pots get light but that tends to be about every 3 days. And that's what my plants looked like when transplanting from Dixie cups. They were swirling around the bottom. So as long as I can keep it properly watered and give it all the nutrients it needs they should be fine in the containers they are in?

Dilan R Wertz said:

Gotcha. Yeah that's what I mean as far as my watering. When the pots get light but that tends to be about every 3 days. And that's what my plants looked like when transplanting from Dixie cups. They were swirling around the bottom. So as long as I can keep it properly watered and give it all the nutrients it needs they should be fine in the containers they are in?

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yes and they look like they have a great start too.

chemphlegm said:

yes and they look like they have a great start too.

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Thanks! They are 5 weeks and 4 weeks old now. I really appreciate all the advice! +rep