Remove fan leafs?

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I usually let the leafs just fall off by themselves. This plant is growing very, very indica-like and bushy though. It started flowering earlier this month (so its almost at week 4). Would I benefit if I took off a few of the bigger fan leafs so the sun can get down to the lower/middle branches? This is the first time I've ever tried posting pictures. Hopefully I'm doing it right. Thanks.
 

laywhoish12

Well-Known Member
looks GREAT man and yah i would i did actually on mine dont go crazy tho just a few your plants gunna need them! , also what kind of vegetation is growing around the plants ;-)? never seen something like that
 

Jack Harer

Well-Known Member
If at all possible, bend the branches to expose the bud sites. Don't trim your leaves. ESPECIALLY the upper fans.
 
Yeah, I've never been much into taking leafs off. I've heard some people do it though. Maybe I'll try to open her up a little with some strings and poles.
 

yesum

Well-Known Member
Just do not do a lot of it, if you do. The sun is a lot stronger than indoors and can get thru quite a few leaves.
 

AquaPepe

Member
I think it all has to do with how bushy your plant is. If you are seeing signs of flower let the sun down in... But don't over trim, the fan is the suns best friend. :)
 
looks just like mine SHIT lol just better ;-) keep it up :leaf: :blsmoke:
Thanks man, what strain are you growing? I'm working with BC Purple Star this season. I haven't seen a lot of people growing this strain, but I've been told that it would do well outdoors in my area (hot and humid). Its supposed to be very mold-resistant. I've had a lot of trouble with mold in the past because the humidity is so bad around here. I've got another plant (same strain) nearby as well. I'll try to get some pics of that one too. It looks pretty similar. Both are ~5ft tall. I've been having some health issues, so I didn't plant as many plants as usual this year. I harvested an Auto AK-47 (easy ryder) last month. Hopefully I'll pull more weight off of these. Got roughly a 1/2 oz off of the easy ryder....pretty good/strong stuff though.
 

withoutAchance

Active Member
I don't but I do but I don't but I do so it a thing u do or don't do as the time arises and the plant askew for or not ull figure it out the plant will let u know some say the best fruit grows in the shade i say that's bs my fruit loves morning sun not so much after 1.
 

laywhoish12

Well-Known Member
Thanks man, what strain are you growing? I'm working with BC Purple Star this season. I haven't seen a lot of people growing this strain, but I've been told that it would do well outdoors in my area (hot and humid). Its supposed to be very mold-resistant. I've had a lot of trouble with mold in the past because the humidity is so bad around here. I've got another plant (same strain) nearby as well. I'll try to get some pics of that one too. It looks pretty similar. Both are ~5ft tall. I've been having some health issues, so I didn't plant as many plants as usual this year. I harvested an Auto AK-47 (easy ryder) last month. Hopefully I'll pull more weight off of these. Got roughly a 1/2 oz off of the easy ryder....pretty good/strong stuff though.
im just growing some bagseed jamacain shit or mids i dont remember which i used lol but its dank now you could check my grow in my sig , it was a few daysago shes lookn ALOT i mean ALOT better now after irene hit shit not a scratch so i called her "Irene" ;-) and im gunna take some pic's tomorrow so keep tuned in its almost week four 2-3 days away , has a headand kush smell sourdiesil , YUMM , cant wait first outdoor and first female its ALMOST 6 ft im atleast 5' 5" or so its crazy ;-) and i topped, supercropped a bit tied down etc, shes lookn good : ) :blsmoke:bongsmilie
 
Cool, I'll check yours out. I got really lucky during Irene too. Then yesterday we had some terrible thunderstorms. My girls need a couple of days to dry out, then I'm hitting them with a double dose of my flowering nutes.
 

laywhoish12

Well-Known Member
yah i am against nute lol but i did use some 10-10-10 fertilizer seems to work some wonders;-) and ahh did the tunderstorms effect it at all ? and yah alot of people seemed to lose of get hurt by irene but alot seemed to pull trhu and look even better and some lil' worse but hey they made it what more can you ask for :)
 
Nope, those pics were taken earlier today. The t-storms came in the day before. I got really lucky though. Towns all around me at least got some large hail, even one tornado. All I got was some really heavy rain. The rest of the week is supposed to be beautiful though. My plants need a couple of days to dry out.

I'm guessing mine has another 5 weeks or so left. I have a feeling this strain is going to enjoy the cooler temps that are hopefully coming up.
 

southsacboy916

Well-Known Member
forgive me for the extremely long post but here is ed rosenthals take on removing fan leaves...

HOW DO FAN LEAVES FUNCTION
The large fan leaves have a definite function in the growth and development of cannabis. Large leaves serve as photosynthetic factories for the production of sugars and other necessary growth substances. Most cannabis plants begin to lose their larger leaves when they enter the flowering stage and this trend continues on until senescence (death of the plant).
Fan leaves account for the greatest area for the reception of photons on a plant, thus they account for the majority of photosynthesis which occurs within a plant. Cells in the plant’s leaves, called chloroplasts, contain a green pigment called chlorophyll which interacts with sunlight to split the water in the plant into its basic components. Leaves only absorb about 15% of the solar energy that hits them, the other 85% passes through-- but they reflect all the green light, which means it looks darker below the leaf to a human than it does to the plant because our eyes are most sensitive to the green spectrum (Shipperke, 03.15.2002).
Photosynthesis occurs in all green parts of plants. The process has two stages, the light reactions and the Calvin cycle, that convert water and carbon dioxide into sugar and oxygen. These sugars are later used to power all the processes in the plant, including the synthesis of THC and other cannabinoids (Shipperke, 04.02.2002; Ca, 03.13.2002). Fan leaves possess the greatest number of stomata, which are small pores or valves on the underside of the leaf which water vapor and carbon dioxide diffuse during transpiration and photosynthesis (carbon fixation). Carbon dioxide first enters the leaf through the stomata and combines with the stored energy in the chloroplasts through a chemical reaction (the Calvin cycle) to produce a simple sugar. This sugar is unloaded into the tissues and transported through tubes in the leaf to supply the synthesized food to other plant parts such as growing or respiring tissues like young leaves, roots, and flowers of the plant. meristems (UK Tricky Knome, 03.14.2002).
Removal of fan leaves will not only slow growth, but it will also hinder the plants ability to rid itself of toxic gases, and also hinder the regulation of the plants temperature via stomata. Changes in the plants chemical metabolism caused by fan leave removal causes the plant to work overtime to rid ?toxins? with less leaves, as a result the pant may allocate more growth hormones into growing more leaves to make up for what has been lost(Equator, 03.15.2002). Removing large amounts of fan leaves may also interfere with the metabolic balance of the plant. Leaf removal may also cause sex reversal resulting from a metabolic imbalance.
There is a relationship regarding the amount of carbohydrates a leaf produces and CO2 intake relative to outside forces. When you have a situation whereby the leaf is no longer productive for the plant for whatever reason that may be - low light, old age, disease, insect attack etc, the plant will discard it. (Thunderbunny as citied, by Nietzsche, 03.13.2002.
Plants have two different kinds of vessels in their stems to move stuff around, xylem and phloem. Xylem runs from the roots up the stem carrying water and nutrients. Phloem runs both up and down to move sugars hormones, proteins, etc but mostly sugars. Each part of the plant can be either a sugar source or a sugar sink (Shipperke, 03.15.2002). Phloem moves from sources (areas of supply) to sinks (areas of metabolism or storage). Granted that the flowers can produce some photosynthate, but they are no where near as effective as fan leaves (resin glands significantly reduce light to the tissue they are found on). Flowers are sink tissues, leaves are source tissues. Sinks do not produce enough photosynthate, and are importers. Sources give photosynthate to sinks in closest proximity. Upper leaves bring sucrose to shoot apical meristem and young leaves while lower leaves bring goodies to roots (UK Tricky Knome, 03.17.2002). Remove the source and the sink will be affected (Diels Alder, 03.15.2002).
The leaves at the top of a plant tend to supply the top growing shoots. The leaves at the bottom of the plant tend to supply the roots. The middle leaves can go either way as the demand changes. During flowering and fruiting, only the very bottom leaves supply the roots and the rest of the leaves try to get as much energy as possible to the flowers of fruits. For this reason, the more leaves are unshaded and in good light, the more chance the plant has of creating extra storage of energy that will ultimately go into yield (Leaf, 03.13.2002). However Jeast (03.13.02) believes that the rich green leaves emerging from the bud are a sufficient energy source of solar energy for the plant’s floral development. Therefore the old fan leaves are once again rendered useless and only drain energy from the developing part of the plant (Jeast, 03.13.02).
Fan leaves store mobile nutrients, these stored nutrients are essential in the later stages of flowering. When flushing a plant the fan leaves will lose their color quickly. This is because the nutrients are being mobilized to the atypical meristem (grow tip, bud site). Draining your fan leaves with a flushing period will increase floral development (Ca, 13.03.2002). Fan leaves therefore serve as a nutrient deficiency buffer zone for the plant (Higstar, 03.13.2002).
Nutrient burn usually causes bottom leaves begin to die however DaGnome (03.15.2002) observed that if you do not remove the leaves then they will absorb damage as premature removal generally results in more leaf loss. However if growing hydroponically under ideal conditions it could be argued that fan leaves serve as a nutrient buffer is a moot point.

this was an except taken from http://mjgrowers.com/book_lets_research.htm
 
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