Removing Fan Leaves During Flower? Are you serious?

alotapot said:

I have heard so many folks claim that they trim off fan leaves to allow more light to get to the lower buds. I have to ask... do the "buds" actually benefit from exposure to light? I've always heard that light breaks down thc... so what benefit is there to buds seeing more light? To me ... it's the leaves that need and can use light... not buds..

Anyone care to chime in on this thought?




alp

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That's how I understand it as well. I remove leaves that are ready to be removed.

If they're green and healthy, they stay on the plant.

Only time I take away good leaves is when I am cleaning up the lower section of my plant for air movement.
I would like to know about the buds exposure to light vs the leaves.

Lolly-pop your plants my friends &the bottem 50 % of fan leves

gladstoned said:

Only time I take away good leaves is when I am cleaning up the lower section of my plant for air movement.
I would like to know about the buds exposure to light vs the leaves.

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I quite often remove the top half of the plant when they're ready to trim, and leave the bottom half under the lights for a few days to a week longer. I find that they will "ripen" a bit by doing so, but I don't think they gain any more mass or potency. By ripen I mean they will lose that bright green color of a bud that hasn't seen any direct light.

I did that with one plant a week or so ago. I took off tops and put it back under the light for a week, then harvested the rest of it and took those buds for tincture. Didn't notice difference but it had to help.

st0wandgrow said:

they will lose that bright green color of a bud that hasn't seen any direct light.

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that wouldnt be neccessary if you would de leaf during the bloom Think about what you just said and then read your post #101 and answer gladstones question in post #102

gladstoned said:

Only time I take away good leaves is when I am cleaning up the lower section of my plant for air movement.
I would like to know about the buds exposure to light vs the leaves.

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I'll take most all fan leaves off about 5 days from harvest. The plant is really done with them by that point. The theory is that the sugar leave coming directly out of the buds, are where the plant is generating energy for the buds at that stage, hence you are allowing more light to the active leaves.

bob harris said:

I'll take most all fan leaves off about 5 days from harvest. The plant is really done with them by that point. The theory is that the sugar leave coming directly out of the buds, are where the plant is generating energy for the buds at that stage, hence you are allowing more light to the active leaves.

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I have heard this enough times to believe it. thanks for info

gladstoned said:

I have heard this enough times to believe it. thanks for info

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It's just theory, I can't prove it. But It certainly doesn't seem to hurt, and make harvest/manicure much easier.
Have you ever noticed how the stems on fan leaves start to get longer towards the end of flower? That was once explaind to me as the plant getting them away from the buds, when the were no longer the primary energy source.

Now that, I have never heard.

rzza said:

that wouldnt be neccessary if you would de leaf during the bloom Think about what you just said and then read your post #101 and answer gladstones question in post #102

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The only thing gained, imo, would be "bag appeal". I don't believe the presence of light to the lower bud sites adds weight, or potency .... so I'm not that concerned about it.

alotapot said:

I have heard so many folks claim that they trim off fan leaves to allow more light to get to the lower buds. I have to ask... do the "buds" actually benefit from exposure to light? I've always heard that light breaks down thc... so what benefit is there to buds seeing more light? To me ... it's the leaves that need and can use light... not buds..

Anyone care to chime in on this thought?


alp

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....100%....................

gladstoned said:

Now that, I have never heard.

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Watch you plants and look for it...holds true for sativas more than indicas, remember, no two starins are the same. There is no "one size fits all" growing method....best cannabis usually comes from a guy that hhas been growing the same strain for a long time. Regardles of what he is growing. He's taken some time to figure out what this particular strain likes best..and is maximizing the plants potential......remeber, genetics are only potential..no result guaranteed.

Just look at that testing report posted awhile back. Take Jack Hereer as an example, no reason, just everyone knows that name, it had reports of thc levels from 14.7% up to 22%....big difference.

So someone saying..hey, I've got some "Jack Hereer" doesn't mean much to me...it's how it works, not what it's called. A name only implies what I might hope it will do..whether it's indica/sativa..stuff like that.

One of the reasons that I am pro-testing.

Im just green fingered,never grow the same strain more than 2 times,any one that pays attention to their garden and has a good knowledge of gardening should be able to adapt to each strain,through a knowledge of what sativa/indicas and their hybrids like,coming up with a good grow method.

My avatar was a first try at chemmy jones under a cfl, my latest plant is my first attempt at 3d under a ufo and looks insane,not one single issue,unfortunately not many people have green thumbs they just like to grow weed,so come into alot of problems,through not knowing the basics even after doing it 20+ years,trust me you can do stuff wrong for that long and not know,I know lots of "old boys" that chat crap and couldnt grow quality dank,they can grow,but I wouldnt pay to smoke it.

Also under optimal conditions most strains should act similar not identical, but if you can actually grow you should get the same results as the seed co says,only people I know that get hermies from fems are bad growers,only people I know that knock seed companies other than greenhouse who are appauling,have made a mistake themselves, genetics are generally fairly stable,humans are error prone,especially most pot heads I know

bob harris said:

Watch you plants and look for it...holds true for sativas more than indicas, remember, no two starins are the same. There is no "one size fits all" growing method....best cannabis usually comes from a guy that hhas been growing the same strain for a long time. Regardles of what he is growing. He's taken some time to figure out what this particular strain likes best..and is maximizing the plants potential......remeber, genetics are only potential..no result guaranteed.

Just look at that testing report posted awhile back. Take Jack Hereer as an example, no reason, just everyone knows that name, it had reports of thc levels from 14.7% up to 22%....big difference.

So someone saying..hey, I've got some "Jack Hereer" doesn't mean much to me...it's how it works, not what it's called. A name only implies what I might hope it will do..whether it's indica/sativa..stuff like that.

One of the reasons that I am pro-testing.

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darkdestruction420 said:

Leaves are not as solid as they look, only about 15% of the light that hits a leaf is used and 85% goes on to the next one and so on and so on, so you are very minimally increasing the amount of light the area that the big main most effecient fan leaves are covering.

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Well, the Inverse Square Law that us physicists know fairly well is accurate would suggest otherwise. Your idea, is right, but the percentages are going to be very different the further down you go. A minor correction.

researchkitty said:

Well, the Inverse Square Law that us physicists know fairly well is accurate would suggest otherwise. Your idea, is right, but the percentages are going to be very different the further down you go. A minor correction.

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Absolutely true...if you can afford side lighting of real intensity (hps) you will be amazed at the lower plant development.
Light degrades fast...it's why good hoods are needed...so you can remove heat, and keep the light source closer to the plant.

I can let a plant TOUCH my glass on my hood (600watts)and it wont't burn up. I don't, because that would restrict the light footprint to much, but the point being, If you have 1000watt light, and have to ceep it 2 feet above the plants for heat reasons...you've greatly defeated the 1000 watters power.

I keep wanting to go ahead and harvest one but waiting...so I have now trimmed off all the lower leaves...if you could get them with scissors without hitting buds I cut them off... the largest top fan leaves on either side of the main cola tops I left..I mean those leaves are shading the whole rest of the plant...so no reason to leave the underleaves with those still there...and I have to cut them all off in a few days anyway...so I figure I will get an early start, and I normally leave the plant alone...so we'll have to see what the final yield is this time finishing without 99% of the fan leaves...

yes with certain strains trimming off the fan leaves 10-14 days before harvest fills in the inner nugs and lower ones.

The reason why alot of plants have the fan leaves turn yellow in flower is because the plant is focusing its energy on flower/bud production..not vegetive fan leaves


heres my northern lights 6 days after trimming the major fan leaves off




The fatest strain I grow doesnt have alot of fan leaves...makes for easy trimming

Alot of fans leaves are not required to produce FAT colas

i have run a test in my friends dispensary
we run 5 Sensi star in 5gal pots under a 600W
i had taken one lady pinched and lollipop'd her gently (about a 1/3) throughout veg
removing any bottom growth b4 it even starts, thus redirecting energy to the higher nodes
the ladies were not LST'd or pinched accept for the test subject, and they all received same FoxFarm feeding schedule and nuts
the end result was a clear 15-20% more yield with the lolipop'd+pinched girl over any of the other ladies

it is crucial for the plant to keep its fan leaves as most experienced members clearly stated
speaking from experience, efficiently removing the lower foliage and redirecting energy will increase yields!

So, I'm a newb grower. I've been interested in this discussion since long before I started growing. One point that seems to stick with me is the training and trimming done at orchards to increase yield. Why wouldn't that work here? Cannabis seems to want to grow no matter what physically happens to it. Getting started with my own grow I discovered Thrips, if you have never dealt with these bastards, good for you, I hope you never have to. Anyway, I treated my rooms with Safer End All Insect Killer and although it says it is safe to use even during flower, it almost killed my No Name, all the fans leaves took a hit, so I plucked them, ...ALL of them. This was done during the first week of the switch 12/12 Today at 6 weeks in the plant looks beautiful, I can't wait to see the final harvest weight. Another strain Kandy Kush, I got as a clipping from a friend, he told me he strips all the fan leaves off before the flip and the plant loves it, if he doesn't strip them she does very poorly in flower. So I took his advice, and today at 5 weeks in, she is also looking quite lovely. I've found what works for me and I've only been growing 3 months. Good luck you all with yours.....