Organic Altruism
Well-Known Member
Also for how long? Did you strip them recently?
MJA23
Active Member
Vegged under 600w hps for 3 weeks
MJA23
Active Member
I trimmed them a few days ago
Organic Altruism
Well-Known Member
great size for 3 weeks. Few too many fan leaves for my taste, but I'm sure you've got it dialed in the way you like it.
MJA23
Active Member
This is my first grow... somebody told me I should trim the fan leaves so the smaller leaves can get the light... should I take it easy next time?
GeneBanker
Well-Known Member
May I suggest filling your pots more on your next grow. Also the shooters that are barely clearing the pot you should just trim now. They will never catch up and get buried by the canopy and just waste plant energy growing fluff. Your girls look great man.
Organic Altruism
Well-Known Member
In the future, maybe leave a few more fan leaves on at the start of flower. Its very common at around 21 into flower to strip them like that. But not every strain loves it imo.
MJA23
Active Member
thanks
MJA23
Active Member
Why is it better to leave on more fan leaves
Smok3yMcChok3y
Well-Known Member
Where are peep learning about this wasted plant energy on fluff nonsense? I'd love to read one single journal on how defoliation actually improved crops. Otherwise you're just throwing out butter material. To each their own and if defoliation is what floats your boat go for it. But to insinuate you're helping your plant or making it increase efficiency by taking away it's food is nonsense.
MJA23
Active Member
Thanks for that info this is my first grow
GeneBanker
Well-Known Member
If you hack at a plant just to defoliate then this statement is true. If you want to make butter this statement is true. If you want every bit of energy in the plants canopy and to your smokeable buds train them. There is no right or wrong, just personal preference O.P
Smok3yMcChok3y
Well-Known Member
I would agree. Training over defoliation would be my personal preference. Like I said if cutting leaves is what floats your boat go for it. I just don't buy into the "spread the plants energy" thing. That's not how plants work.
GeneBanker
Well-Known Member
Its not about "spreading" the energy. Its about sending all avail resources to the top of the plant. You cant tell me bottom of the plant buds are as good as the top. So why waste your short time growing butter cotton balls when the time and resources speant by the plant could be used elsewhere.
Smok3yMcChok3y
Well-Known Member
Because by cutting things off the bottom you are not increasing somethings availability to the top. Plants are not sentient beings that think "oh thank God that lower fluff is gone. Now I can focus on my hair." What you're saying is just not scientifically viable. And if you think it is please provide me with examples and literature. What you're not realising is that by getting rid of a branch you're not magically sending more nutrients farther up the plant. You aren't increasing a colas efficiency in drawing water and nutrients and subsequently metabolizing those better. A plant will just draw what it needs where it needs it. Are you possibly saving a half gallon of feed water and those nutrients because the plant can no longer absorb the same quantity of them because part of the plant is missing? Yea sure maybe. But why bother? If it's an aesthetic thing or an airflow thing or even a I felt like it thing that's fine. But.it is most certainly not to benefit a plants metabolism. Otherwise thered be a whole bunch of farmers plucking the foliage off their corn...
And no. The lower part is not of the same quality if you're thinking smokabke buds. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have it's place. Especially if you make concentrates or butter. You're literally just throwing it away.
Edit: read some of your other posts and would argue that you hold on to many flawed practices. For an interesting read posing valid questions about flushing in this instance
https://zenpype.com/flushing-cannabis-plants-is-a-bad-practice-based-on-flawed-science/
And again here
http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/to-flush-or--not-to-flush/
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GeneBanker
Well-Known Member
Of course the plant doesnt make a decision to focus somewhere else. And I agree. A plant will grow to its desired size given environment. Whether you trim it, train it whatever it will be about the same mass. The idea and maybe my fault saying "energy" is that by taking the lower you are forcing it to put its mass in the canopy. When i say energy, a plant uses energy to build mass. Im refering to putting its energy into building mass. So i agree you wont make more out of less. But you can put more where you want it.
Smok3yMcChok3y
Well-Known Member
But where the disconnect here for me is how could removing material ever, in any way, aid a plant in building mass? Yes you are no longer growing the lower branches. But it's not like the top branches will get larger as a result. The plant is going to only ever be as big and beautiful as environment allows.
Removing branches and especially foliage will not in any way make any other branch better/larger/more dense. Unless removing those branches changes the environment. Ie adding air flow or allowing better light penetration. It's got absolutely nothing to do with plant biology though.
Organic Altruism
Well-Known Member
Not sure if its been answered yet. The plant stores energy and nutrients in the fan leaves that help the plant grow and bud quicker. VaderOG (Youtube) posted an organic living soil grow in which 2 plants get defoliated and the other 2 keep their leaves, despite how bad they look. The plants with leaves left on are much bigger. I really only remove fan leaves if they are shading out a lot of great node sites at the top, but usually I just bend them down into the canopy rather than stripping them.