Should I prune the lower branches?

[jokerlola]

Will it make any difference to the top buds if I cut off the lower branches on this outdoor plant? And is there actual science that these lower branches steal energy from the top buds or if I leave the branches will the top buds be the same plus I will also have popcorn buds?

Also, can anyone tell what week of flower this plant is now in? I think 2nd week but I never can tell.

 

[Phytoplankton]

You're gonna get a lot of different opinions on that. Mine is, as long as the lower branches (leaves) are getting good sun, I leave them alone (no pun intended). However if they are mostly shaded, I would take them off. If you leave them you'll get popcorn bud, whether that influences what the eventual top buds are like, is up for some debate. Usually with the amount of supplemental fertilizers used in growing there should be plenty of energy for all the buds, IMHO. No way to know what week flower it's in, particularly without a picture, but even then it would depend on your lattitude and how many hours of sun your plant is getting, not to mention the individual plant's genetics. At my lattitude (SF area) I'm geting 12-12.5 hours of sun, I'm almost through with stretch and mine started flowering about 2 weeks ago.

 

[jokerlola]

You're gonna get a lot of different opinions on that. Mine is, as long as the lower branches (leaves) are getting good sun, I leave them alone (no pun intended). However if they are mostly shaded, I would take them off. If you leave them you'll get popcorn bud, whether that influences what the eventual top buds are like, is up for some debate. Usually with the amount of supplemental fertilizers used in growing there should be plenty of energy for all the buds, IMHO. No way to know what week flower it's in, particularly without a picture, but even then it would depend on your lattitude and how many hours of sun your plant is getting, not to mention the individual plant's genetics. At my lattitude (SF area) I'm geting 12-12.5 hours of sun, I'm almost through with stretch and mine started flowering about 2 weeks ago.

Sorry, posted pictures but they didn’t load. I am in Colorado and we are currently at 13.2 hours of sun. Here are the pics:

 

[Phytoplankton]

That plant actually looks like it is pretty open and all but the very lowest branches are getting decent sun. Might take off just a couple of the most interior shaded branches. It looks like you're about a week behind mine, funny because I'm actually slightly south of you in lattitude.

First pic is the plant in flower:

This pic is the two plants as viewed from above (the greenhouse is on a hillside) I removed the roof becasue the UV had really messed it up, turns out it's much easier to control heat/humidity (both much lower), and I don't have to worry about the buds hitting the roof during stretch.