Trimming fan leaves
- Thread starter Kushios
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Nunyabiz
Well-Known Member
Outdoor? Then definitely not.
Indoor? Then still see no reason to trim anything, all the leaves look healthy, and not that many leaves.
Indoor? Then still see no reason to trim anything, all the leaves look healthy, and not that many leaves.
TysonOG
Well-Known Member
I would say no. You can tuck them if you want but they dont seem to be blocking alot.
roaring lion
Well-Known Member
how about these? 12 weeks into veg, i've just started plucking the oldest fan leaves on a couple of these. no more than 15 in total from all 4 plants combined. some of these look pretty bushy, up to 9 nodes. i've seen a lot of photos on here of branches that have been wittled down to the top 2 or 3 nodes? i'm worried about a few fan leaves and other farmers are removing the lower 3-5 nodes of flower potential...what's the deal?
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I believe the thinking is that by removing all below the upper nodes then the said upper nodes will increase in size and density. Not sure I agree totally with this way of thinking. Just did a harvest of Northern Lights and the lower buds with some popcorn weighed in at 48 grams from four indoor plants. Don't think the top buds would increase in weight that much by lollipopping. May increase some ,and a better bud but not sure if it makes up for the extra weight. All that lower stuff makes for some great oil or butter.
roaring lion
Well-Known Member
nice, thanks for the input. I've just returned to cultivating after 14 years off. I've always gone with outdoor, a few times I've finished under lights indoors due to weather/cold. principals are the same: light, water, growing media (soil, hydro, etc.) and nutrients. after that it's all about nuances and people's personal choices/habits.
I've always kept all the lower nodes on, but removed fan leaves when they begin going chlorotic. if nature were to run its course, plants would have all kinds of shrapnel to clean at harvest. in your case, close to 2 oz's of prime butter material or bubble hash. cheers, I hope the NL worked out for you, always a pleasant buzz.
I've always kept all the lower nodes on, but removed fan leaves when they begin going chlorotic. if nature were to run its course, plants would have all kinds of shrapnel to clean at harvest. in your case, close to 2 oz's of prime butter material or bubble hash. cheers, I hope the NL worked out for you, always a pleasant buzz.
Well I'm a firm believer in removing upper fan leaves & Fan leaves through the center. I also cut everything off the bottom 12" of the plant. But I Top, LST & also Super Crop about 10 - 12 branches per plant.
I usually cut fan leaves off 3 - 4 times per plant. They grow back in no time. In a week you can hardly tell you did anything. All my plants are usually around 5' tall & 3' - 4' in diameter.
Right now I am having trouble with my Northern Lights because she wont quit growing into the light & she's been Super cropped twice. She was started 6-1-19 & still has a good 3 - 4 weeks to go. My current grow has 6 different Auto's & I do this to all of them.
I've been studying peoples grows for about the past 2 years & it seems everyone that does these things were pulling double off their plants in weight then I was so I tried it & my weight went up 2.5 oz. per plant the 1st attempt. I'm currently shooting for 12 - 16 oz. per plant using these techniques & I think I will get pretty close. I'll know soon as my AK 47 is about 2 weeks from finishing & that is my smallest plant.
I usually cut fan leaves off 3 - 4 times per plant. They grow back in no time. In a week you can hardly tell you did anything. All my plants are usually around 5' tall & 3' - 4' in diameter.
Right now I am having trouble with my Northern Lights because she wont quit growing into the light & she's been Super cropped twice. She was started 6-1-19 & still has a good 3 - 4 weeks to go. My current grow has 6 different Auto's & I do this to all of them.
I've been studying peoples grows for about the past 2 years & it seems everyone that does these things were pulling double off their plants in weight then I was so I tried it & my weight went up 2.5 oz. per plant the 1st attempt. I'm currently shooting for 12 - 16 oz. per plant using these techniques & I think I will get pretty close. I'll know soon as my AK 47 is about 2 weeks from finishing & that is my smallest plant.
zurple
Well-Known Member
I'll be glad when I get to ask this question. lol
Don't pay attention to the date on the pics ... I didn't set the date on my camera when I changed the batteries. The pics are a few days old.
My advice is to remove anything that is over crowding or over shading. Your fan leaves are doing neither, so it would make sense to leave them in place.
Each branch that shoots of from an internode takes it's main fuel source from the corresponding leaf at the initial node. If you remove a fan leave from one side, it's almost guaranteed that the branch with the remaining fan leave will yield larger overall.
At the end of the day, it's a balance between the leaves providing food to the buds, but the buds also receiving enough direct light stimulation to grow. In your specific case the nutrition provided by the leaves is invaluable since they are not causing an issue of excessive shading,
Each branch that shoots of from an internode takes it's main fuel source from the corresponding leaf at the initial node. If you remove a fan leave from one side, it's almost guaranteed that the branch with the remaining fan leave will yield larger overall.
At the end of the day, it's a balance between the leaves providing food to the buds, but the buds also receiving enough direct light stimulation to grow. In your specific case the nutrition provided by the leaves is invaluable since they are not causing an issue of excessive shading,
I trim the fan leaves to get as much light as possible to the center of my plants so the light can get to the bud sites. You wont get big buds in the center of the plant otherwise.
zurple
Well-Known Member
Thank you. I was just saying this because I just got started and nothing to trim yet. lol
Everybody has their own methods & there are many ways of doing things. So you just try different things till you find what works best for you. My #1 Goal is to pull 1-lb. per plant so I'm pushing things to their limits this time to see what happens. Hope like hell I don't Hermie one; but taking my chances to see how far I can push these babies. I'm going a step farther this time around & I'm going to use the Stem Splitting technique on one plant the last week of Flower & Using Ice Water to feed another plant the last week of Flower. Haven't tried either yet, but wont know how it works till I try it.
It's suppose to send lots of THC to the Buds & increase their size. We'll see !
roaring lion
Well-Known Member
thanks mono and budsbuddy,
I know it's not the best way to compare as each seed has it's own characteristics within a genotype, but I could always trim one or two back to some degree and compare overall production between all 4 plants.
these ladies are 80 days into veg. 3 jack herer and one hash passion. too late to clip the lowest sub-branches and let them take a chance on rooting and producing more flower than what they would do naturally (popcorn)?
roaring lion
Well-Known Member
ice cubes to increase THC? seems like an easy experiment worth trying when the time is appropriate. I know this thread is about pruning but how about the urban legend and black magick story of molasses during finish?
No worries fella!
The only way to find out is to give it a shot. Even if you remove ~80% of the leaves on the plant, it's still going to grow and flower.
If your plants are still in the vegetative growth stage, then you can take as many clones from the lower branches as you wish. Even if you don't decide to clone the plants, most science and practical studies have shown that removing the lower 1/4 or 1/3 of the growth from the plant produces a heavier overall yield by allowing the plants to put more energy into the larger, more dominant upper buds.
I got Auto's already Flowering & I cut the lower branches off even in flower. Seems like all the upper growth takes off every time I do. Then I have to Defoliate the Tops because they get too bushy.
Anyways, the Stem Splitting & Ice Water tricks I got from Robert Bergman's site 420. A lot more info on how it works if you're interested.
Anyways, the Stem Splitting & Ice Water tricks I got from Robert Bergman's site 420. A lot more info on how it works if you're interested.
HugePeckerhead
Well-Known Member
I've currently had mine in 18/6 went into a 36 hours darkness period and switched to 12\12. Day 4 of 12/12. I've topped her a total of 3 different sites throughout her growth without any LST. Would it be ok to remove a few upper to mid fan leaves to allow light into the mid bud sites? Since I just flipped a few days ago I don't wanna start chopping without stress too much.
Better to let the plant transition to the flowering stage with as little stress as possible. I wouldn’t remove any growth until 12/12 day 14 at the earliest.
Unless you want to slow the plants stretch down a little.
roaring lion
Well-Known Member
beauty. I'm sure there are more and more scientific studies to lend support to pruning methods and yield. I'd love to see the results. I'll check out the 420 site again. I downloaded both books/manuals but haven't referenced them lately. green thumbs up emoji to you!
