Do you remove healthy Fan leaves?

[ureapwhatusow]

I've found there's a sweet spot in regards to light penetration. Too much shade is worse than fan trimming in some cases from my experience. I've seen some yield boosts from late stage stripping too, in the last 2 weeks or so.
I've always stripped the bottom 1/3 bare naked right before 12/12, for increased air flow & no schwag fluff. Less room for pests to hide & get a foothold too YMMV

is very much relative to available light


use too small a light source with certain strains and the inside of big buds to lose their green color and can promote real weak runny flowers


trimming fan leaves allows light

fan leave process light and store energy to be processed

photosynthesis occurs on a cellular level however so all the cells that you want to be healthy need light

this is why shaded buds can get pale and shitty but this is also because most artificial grow environments DO NOT DUPLICATE THE NATURAL TRAVEL AND CORREALTING ANGLES OF HTE SUN

that said you would be better off using a mover or using side lighting even if its a lower output

most growers fail to visualize light attenuation and thus provide a source of light in a garden that provides enough wats per square foot but they fail to recognize its not distributred in equal measure so its not a accurate measure

if you want to measure your yields in ounces per cubit square foot opposed to square foot distribute your light evenly thought your grow environment

IMO this is what growers growing vertical are trying to achieve since side lighting is limited and or costly or difficult in larger scale scenerios

so while in summary i agree more light in lower places is better,, id rather distribute light using variosu techniques than mutilate the plant

 

[LiLWaynE]

look at what tom hill does... he grows many 10+ lb plants...

Here is the modified "pistil whipped" pruning technique on Trainwreck, removing growing tips, but leaving the energy collectors

I remember when I first broke the 10 pound barrier, it was a big deal because I had been shooting for it for years and had seen it but kept falling just short - the 10 pound club is a special one. The old Salmon Creek clone did it for me first. My largest yield of well dried and well trimmed product was just over 10 pounds 2 ounces, then another 2 pounds 2 ounces of smaller buds that were stripped and went straight to the Hash tumbler. My largest bud ever with no stem showing was 6 1/2 oz. Here's some big ones.

 

[Greyskull]

look at what tom hill does... he grows many 10+ lb plants...

wow! outdoor pruning i thought that was sacreligious!

Im gonna have to try that technique indoors on a few of my plants on the next crop going in.

Great post LW

 

[KRD]

I pull all the fans off halfway through. Never harvest any larfy shit always pull 3-4 zips per in 2 gallon pots.

 

[LJB]

So many people have for years enjoyed great harvests even after removing lower fan leaves.

Lower leaves and shade leaves clearly serve purposes, however it seems that once the plant has elongated and the upper leaves are supplying the tips with the products of photosynthesis and lower leaves if left on supply the roots.

It stands to reason and fits with some of the evidence from growers that if the environment is dialed in and the roots properly fed, pulling the lower leaves doesn't have to degrade potential yield and quality.

I actually prefer the pistil whipped method.

 

[Nortin]

Healthy leaves should be left on the plant, if they are getting in the way of bud sites cutting the fan leaves in half to expose the site is a better option then removing healthy fan leaves (removing healthy fanleaves can hurt your buds as much if not more than alittle less light.) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

[Bazarocka]

Over the years I've heard so many debates on this issue, A BOOK, could be written on that subject alone. I personally leave the major fan leaves alone. Any trimming/pruning I may do takes place mostly at veg stage.

 

[big ballin 88]

I wouldn't remove the fan leaves until they started turning lime yellow and obviously their old and out of use. Also it depends on your growing style but sometimes you can use that to send some energy upwards instead of working on smaller parts of the plant. The may purpose of tucking fan leaves is to maximiaze the light space necessary for the buds in order to become as dense as possible due to light penetration through the bud.

Try not to cut fan leaves, unless their obviously useless and do nothing. Also you can cut fan leaves in the end to help start the flush of nutes. If you are able to use some molasses solution you before you start bending the plant you should gain some flexibitly out of the branches. Fan leaves truly shouldn't be cut until the end, until than the plant used much energy to make those leaves and it was for the reason of storing excess energy and help energy transport.

 

[ItsAllOver]

This topic seems to be in need of a serious controlled experiment. I don't know what to believe.
I'll add it to my list... lol

 

[ITryToGrow]

This topic seems to be in need of a serious controlled experiment. I don't know what to believe.
I'll add it to my list... lol

I second that!

Include different tests for different mediums and growstyles aswell.

 

[inpain0013]

I second that!

I third that!! Motion made and carried!! Let us know what you find out, ItsAllOver!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

IP

 

[Bazarocka]

Please

Please

I second that!

Include different tests for different mediums and growstyles aswell.

Do so---------------But I must warn you in advance. Every Grower/Breeder WILL usually tell you something different. As I said above....................."A BOOK" could be wrote on the subject matter.

Also Id like to add,,,,There are MANY factors involved here, strains, growing area, unexpected problems that may arise. Just to name afew.
But once you've "mastered the skills of cultivating" you know what comes off and when.
BTW::: HAPPY NEW YEARS everyone....

 

[ecxtky]

I pluck them off with my nails, it seems to propagate growth on the top and side branches more. After pruning a few off, I start the training with just wires pulling down on branches, kinda spreading everything to the sides and allowing more sunlight all around. It seems that if you just clip the fan leaf off it just doesn't do much till you pull the branching to the side as well. I currently got an la con coming outdoors, and I want her to be a bush by the time I harvest. She's been around since august this year, and hopefully coming to culmination around july or august 2010. Is this bad, to have them growing for this long?

 

[homebrew420]

I only remove a few at the tops. I try to grow 4-6 tops and then spread the plant open for max exposure. Sometimes that requires a few leaves to be removed. as for yellowing leaves I add nitrogen. If it's just a few a pull them. I do the same thing as Mr. Hill. Pull the "suckers" as us tomato growers call them but leave the food producers. the more you have the more photosynthetic response one wh have. Makes sense to leave them on.

 

[maryjohn]

outside, "all in".

inside, there is only so much room in a scrog in a rubbermaid. I try to save as many as i can.

over in organics some people are discussing getting a slower dry and better cure by leaving the fan leaves on during drying.

 

[medmaker420]

I personally don't cut any leaves EXCEPT for this one grow. 30 girls crammed under a 600 is just asking for mold SO I trimmed up the larger leaves down below about 2/3 the way up the plant of all the main fan leaves. Opens up the light down below, better air flow and reduce any and all possible mold which can really kill a crop.

If at all possible I don't take anything off the plant until it is ready including leaves and buds.

 

[whodair]

snipping top leaves to allow light to the lower buds? how ridiculous!

id rather clean out the lower parts of the plant, and allow the tops to fully develop.

 

[HempKat]

I leave mine on because I've noticed that when the leaves aren't doing enough for the plant, the plant will let them die off anyway. Marijuana existed long before there was man to wonder about trimming off fan leaves.

Sure you can trim off leaves and it seems like it's doing some good but what seems and what is, are two different things. Growers tend to read human behavior into a plant's behavior and that's not how it is. What these growers think may make sense but it's because the growers are human and so of course these human ideas make sense.

 

[jmansweed]

 

[The Revolution]

look at what tom hill does... he grows many 10+ lb plants...



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I gta see this 6 oz bud