Defoliating

[Django_TO]

"removing the suckers and clearing out nurfle seems to be a learned thing. I start at the bottom of each plant and clear all growth that won't make the light. This I clear out a week or two after stretch stops.


Obviously personal choices, I tend to grow more of a scrog style.

Hi Arthur. When do you start to clear? 2 weeks after the stretch stops or do you already have it done by that time?

 

[Arthur]

Hi Arthur. When do you start to clear? 2 weeks after the stretch stops or do you already have it done by that time?

I try and leave as much on till the 2nd week of flower. Sometimes I'll trim things a little early, if its something that will definitely get cut. In veg I try to keep things to shaping the plant, topping and or lst. Once in flower, then the trimming starts. I'll usually wait till the stretch stops, just cause it's easier to evaluate what nugs stay or go. A little before or after should be fine. Like I said earlier, it's something we learn over rounds.

 

[BallsackSal]

I try and leave as much on till the 2nd week of flower. Sometimes I'll trim things a little early, if its something that will definitely get cut. In veg I try to keep things to shaping the plant, topping and or lst. Once in flower, then the trimming starts. I'll usually wait till the stretch stops, just cause it's easier to evaluate what nugs stay or go. A little before or after should be fine. Like I said earlier, it's something we learn over rounds.
[/QUOT
Cool, that's pretty much right where I'm at (2nd week flower). So basically I just clean up everything below the top 8-10 inches of canopy and then continue to remove any new growth sites below the canopy, right? If that's the basic idea I think I got it this time around.

 

[Arthur]

Most lighting looses the majority of its punch after that much canopy. Looking for wide and flat indoor to maximize space/weight/cost ratio. I saw a few posts back someone does what I do with several known strains. I remove the bottom 2 sets of branches. And top or firm @ node 6 keeps the underside mostly clean, and the focus on the tops (this I do real early as I know the genetics).. run a strain once first tho... not all strains have the build to handle that.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

I routinely remove suckers or nodes that are farther than 3 inches. Otherwise I clean all the spindly growth that won't produce.

I don't defoliate anymore

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I have never topped. My issue isn´t the final weight, is the space on the tent. I have new bud sites appearing until the end of the grow. New branches and things like that. So i would like to find a way to defoliate/prune that allows me to have better space management, and less branches.

Each time you trim a lateral you get two new laterals so stop pruning and just let the plant grow. You cannot get fewer branches then the plants normal growth pattern without danger of exposure to pathogens.

The red lines represent cuts. If you cut above the node you get two branches. If you cut behind the node you eliminate that branch and the two new branches but it will be a big wound, easy to cut the main stock and will be more subject to infection.

 

[BallsackSal]

Each time you trim a lateral you get two new laterals so stop pruning and just let the plant grow. You cannot get fewer branches then the plants normal growth pattern without danger of exposure to pathogens.

The red lines represent cuts. If you cut above the node you get two branches. If you cut behind the node you eliminate that branch and the two new branches but it will be a big wound, easy to cut the main stock and will be more subject to infection.

View attachment 1255275

Is that type of infection common in cannabis?

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

It might be partly due to the Orca Grow Film but I get regular buds down in the plant without any special defoliating or pruning. I just let them grow. Most peeps prune these out before they have a chance. This StarDawg had nice dense buds in there?

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Is that type of infection common in cannabis?

Most infections are not common at all but loosing any plant is costly.

 

[Capt.Quirk]

Hi. thanks for the reply. How long does it take to "clear" everything under the 4th node? A few days, a week? Do you start LST before defoliating? I usually start LST around when the 4th or 5th node appears. I want to try new things next grow. I might try this way.
Thanks.

I wait for the sixth node then cut off everything under four and begin training by breaking apical dominance as you see in the pics. Then I keep tying down nodes and tucking fan all around the pot. When the buds start stacking, I begin removing leaves in and under the canopy taking perhaps 20% from each node, waiting a few days and repeat throughout flower. Again this is what is functional for my auto grows after much experimentation @Django_TO. This is the same plant throughout flower phase. Organic soil auto grower.