Help with defoliation/lollipopping

[Cannabiskollektivet]

Hey guys,

I'm currently on day 38 on my first ever grow. I'm noticing quiet alot of budsites forming on the lower part of the canopy. I was wondering if its OK to pick off the lower leaves/branches so more light can penetrate throughout the plant.

Pics attached below.

 

[Simplicio]

This is a matter of opinion.

Leaves are solar panels, and every leaf helps feed the whole plant, but each leaf has an easier time energizing nearby sites.
It's possible to grow a plant without ever cutting off anything healthy, and that's mostly what I do.
Low Stress Training to make sure there is a full canopy, plus leaf tucking to expose more bud sites, work very well.

But pruning is very popular.

Your plants look good.

 

[low_and_slow]

I've grown plants each and every way, and the biggest question you have to answer is "where is my light coming from, and at what angle to my canopy?"

If you're outside, the answer is basically, "everywhere, every angle" assuming a flat field in the northern hemisphere.

If you're in a 23"x20" closet with walls painted in Behr ultra-pure white eggshell paint, the answer is, "directly overhead the canopy only, minor reflection from the walls approximately half-way down the main colas."

Okay, so your setup may differ, but that's obviously mine. What that means for me is that anything I grow either needs to allow direct penetration all the way down the stems/colas, or I need to train the plant incredibly flat to maximize surface area under my downward-only light source.

Another possibility might be a 5x5 tent, in which case the answer is, "mostly from above, but also a ton of side lighting because each plant has the ability to stretch out to mostly full-size and get a ton of light-scatter from the mylar walls all along its mids and lowers."

Notice how wildly different that answer is versus growing in a box/cab setup.

So...what do I do? "Rape-strip" would be the correct term for photoperiods, and "heavy but reserved defoliation," would be my answer for autos. In your case, look into the frame of the plant and imagine the line where below that, anything you get will be essentially garbage for trim, not usable ganja. Starting from that line, pull off any fan leaf the size of your palm or bigger all the way to the top. Leave anything below there, you don't need light hitting the floor.

For the more aggressive photoperiod technique, I cut every single petiole long enough to let my scissors in 1-week before I flip, then 20-24 days into 12/12. This keeps the plants very short, but the entire plant all the way to the soil grows usable bud; I basically "grow my lowers" and let the uppers do what they do.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Cannabiskollektivet I am lazy. I used to do all kind of trimming and training and I just quit doing it because - well - I am lazy. Guess what my quantity and quality all went up! I only top autos above the 4th node and then defoliate underneath for air-flow in late flower when needed. The little buds underneath that I used to trim off without even giving a chance now make good little nugs and a StarDawg I grew had cola quality nugs at the base of the plant.

I don't know why we think we know better than the plant how to grow?

 

[low_and_slow]

I don't know why we think we know better than the plant how to grow?

To be fair, in most indoor spaces some amount of hygiene is needed, these plants evolved outdoors sure, but have been sifted mostly indoors and in greenhouses where heavy pruning and training are common practice.

 

[olbobcat]

Your plants look fairly open. I would not worry about defoliating. If you have some lower bud sites that are not growing at all you could chop them off. The buds that a lower but not getting as much light sometimes make very nice buds 1.5 to 2 inches long that can be solid little rocks. Just takes a while to get a feel for what you want.

 

[Cannabiskollektivet]

This is a matter of opinion.

Leaves are solar panels, and every leaf helps feed the whole plant, but each leaf has an easier time energizing nearby sites.
It's possible to grow a plant without ever cutting off anything healthy, and that's mostly what I do.
Low Stress Training to make sure there is a full canopy, plus leaf tucking to expose more bud sites, work very well.

But pruning is very popular.

Your plants look good.

Hey man thanks for the reply. I just took a little off the bottom branches to make room for watering. They seem fine with it.

 

[Cannabiskollektivet]

I've grown plants each and every way, and the biggest question you have to answer is "where is my light coming from, and at what angle to my canopy?"

If you're outside, the answer is basically, "everywhere, every angle" assuming a flat field in the northern hemisphere.

If you're in a 23"x20" closet with walls painted in Behr ultra-pure white eggshell paint, the answer is, "directly overhead the canopy only, minor reflection from the walls approximately half-way down the main colas."

Okay, so your setup may differ, but that's obviously mine. What that means for me is that anything I grow either needs to allow direct penetration all the way down the stems/colas, or I need to train the plant incredibly flat to maximize surface area under my downward-only light source.

Another possibility might be a 5x5 tent, in which case the answer is, "mostly from above, but also a ton of side lighting because each plant has the ability to stretch out to mostly full-size and get a ton of light-scatter from the mylar walls all along its mids and lowers."

Notice how wildly different that answer is versus growing in a box/cab setup.

So...what do I do? "Rape-strip" would be the correct term for photoperiods, and "heavy but reserved defoliation," would be my answer for autos. In your case, look into the frame of the plant and imagine the line where below that, anything you get will be essentially garbage for trim, not usable ganja. Starting from that line, pull off any fan leaf the size of your palm or bigger all the way to the top. Leave anything below there, you don't need light hitting the floor.

For the more aggressive photoperiod technique, I cut every single petiole long enough to let my scissors in 1-week before I flip, then 20-24 days into 12/12. This keeps the plants very short, but the entire plant all the way to the soil grows usable bud; I basically "grow my lowers" and let the uppers do what they do.

Thanks for the very helpful information. I did some light defoliation to the bottom half of the plant, removing big fan leaves touching the soil etc. They seem to like the haircut so might give them another round after the next feed. Still have some lower budsites that dont get quiet enough light.

 

[Cannabiskollektivet]

Wha

@Cannabiskollektivet I am lazy. I used to do all kind of trimming and training and I just quit doing it because - well - I am lazy. Guess what my quantity and quality all went up! I only top autos above the 4th node and then defoliate underneath for air-flow in late flower when needed. The little buds underneath that I used to trim off without even giving a chance now make good little nugs and a StarDawg I grew had cola quality nugs at the base of the plant.

I don't know why we think we know better than the plant how to grow?

What do you mean by topping over the 4th node? Yeah i was thinking that too, so I defoliated for some better airflow, they seem to love it. Thanks for the info m8.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Topping an auto is done from day 14 to 21 as soon as it is possible. It must be done when the plant has as much veg time left to recover as possible.