im leaving a few leaves untrimed around the buds while they hang upside down to dry the first days. it helps with maintaining a relative humidity so that the the bud can dry slowly and not trap moisture in the core.. Those leaves will 'hug' the buds providing a nice cell for them to dry in.. These extra leaves can be trimmed later before the buds go to jarsI usually do take most of the big stuff off. It really depends on how I'm going to dry it. Sometimes hang the whole plant sometimes I just cut it up and put it in the rack