Removing fan leaves

Discussion in 'Advanced Growing Techniques' started by plattynum, Jan 29, 2015.

  1. Is it wise to remove most the fan leaves when in flower? Dose this make thw plant consentrate more on growing the buds OR will it slow growth down as the plant won't be absorbing as much of the light through the leaves??? Has anyone done an experiment on this or no the true facts on were the plant needs light most when in flower and on what leafs or the buds or both just as much?? Any advice i'm greatfull for.
     
  2. #2 StaffOfPower, Jan 30, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 30, 2015
    You will probably get various opinions on this.

    However, my personal opinion is that you should NOT remove fan leaves. Maybe a couple strategic ones, to allow for deeper light penetration and/or airflow perhaps, but don't go too heavy.

    When the plant is in vegetative growth, it is pulling nutrients up from the ground (or reservoir, if you do hydro) and building leaves to store those nutrients in. Not unlike how humans have fat stores.

    When it comes time for flowering, the plant will begin taking up different nutrients from the ground, as well as using reserved nutrients (from the leaves).

    You ever flush a cannabis plant prior to harvesting? What that process does, is it washes all the elements(nutrients) out of the soil, forcing the plant to deplete it's stored nutrients, resulting in a smoother smoke. Hence the yellowing leaves during flush.

    So yeah. That's my logic on defoliating. It has worked just fine for me. Fat, dense, smelly, sticky, trichome covered buds every time.

    Oh, and about the latter part of your post...

    The leaves are definitely needed for photosynthesis. Obviously. So you don't want to take them all away. Your plant needs leaves in order to survive.

    The thing is, light also plays a role in trichome production on the buds. When the light is actually shining on the buds, trichomes are actually being destroyed. However, trichomes exist as a defense mechanism. So in the dark, the plant will produce more trichomes than before wherever the light hits the bud, in order to protect against UV damage.

    Simplified: You want a good amount of light on both your leaves and your buds.
     
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  3. I completely agree and I can say this from taking off too many leaves and then having a seriously unhappy underperforming plant
     
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  4. According to a recent article in high times it will increase bud production by 30% it basically says in the last few weeks of flower remove a few a day so it didn't over stress the plant. I have tried with great results. I'm not sure if it's better, but I know it turned out fine.

    All in all, I believe that if you want close to nature while growing in side it's dumb. Growing inside allows you to make a perfect living condition.

    So remove unwanted fan leaves (slowly) and let the light hit the shaded smaller buds.

    Or leave it be and have good bud.

    I also like taking off fan leaves to aid in drying and curing. When I harvest plants I have less large leaves to try and get rid of. Just preface really.
     
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  5. I find removing fan leaves thickens up buds but also creates more sugar leaves. In other words it makes it hell to trim!! The plant does depend on the fan leaves as already stated so taking them late in flower would be the only way I would do it.
    Taking fan leaves can also help reduce humidity. The risk of shocking the plant increases so knowing your strain is an important factor.
    It's not scientific but I find the plant flushes much slower if the leaves are taken. Buds mature at the same rate but to me it seems much longer to flush out.. Maybe less water transfer or something...


    I am so open minded you should only think like me..
     
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  6. I disagree, taking fan leaves to late in flower will stress her out. In my opinion it's best done before week 3 of flower. As for reducing humidity, never Hurd or read anything about that. I do agree tho you will see an increase in bud structure, tho not so sure on increase in sugar leafs.


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  7. This question is very very hard to answer at a satisfactory level, mainly because people's experiences can vary so heavily and it can easily cause conflict.

    With that said. There is not a SINGLE educated horticulturist that would ever remove fan leaves. These leaves are storage for mobile nutrients that are generally used towards up a few weeks before harvest (this is when those pretty fall color come out). High Times can claim they increase bud production by "30%" but I severely question their methods of experimentation.

    I do not remove a single fan leaf during any part of my cycles. I DO however cut out the lower growth that is below light penetration level.

    In the end however. I invite you to experiment with this and come to your own conclusion. Do it to one plant of the same strain and not to the other and see what happens.

    Bham


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  8. The great debate. Wars have nearly started over this topic. It is all relevant to indoors , outdoors , plant size, air flow crowding.as said before I would take anything that is not going to recieve any light. So the plant doesn't waste energy , and puts it towards all the buds that are getting all the light


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  10. Lol...This has been argued for years, my advice it's do what's best for you.

    And check out my sig
     
  11. I only take a leaf if the plant is done with it and it will come off by me touching it. I do not pull or cut leaves off. You can always tuck a leaf out of the way if it's over a bud, so what's the point in taking them anyway?
     
  12. ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1431190433.285419.jpg ImageUploadedByGrasscity Forum1431190589.162909.jpg

    Those are pages in The Cannabis Grow Bible. I posted the second pic for the part that states that a plant should never have over 50% of its fan leaves removed. I hope this helps, at least a little.



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  13. Wow sorry haven't been on for ages thanks for all the replies. Well I have tried since I was last on cutting and leaving I found taking to many leaves off dose cause slower bud growth. But on the other hand the buds create more trics. So what I do now is just cut the leaves that only cover the buds and block it's light the lower branches that won't produce a decent amount get whipped off. This in turn I think tells the plant to focus more on the colas in full contact with the light.
    If you take a few leaves a day from a plant just after flipping and take the leaves off that are covering bud sites. This will then not need to be done when the plants in full flower and stress it out. We don't want that as they could turn hermie on you as you probably no. And it's working for me so can't complain.

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  14. Yep. Don't strip the plant like in the picture. Just pick giant ones covering up fan leaves. I like bigger buds rather than a bunch of fan leaves.

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