Your thoughts on defoliation?

The only time you should trim fan leaves is after harvest. The plant does not grow them for no reason:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYq7CuVpAeo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYq7CuVpAeo

 

if it's indoor go ahead. I did mine and it came out better then the one without. Just wait a week or two for it to recover. I only take the big fan leaves thag are on the main stem and isn't supporting a new growth though. People will tell you not too but haven't tried it themselves.

 

you'll get people who have never tried it tell you it is wrong because of something they read in a botany book. I can see why they and I diasgree with the method posted over on growweed. The method I use is complete before I flip. I never remove more than two fan leaves per day, and I leave the stems on the leaves. When I'm done all but the top 4 fan leaves have beem removed.
 
It creates a large beautiful bush where all bud sites are in direct light. The main cola gets very large, but the secondary buds tend to be smaller than non defoliated buds.
 
not sure why this technique upsets some people so

 

does it improve the yield over one year? I don't know, defolitation takes time, a lot of stress to the plant, that is why I never remove more than two leaves a day. IMHO, if you are looking for yeild per year the best way to do it is just like the pros, and that is a sea of untouched green. That's the fastest way to get a harvest.
 
other more complicated techniques like mainling can produce fantastic yield if given enough time. Not suitable for the commercial grower but maybe a better option for the guy with one light and a tent.
 
defoliation is the first improvement I tried when I moved indoors (and that was before the internet) and it just sort of came naturally. After I signed on I learned about topping, mainlining and LST. IDK, I have plenty of time and plenty of stash, maybe next time I'll try another deofliated plant. They really are beautiful when they are mature (although a little weird looking during their formative years.)

 

I personally defoliate before flowering, and then only defoliate to remove leaves that are blocking other smaller colas from getting light during flowering. Suffice to say, only so much defoliation can be a good thing. As with all things, moderation is key.
 
I main-line my plants to help control plant size and maintain an even canopy. It generally works really well, but like lotek690 said, you have to give it time to heal after each topping and defoliating which can make for a longer veg. Still, in limited space, an extra week or two can yield great results. Look at my 5'x5'x7' grow tent below for evidence.
 

 

 

so the way I do it, after you get 4 large fan leaves on the bottom of the plant, you can remove them, two per day, and just snip off the leaf and leave the stem, don't get anywhere near the main stem.
 
after a few days you will have another 4 large fan leaves on the bottom of the plant. Same thing, remove them two per day. And on and on up the plant. Until you are left with just 4 fan leaves under the main cola. Leave them on, the cola needs them. And then you are done, nothing left to do until harvest.
 
After defoliation, it may be ready to flip or it may benefit from a much longer veg time for the new growth to mature.
 
Main thing for beginners is make sure you have enough height for the strain you are growing because with this method there is no controlling height.

 

Elementary school biology!  
 
 
"Leaves are the food making factories of green plants." from In Search of Green Life"  http://extension.illinois.edu/gpe/case1/c1facts2c.html
 
 
 
[SIZE=10.5pt]The Importance of Leaves[/SIZE]
Use this easy experiment to teach your students about the function of a plant's leaves and introduce them to the process of photosynthesis. Bring in two small, leafy plants. Ask the children to predict what will happen if you take all of the leaves off one of the plants. Carefully remove the leaves from one plant. Place both plants in a sunny spot and water and care for them the same way over the next few weeks. If the plant without leaves grows new ones, remove them too. Observe what happens to the two plants and discuss. Explain that the leaves job is to make food for the plants. Without the leaves, the plant can't make food and dies.
from "Plant Parts: Hands-On Science Activities for Young Children" http://www.brighthubeducation.com/lesson-plans-grades-3-5/72687-activities-to-learn-plant-parts/
 
 
 
What happens if you cut off all the leaves of a plant?
Best Answer:  cutting off the leaves of a plant will cause shortage of energy. plant will be malnourished for a period of time until new leaves grown. cutting all leaves means, cutting the energy cycle of a plant. since leaves collect carbon dioxide with sunlight energy and a small amount of H20 to form the photosynthetic process of plant. by means of photosynthetic process plants makes food or energy in order to grow faster.
 
 
 
 
Granny

 

i figured it wouldn't be long for the ones who have and will never try it because of their religious belief about God's intention when He created leaves, and they should never be destroyed, even though rabbits (which He also created) defoliate all the time.

 

Who is dumb enough to cut all the leaves off though?

 

Some assume that if you don't agree with them you are not be smart enough to give other methods a try. This is a great assumption and a bit narrow minded. It can be that no other means can be found to substantiate a claim.
 
 
Jorge Cervantes may not know how to build a rocket-ship, but he sure knows a lot about growing weed. Do you think he is so narrow minded or he has not seen and done it both ways over the decades of growing bud? *Wikipedia* "Today, Cannabis Universities in the USA use his book, Marijuana Horticulture, as the main textbook and his videos as instructional aids".
 
I have asked Jorge about his views on pruning leaves, he stands behind his statements in the video above. He said most growers learn this after a few seasons of growing. He went on to say if you do employ lollypop methods or need to prune back your plants, they should be cut during the veg cycle. No branches and leaves should be taken after flowering starts.
 
This was not a hard one to prove out (and most growers doing this for more than one harvest have done it both ways). We grow the same clone doing both methods and see how it stands up. I have done this same method to debunk things like light cycle and home made CO2 and other "bro-science".
 
I used a plant we pruned back branches and leaves for a harvesting cure thread I wrote. I have done a variety of pruning methods over the years. It boils down to this: Taking fan leaves will take light energy away from your bud. It does not give more light to the bud, it in fact takes usable light away. It looks cool after you do it, but your yield and growth rate will be negatively impacted by this practice.
 
Lower branches taken and some fan leaves pulled off:

 
 
 
Nothing taken:
 

 
 

 
It is easy for me to say, that I get a better yiled and faster growth when I take no leaves off. With that said: I do take a branch off now and then, if it is in they way or turning black. Just try and keep it to an absolute minimum.

 

I would take an expert drivers word that hitting a wall at 50 MPH will wreck your car. Not foolish to follow expert advice.
 
As you can see, chopping leaves will still allow a nice harvest. You can make lots of mistakes and still yield some good bud.
 
How I take advice from the internet: Find someone who can show you the results you wish to emulate. Even if others don't agree with the methods employed, the results will speak for themselves. This will keep you from having to learn every hard lesson one by one. 
 
We still can learn from others.

 

Taking leaves off to expose bud alllows you to see more bud. However, if you had left the leaves on, the bud will still be there underneath.
 
Plants aren't magic, they require chemical processes to turn light in to food. With a leaf gone it cannot make that food. It really is as simple as that. This is first grade science here.
 
I have tried taking leaves off in the past to show the difference it made and it was huge, about a third reduction in harvest weight. I wasn't surprised. Kind of obvious when you think about it.
 
Only noobs defoliate, and they do it under the instruction of other noobs. Ask any seasoned grower and they will all say it would be daft to do it, it make no logical sense at all..
 
Not once have I ever heard any argument for it. People just say they have tried it and got a great result. Then usually after some further questioning I find out that it was their first and only grow .
 
Most people who do it then go on to not do it on their next grow to compare. That then becomes the end of them recommending it. I've seen this happen many times on forums

 

a defoliated plant if you do it the way I do it will yield more than a plant left untouched, but it takes more time. Numerous experiments have been done to show buds resopond favorably to direct light. Other methods like LST or main lining will produce even better yield with more bud light exposure.

 

Links to these experiments please.

 

defoliatersclub.org
wackafan.com
wedon't need nostinkinleaves.net

 

but seriously, my other hobby other than growing pot is led. I don't know anything about it, but I read. that is where led side lighters are coming up with the affect of direct light on a bud. And you won't get that with a plant left untouched. But like I said, watch the pros, that's how they grow to get a quick harvest and I am sure they have done the gram to kilowatt thing.