Now i know many disagree with the cutting of the fan leaves to make the new branches grow faster. Im not exacly sure of my possition on this yet. I have cut them though just today to see what will happen.This was my first real grow and I had always believed that cuting the fan leaves would make them branch out faster but im not so sure. I have other plants that are smaller and i dont think i will cut the fan leaves off of those but i gotta wait and see what happens to the others. I will report back later on how things work but until then i was wondering for those that do cut the fan leaves when do you recommend doing it, do you wait until the new barches are so big, how much do u cut off and ya just how do u think u should do it.(i think i cut off to may personally and i now regret it)
it doesnt matter, as long as the plant enough fan leaves to photosynthesize, you dont need them, but they really have nothing to do with slowing down branch growth other than blocking the branchfrom getting enough light for the first inch or so. As long as your leaves arent too huge, that just helps your branches grow farther out to get in the light which means bigger branches and effectively, more weed. Your choice. I vote: Let the fan leaves fall off themselves (once the branch gets big enough) but if your branches are getting severely low light, go ahead and trim some of the leave. Just not too many at once.
Yeah, I agree with SG. Personally for my own grow; I am doing low stress training, with only 6" pots, so the odd time the fan leaves will cover the new growth at my internodes. This is when I use a paperclip to pin the fan leaf set to the soil below the internodes. This way, the fan leaves aren't blocking the lumens and the fresh air flow to the internodes. If after doing LST and the fan leaves are still blocking, then maybe you could sacrifice a couple, but other than that I don't see the need to be cutting them unnecessarily.
well it been a couple days and the plants seem fine no slowed growth or anything and the branches seem to be growing about the same maybe slightly faster but it is so close i just dont think it makes a diff
well this i have looked into and experimented with... Dierwolf says he ripps them off as soon as the braches start at the node, others say leave them alone. others say tie them back. vtec once told me to tie them backonly if they are blocking a fat bud. I have tried all these a few times and i dont see much difference in the rate they grow. (ecept for the bud thing) that works I always have light coming from the sides so the penetration on the nodes is good anyways. I recently read that the plant will dump toxins into the leaves right before it drops it, that is if you let the plant do it alone. my personal opinion is... Your plant talks to you, the way it does it it thru the leaves. when they are soft and sexy they are happy, when they start to get rigid she is telling you there is somthing wrong. when you do have damage on leaves and you leave it there, it helps as a reminder to listen to the plants... sounds kinds corny but its true! when my girls are happy Im happy... gluck buddy
Keep as many healthy fan leaves as possible. They are like solar panels that collect energy from light and allow the plant to manufacture its food. They also are somewhat like our liver, a storehouse for nutrients. So the more fan leaves you have the more energy and building blocks the plant has available to fuel its growth and bud development. If a fan leaf is blocking a budsite: - first option should be to tuck it out of the way - if that doesn't work, second option should be to tie it back - if that doesn't work, third option should be to cut only the specific blades that are blocking the light from where you want it - if that doesn't work, only then cut the whole fan The exception in my book is a fan on a lower level that becomes completely blocked from the light, still OK to leave those alone but fine to trim them as well.
the main job of the biggest leaves on the plant is not to absorb light at all, the "sucker leaves" contribute to more than 50% of the plants transpiration. These big leaves assist in pulling water up the stem, which means static pressure would drop drastically and the plant wouldnt be able to sustain rapid new growth development due to lack of nutrient supply. Y whould anybody want to do this to their plant?
yes toastybiz, "sucker leaves" this is what I call them cause thats what they do..... I know theyre really called fan leaves, but this doesnt help when describing their primary function....which is assisting in pulling water up the stem!
I trim the Fan leaves which are reducing light getting through the canopy, some of my leaves get so big, they just have to go, just a few at a time, i notice it does allow more light through and i am sure my buds grow better I have never seen it have any adverse effect. I leave as many as possible on though...
if the leaf is 75% healthy i'll keep it and tuck it if its blocking bud sites, but never trim.. cut it though if its mostly not healthy
u talkin to me???? if so, thats the xtra special gonejah17 strain. id tell u but id have to kill u. In other words I have no idea. sorry man, found the pic online. wish I had some in the garden tho. HOW DO THEY GET SO MANY TRICHSSSSSS?!?!?!?!?
