Ok, I've seen this mentioned around here a few times already, but I have absolutely no idea how to tuck the leaves in! I'm in my first grow, so yes I'm learning a lot still. My plant overgrew the space I had to. Now I'm struggling with space, but I'm managing to do some kind of crude LST with the plant, training it so the colas bend and all that thing... The only problem I need to solve are the huge sativa fan leaves! They are simply huge! They spread everywhere, and prevent me from setting the light on better spots, nearer to the budsites. Please note, although the lights aren't farther then 5" away from the plant, I'd like to have them closer, since I'm flowering under CFL's. So I read, read, read, and read a lot of posts around here, found the "tuck the leaves" thing, but I don't know how to do it, 'cause everytime I try to tuck the leaves, I find them back at their place the other day, and usually burned to a crisp, since I placed one of the bulbs there... Should I use some kind of string to tie the fan leaves in place? Should I use durex? Or some other kind of tape? Or should I let go on the tuck idea and start cutting off the fan leaves that are on the way? (approx. 30-40% of the fan leaves).
never listen to the advice i give but cut them off ........ 95% of grasscity will disagree but i do it all the time........... never cause a problem just more light to the buds........ in a weeks time the smaller ones will be huge... during the 2ish months in flowering i'll cut all the big fan leaves out 2 or 3 times...i think it helps alot.... more light on the buds......but i think tying them somewhere would be a close 2nd option........... ok so not advice just what i do and i kill it!......... but n-e-ways you had no response's and im bored........... all right g.c. .......... now everyone tell him why he shouldnt,,,,,,, maybe you'll set off a nuke in china or your plant will turn into a zombie.........lol.......
LMAO! Thanks man. I read around here about not cutting, but my plant experience tells that whenever you cut leaves, you stimulate the node above it to grow. In this case, the bud node! I think I'll cut the ones that are on the way and have those lights 2" from the buds Shouldn't be worse than having the lights 5"+ away from them...
Not really sure how your sativa leaves are blocking light, they are nice and skinny, sativas generally don't have very large fan leaves. You don't tuck the leaves themselves, you are pulling the secondary node out OVER the fan leaf. You are just surfacing secondary nodes. Once the secondary node starts growing it will eventually pass up the fan leaf and you wont have to worry about it.
Never cut leaves, cutting leaves doesn't help you AT all. When you cut leaves its like taking away solar panels. More fan leaves = more light energy absorbed by plants to CREATE buds. The buds themselves are not what absorb most of the light that the plant needs.
Cutting leaves actually does absolutely nothing for the nodes, all it does its cripple the plant. Will cutting your left leg off help your right leg do anything better? TOPPING stimulates secondary node growth because of the redistribution of auxin (plant hormone that is responsible for vertical growth) from the main cola (now gone) to the rest of the plant so the other secondary nodes can compete to be the 'main cola'.
The problem with the fan leaves is the tight setup. They are touching the bulbs and burning. Else I have to keep my bulbs too far from the budsites.
If your leaves are touching the lights obviously you need to move the lights or tie the plant down. Budsites are on the TOPS of the nodes, so I don't really see how the fanleaves are the ones in the way of the lights..? You realize that the plant as a whole is absorbing light and storing and expending energy all over the plant, right? The buds themselves are not what need light, its the fan leaves. I wouldn't worry about how close the lights are to your under-growth, they will eventually stretch out far enough to get whatever they need.
I use 5x 25W CFL 2700K. That's why they are everywhere. Also, since my plants can't grow much upwards, lights are on the sides. Lateral growth has increased 200% since I moved them. Upper bud sites are getting reflected light and are showing good development. How can I say that... The lights are not on top of the plant. They are near the top, but on the sides and in the middle. Got it?
Because they are getting more auxin than the lower nodes, growing as they should. If you are running out space already IDK if you're going to be finishing this plant where you have it without changing your setup a bit.
With LST it should be easy to tuck the leaves because you have a relatively even canopy, there's plenty of stuff nearby that you can tuck the leaves under. All I do is look top-down on the plants for any budsites that are being blocked from light and just push the offending leaves downward until they get trapped under some other leaves or branches. There isn't really a science to it, and for that reason it's hard to describe but actually very easy to do. The main thing to be careful of is that your "tuck" is secure, you don't want that leaf or fan to unfurl in 10 minutes and block that budsite again.
couldnt agree more, a little trick i use to tuck the leaves is is either use a tie-wrap but dont put it to tight as to cut the circulation off, or a paper clip, and i just basically "tie" the leaf i want to move to the upper branch just above it, this way the leaf is out the way and the lower branches get more light and the leaf is not removed so it still gets light i never remove any fan leaves that connect to the main stalk, but occasionally i may remove a smaller leaf here and there
yeah you can go into all the science why you think cutting fan leaves is bad but from my experience i know that it helps big time during floration. one of my plants last grow wasnt even budding. i cut 2 main fan leaves off.....in the coarse of a week i had an explosion of bud growth. i usually cut one fan leaf off a day during floration....doesnt shock the plant and promotes growth. unless you want small bud i suggest trimming some fan leaves if your in floration. from my experience getting good bud during floration you have to have lots of light.......this grow im even contemplatiing getting side lights. i tried tying down some fan leaves this grow and it helps a little bit. but they keep growing even over the string i tied them with........so tie them down during veg and cut during floration.
hmm never knew about the tucking technique, I'll have to try it. And about the cutting..when ever I cut fan leaves I don't see any negative effects at all. I usually just cut the ones that are either not getting light and are turning yellow or the ones that got deformed some how (pot position, against a wall or something)
Whats to say cutting that fan leaf is what made the buds grow... sounds like you cut the fan leaf right before it started making buds and just attributed it to that..
its common sense that cutting a leaf will slow the growth , you might not notice it right away, but think about it, when you cut the plant, it stops to grow and focuses all its energy to heal its self, once healed it will continue to grow, tuck or lst is the way to go, dont cut
I have 6 plants under 600w hps in a 4x4 growbox. the leaves are huge, some 7-9 inch indica leaves. I haven't picked or tucked anything and i'm shocked how big the buds are,even the ones directly under the big leaves. Haven't done this enough to call anyone out on their info or techniques, but I'd have to say that going with the leaves being a solar panel has been working for me. The entire box is full from side to side and the leaves squish up against the sides of the box. I just rotate and turn them everyday and all the plants are doing beyond my expectations. If they turn yellow or wilt I'd snip them immediatly, but so far I haven't even picked 3-4 leaves off the whole bunch and they're in week 4 of blooming. But whatever works for a fellow grower, keep doing it!