Hey Grasscity my baby is currently on the First week of Flower and im considering of Doing a Selective Leaf Removal or Defoliation Method on them because they are just getting Ridiculously Bushy. What should i do or should i just Leave it be?
Bro, have you ever watched any videos on defoliation? It’s controversial, but I’m a big believer in it. First week of flower is a great time to do it as long as you aren’t growing an auto. Defoliation is a good way to boost your yield, but is considered high-stress training. If you pluck all your leaves, your plants will recover with a vengeance and grow right back, along with more tops / bud sites. I just tried defoliation earlier today for the first time. It stresses the plant for a short while, but recovers quickly. Current Autoflower Grow New 3x C4 Auto Grow
You’re right though she is bushy! Have you used any other type of training techniques throughout your grow? Current Autoflower Grow New 3x C4 Auto Grow
In my Progress of Growing this Plant, I've Topped it around week 4 into it, and as it grow i decided to LST the plant by holding the Branches down when the Two New Shoots grew. Ill try to find a Photo of the Progress but i have to dig deep into my phone or Hard Drive
Super crop and lollipop from the bottom up. You have a lot of lower growth that won't amount to much. You need to shave your ladies legs. That will get rid of 30% of the bushiness.
Trim off the bottom branches and leave the tops alone. Try to achieve an even canopy. Looks good so far.
I’d remove all mature fans up to the top two nodes and lollipop the the lower 1/3. She will look pretty bare, but will fill in through flower. We only get about 18” of penetration with indoor lighting, so picture that when trimming and shaping your plants.
I’d start with removing all fan leaves below this line I added, and if you feel it needs more after a while, then you can move upward from there. Be very careful of doing too much at once. Like a previous poster said, it is very stressful for the plant. High stress = exponentially higher chance of your plant developing pollen sacs, particularly during the flowering stage. The last thing you want is to get this far and have all your flowers get seeded. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
that's what I meant when I said that defoliation is a controversial topic among growers. Some do it, and some will tell you not to for the very reason that she stated. And yet, seasoned commercial (and non-commercial) growers will swear by it and have proven that it yields larger harvests. Since I defoliated my Jack Herer, it is evident that my plant is using its energy to create more bud sites instead of regenerating fan leaves. Check out this video if you get time.