I have some pretty dense growth on the top of one of my plants. They are one week into a 12/12 light cycle, to begin flowering. I used a screen to get the most out of the area I have to grow in. The tops of the plants sticking through the screen are very dense (pic attached). Should I trim some of the smaller leaves out before continuing to flower? Pretty sure I have spider mites. The black dots in the picture are bugs of some sort. I can squish them with a finger, so its not just a discoloration on the leaf. I haven't seen any webs, but I'm not going to take chances. I want to put some neem oil on the plant. If I could trim some of the growth, it would make it much easier to kill all the bugs. If I trim, where can I remove leaves without losing bud? Thanks to any who take the time to respond.
I trim foliage all the time, it's a touchy subject but I feel that there is some benefit to it. Especially with some pheno's, chokes up circulation imo. I remove underdeveloped shoots as well as leaves that might be blocking light, check my journal, I remove piles of green. Some people trim, others don't. You'll get a variety of opinions here
I'm against trimming for the most part. At the same time, there are times where it must be done and since the subject really is so up in the air, it's really all about what the grower wants to do. Just keep in mind that while some trimming is benificial, such as those under-twigs that will never amount to anything, going overboard will undoubtedly stunt the growth of your plant. Think Bonsai.
I am with the above poster FOR trimming. I cut off piles too, and underdeveloped sections. It takes energy to feed and grow these parts, and if you know they are that small at a certain period (def by 12/12.... Coincided it can double in size during flower) they won't produce decent size buds. Why waste the light, nutes, energy etc on those tiny bits, when you can redirect it towards the stuff that's already growing/tips of colas. Creating bigger buds where the light is. Also, large leafs at times prevent the light from reaching lower parts, and do more damage than good if left. Whole lower 3/4 won't get light, stretches, wastes massive energy, bud yield suffers. Here is one of my plants. I also make it a habit to cut anything "growing down". Anything on the underside of branches (unless it's somehow surpassed other parts) gets cut, if it ain't pointing up.