Huge fan leaves, should I prune them?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by coconut123, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. Hi all, I would like to hear your thoughts / advice on my situation.

    DWC system. Scrog. Using G.H Flora nutes. Lucas Formula. RO water
    pH= 5.5. 900ppm. Room temp 68-78. Water temp 65. Humidity 15-30.

    My plants have been vegging under 400w HPS for two weeks now. I shocked them during transplant but they have really taken off the last 3 days. You can see from the pics that the fan leaves are huge. I go in 4-5 times a day and try to move them so they don't block the lower shoots.
    I think I finally have things pretty much dialed in. But I would like some pruning advice for my scrog setup.

    QUESTIONS:
    1. Should I remove/trim some of these fan leaves or just keep moving them?
    2. Should I start trimming some of the lower branches so more energy goes to the top?
    3. (for my next grow). I heard of a pruning technique where, You top under the 7th node, then remove the bottom three leaf pairs. Would this be good to do for a scrog setup? Or do I let them grow and keep bending them under the screen?
    4. My humidity is pretty low. 15-30. Is this ok or would should I buy a humidifier to get it to 50-60?

    Thanks for any input you can give me. Steve
     

    Attached Files:

  2. I would clear out everything 2-3 inches from the bottom of the plants but don't touch anything else. If you keep the light close to the plant, it will be fine.
     
  3. I wouldn't trim anything that is as vibrant green as your pics show. If they yellow or turn brown, yeah.
     


  4. i must agree, dont trim the big fan leaves the are like large solar panels collecting energy for your plant, they are the most important leaves on the plant, but the lower stuf that wont be getting any light takes energy away from the plant, so basically you trim all the undergrowth and you should see up to a 30% increase in yield compared to if you hadnt cleared the undergrowth. but i would wait till they get a bit bigger and go through the screen, that way fill your screen and thn trim away everything below
     
  5. Thanks South, Joe and Dr. I'll leave the big solar panels alone and just keep moving them around. I just pruned the lower 1” of the five plants. (got 5 cuttings, nothing goes to waste…LOL). I'll wait till more shoots come through the screen before I do any more lower pruning.

    I hate to be greedy, but what do you think of question 4? Some people top the plants, some don't. funny, one of the 5 plants in my scrog accidently broke at node 4. I'll be go to hell if it's not twice as big as the other 4. I'm sure pruning the plant does cause stress and some delay in Vegging, but it may be worth it to get more yield?
    Thanks again.
     
  6. you can top, but i dont see a point if your using the screen, i would just keep bending the branches thru the screen untill its full
     
  7. I wait till I can figure which branches will actually reach the screen within the first few weeks of flowering. I cut al the ones I suspect or know wont reach, and then after two weeks into flowering I go back and get rid of any that havent gotten into the screen yet.
     
  8. #8 bonghitz420, Feb 2, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 2, 2010
    Alright I got a question about this too..I dont use scrog but I do have 3 very large plants I've supercropped,not really for extra budsite but to get a nice even canopy.Should I trim off the smaller side branches off the main branches that occured from supercropping or just leave em?They dont get much light and can't see them producing much would it increase productivity in the tops and give a better yield?
     
  9. generally yes, but it depends the strain, some strains that produce one main cola would be better served the bottom trimed but a plant that likes to side branch and make numerous buds of average size would be better with selective pruning, and by selectivly pruning i mean cutting lower growth sites (not leaves they collect energy) that do not get enough light or are at the very bottom of your plant
     
  10. If the bud site looks pathetic and wanting to die it does, so cut it and the nergy will go upwards...save as many leaves as possible and move whatever possible to gain light to other bud sites behind large shade leaves.
     
  11. Agreed. I did a little experiment with my current White Widow grow. I trimmed most of the fan leaves off of one stem budding and left the rest completely untouched. the bud growth is THE SAME, if not slower in the one with trimmed leaves.

    I believe the trimming shocks the plant a bit and lags the bud development just as much as it would from being in the shade, if not more. Anyway, this is just from personal experience but try what you want and perform your own tests to see what you believe. That's what I suggest.

    But I never trim until leaves are at least 50% crispy and discolored.
     
  12. I recently had this question myself. I have heard differing opinions. It is said that the older fan leaves below the canopy should be pruned off because they suck up nutrients, take up valuable root space and give no support to the flowering. I believe this growing theory is for tent or limited space growers. Leaving the fan leaves on would only lend to giving a large plant more support to stay upright when it has gotten 6 feet tall and bud laden. With a scrog going on I don't think there would be any light getting to the lower fan leaves anyhow so what's the use for the lower fan leaves. The screen supports the weight anyhow. I have 9 plants in 3 gallon pots in a 40"x40" tent where I am pruning off the lower larger fan leaves and the plants are very healthy. Obviously, if I let those big fan leaves grow it would be a total mess in there. I have been thinking about doing a scrog but this is my first grow in 15 years and I want it to go right. Any suggestions for how to scrog in a tent?
     

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