How often should i trim my plants?

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Indoors' started by 520medicineman, Jan 29, 2012.

  1. Hey guys, first grow going, not gonna get real into it but basically the grow was dumped on me so this is more of a learning experience.

    Well anyways, their about 3 weeks into flowering and i've trimmed them once, taking out any leaves that were shadowing the buds. Well a friend of mine said that i should barely trim it, or even to trim it at all,even though theres clearly shaded buds.

    So my question to you guys is how often should i be trimming? Everytime i see a leave shadowing a bud? Leave it alone? Soo confused guys any answers would be awesome, thanks! :confused:
     
  2. You want to keep trimming to minimum in flower so it doesnt stress it...most people "lollipop" each branch from the bottom up to get rid of all the popcorn bud sites that wont get much light...if you do it in flower only take a few off every day or so to keep from stressing it too much...as for trimming fan leaves you should leave all the ones you dont lollipop off...you can tuck them under buds if they are covering some up
     
  3. What do you mean by popcorn budsites? Sorry, ive just never grown before, but im knowledgable on what to do, just some minor detail things such as trimming and whatnot
     
  4. just small bud that dont grow much and use up energy that the top buds could be using..you just clear out everything right to the stem on the lower part of the plant..it's not necessary to do it just helps make bigger buds on top..as for trimming all over you shouldn't do it in flower really just tuck big leaves under like I said
    [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arr94XiKokM&feature=related]"Lollipopping" your Marijuana plants - YouTube[/ame]
     
  5. I don't trim anything that's still alive. If your pot is big enough, and you only have 1-4 main stems, your top colas will reach maximum capacity anyway. Bottom material is great for making hash and edibles.

    lollipopping is useful in scrog and when your plant has a shitload of main stems that would normally produce popcorn if not lollipopped. For example, I flowered a mother that had about 2 dozen colas growing in a 3 gal pot. (kind of like the one in that video) She produced nothing but popcorn buds, no solid colas at all. If I had lollipopped her, I would've directed a lot of energy and nutrients to the top for some nice buds.

    On the other hand, I normally grow shorter plants with 2-4 main colas and they get as fat as they possibly can. (lower, popcorn buds get as heavy as fishing weights, check out my blogs) If the plant's needs are being met and you only have a few main colas, then lollipopping will reduce your yield because the plant will have more resources than it can use. If you have a lot of main stems that are straining the plant's resources, then lollipopping will direct energy towards the top, helping to form solid colas. This is my understanding based on my experience, and a lot of factors can change the outcome, like a 20 gal pot, type of pot, healthier root growth, hydro, etc.

    As for trimming, I water my plants every 3 days and when I do this, I take them out, put them on a table, and remove all brown material. Anything that's still alive is providing resources to the plant (energy, nutrients), not the other way around. Yellowing leaves are providing for the plant, not taking away from it. If healthy growth is shading a fat bud, then I'll tuck the leaf to the side.

    hope this helps...
     

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