Cutting fan leaves or not?

[greenesthash]

i'm outdoors, i'm growing a pretty big fem in a 20l pot.


it's very very bushy and many of the flowers are covered by fan leaves.


can cutting the fan leaves help with yield? how should i go about it? any tips?.

pros? cons?

 

[Pennywise]

I would trim outdoor plants sparingly. The sun has great penetration and coverage.

 

[SmokingWings]

What Pennywise says. The sun can be like sprinkling magic on the plant.

 

[JWPcinders]

Im with Penny. I guess unless you are having severe problems with airflow and light penetration depending on where you planted. Or if the weather isnt very nice

 

[greenesthash]

I would trim outdoor plants sparingly. The sun has great penetration and coverage.

i see, thing is, this one is REALLY bushy, like a lot! and i'm worried the lower buds won't get enough light because of how the plant is shaped due to me doing LST to keep it low key.

also my fertilizer has a lot of N so that is also something that might've helped to make it so bushy

 

[greenesthash]

Im with Penny. I guess unless you are having severe problems with airflow and light penetration depending on where you planted. Or if the weather isnt very nice

about weather, i'm in italy, September and October, especally october can get pretty cloudy. duunno

 

[SmokingWings]

i see, thing is, this one is REALLY bushy, like a lot! and i'm worried the lower buds won't get enough light because of how the plant is shaped due to me doing LST to keep it low key.

also my fertilizer has a lot of N so that is also something that might've helped to make it so bushy

Then it is time for a photo or two of the entire plant. Don't need a lot of photos, just one would do.

 

[Pennywise]

You can trim but only what’s needed

 

[JWPcinders]

Dont go crazy with it. If its that big it wont hurt it I dont think. Just be mindful about what you remove. You could remove lower bud spots in the middle of the plant. Or if you have the option tie down some branches to some bamboo poles

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Trust the sun

Some strains are just more leafy than others to be honest.

Defoliate indoors is a common/uncommon practice depending on what side of the fence you stand upon this is largely done for yield but still a small amount but over many plants the maths soon adds up, also light degrades over distance... Now the sun is great big fuck off light spectrum, Oh really do we honestly measure that by a candle WTF...

But ye hps, depreciation over distance like 6 inches is a very real thing when dealing with a bulb of so many wattage's.

 

[greenesthash]

@Fuzzy Duck @JWPcinders @Pennywise @SmokingWings

here is a pic from the top

 

[JWPcinders]

@Fuzzy Duck @JWPcinders @Pennywise @SmokingWings

here is a pic from the top

To me it looks good! I definitely would leave everything on the top. I can’t see the middle or bottom. But if you have any bud sites down towards the middle that aren’t developing at all you could lose them.

 

[Pennywise]

It looks fine to me, just go easy on the trimming if you do

 

[SmokingWings]

Good looking plant.

Only thing I can see that might need a bit of trimming would be on the inside and near the bottom. Small buds near the bottom tend to stay small so maybe take some of that off if you want. But that photo shows a nice plant with a great canopy.

 

[JWPcinders]

I guess it could also depend on where you are located. I am in a humid cool place this time of year ( southwestern ontario). I plan on removing some more leaves this weekend as I had a mold issue pop up last weekend

 

[BeanTownFan420]

Some times removing leaves is absolutely needed to get your plants to harvest other times it should be avoided.I do both leave the leaves or remove for light and PM and bud rot control.Some say removing leaves decreases yield that is going to be hard to prove without the exact same conditions being met in every comparison grow and that can be very difficult with humidity and temp fluctuations and grower errors.You can meet all requirements and still get bugs rot mildew overfeeding etcetera.I have completely removed all leaves from four of my plants one i have left alone.

Sept 14 2020 Mucho Grande Canopy!

• BeanTownFan420
• Sep 14, 2020

Sept 14 2020

• BeanTownFan420
• Sep 14, 2020

 

[JWPcinders]

Some times removing leaves is absolutely needed to get your plants to harvest other times it should be avoided.I do both leave the leaves or remove for light and PM and bud rot control.Some say removing leaves decreases yield that is going to be hard to prove without the exact same conditions being met in every comparison grow and that can be very difficult with humidity and temp fluctuations and grower errors.You can meet all requirements and still get bugs rot mildew overfeeding etcetera.I have completely removed all leaves from four of my plants one i have left alone.

Sept 14 2020 Mucho Grande Canopy!

• BeanTownFan420
• Sep 14, 2020

Sept 14 2020

• BeanTownFan420
• Sep 14, 2020

I might have to do this to help prevent milder and rot....

 

[Billotto]

I defoliated like a demon on my first grow. Mediocre yield and decent potency.

Second grow I only took off dead leaves and ones that were blocking buds. Better yield but i wasn't happy with potency.

I'm not trying to establish correlation; just paying my 2 cents

 

[JWPcinders]

I defoliated like a demon on my first grow. Mediocre yield and decent potency.

Second grow I only took off dead leaves and ones that were blocking buds. Better yield but i wasn't happy with potency.

I'm not trying to establish correlation; just paying my 2 cents

I don't think there is truly an answer lol. I think everything varies from the strain to begin with to what you plant in, conditions, genetics there are just way to many factors for a true answer

 

[Billotto]

I don't think there is truly an answer lol. I think everything varies from the strain to begin with to what you plant in, conditions, genetics there are just way to many factors for a true answer

I agree. And in the end, remember our mantra when it comes to any of our growing habits.

"Do what works best for YOU"