To defoliate or not to defoliate?

[madsdad4ever]

that is the question ok out door plant 6.7 foot tall vegged for extra 1.5 months inside under led b4 i put it outside in the earth she started flowering bout 3 weeks ago i called myself defoliating it today i pulled a full walmart bag of leaves off of it just not sure if it was enough to do any good any and all comments welcomed

before

after

bud close up

 

[Weaselcracker]

I'll just put my 2c worth in, not as any sort of defol expert- but just based on what I would do if it was my plant.
I would defoliate if:
- first- only if it was healthy and growing well, but very bushy (looks to be both )
and:
-I was worried about about the possibility of mold and wanted to create more airflow.
-it had foliage that was dying off, because of light deprivation, or anything else really.
- saw some primo budsites that were getting shaded out by the bushiness. If the shaded budsites weren't obviously crying out to be liberated, I'd just let the plant continue to focus it's growth on the ones up top.

Otherwise I'd probably just let it do its thing.

 

[jojo677]

I'd agree with Weasel. In your case, since you're growing outdoors, your biggest possible thing to fight is probably mold. This is highly dependent on what kind of conditions you live in. Is it super humid? Does it rain a lot? Etc. If you see these things becoming an issue in the future, it's probably a good idea to defoliate and open up the inside of the plant to achieve more airflow. If you don't see this being a problem, I'd just leave it as is. It looks quite healthy too!

 

[madsdad4ever]

I'd agree with Weasel. In your case, since you're growing outdoors, your biggest possible thing to fight is probably mold. This is highly dependent on what kind of conditions you live in. Is it super humid? Does it rain a lot? Etc. If you see these things becoming an issue in the future, it's probably a good idea to defoliate and open up the inside of the plant to achieve more airflow. If you don't see this being a problem, I'd just leave it as is. It looks quite healthy too!

thank u for the kind words been awhile since my last grow i live in a pretty humid place around Mississippi Tennessee area and we do norm have a good bit of rain around fall ugh

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yeah sounds like you will have to learn about mold. it's been a big problem for me. Check out this thread and post questions on there about it -
The Mountain - Grow Support From The Over 50 Club you'll find some great outdoor growers. Lots of others too of course- this thread just popped into my head. All the best