Trimming fan leaves

[justjr27]

Im 44 days into flower still have another 45 days left My ? is I was told by a fellow grower that I should trim all my big fan leaves off so my buds can get super big is that true can I do this to help bud size

 

[gio77]

Absolutely not. Trimming the larger fan leaves will only lessen your bud quality & total mass (period). Not even an iota of a doubt here.

BTW, what are you growing that requires 99 days of flowering?!?

 

[Damagoman]

A Sativa so it sounds to me.

Those are the plant's solar panels man,
you cut them off and you decrease the energy the plant can produce.
At this point it may not grow new ones.
Unless they are shading a bud site, I leave them be.

 

[justjr27]

yea its a sativa dont know what strian though I was told it was a 90 day strian I already
took off the big fan leaves not the ones in the buds but the ones that are by themselves
so I guess Ive learn from mistake

 

[gio77]

Hey just, I didn't mean to be harsh as upon reread it sounds like that. Rather just wanted to stress to allow the energy centers to continue. With this said, it might not be that big of a deal, depending upon how many leaves you cut. A positive side of things is that you have opened up the bottom nugs to direct light & increased air circ. It's not all bad, but wouldn't recommend this technique next time. Also, I do cut back lower leaves & especially ones that overlap & are crowding each other. This is to ensure air flow & minimize any PM and/or Botrytis. So, it isn't a steadfast rule. Also, also, I have a certain plant that go's b u s h y... she gets a major trimming & never blinks. Truly, best brah!

 

[GNO1962]

I should have read these threads first. I was under the impression that trimming the larger fan leaves would allow more light to hit the buds. I just took off most of the large fan leaves off. Did I just F*ck up my plant?

 

[Rushed]

You'll be fine, I trim fans that are blocking light and I thought I went too crazy with it but they turned out ok. Next time just don't take them all.
I agresively trim at day 14 anything that doesen't look like it's going to stay close to the main colas spray them with nytozime once (gives them a boost and set them on coarse for fating up.) Then I remove any fan leaves that block bud sites.
Works well for me.

 

[GNO1962]

Thank you Rushed!!

 

[DrGreenGene]

I get so irritated when people try to spread their OPINION has if its fact. Some people choose not to remove fan leaves or other growth, and that is fine, but unless you are working with an extremely young plant(under a week) or the plant is sick, removing fan leaves will NOT harm your plant, at all. Tons of extremely well known, super successful people that have grown for 20,30+ years, swear by it, for multiple reasons. More light to certain areas, control plant growth and shape, slow down growth, larger yields, list goes on. You can snip every fan leaf on a established healthy plant and it will most likely thrive! There are a lot of videos, aka PROOF that shows techniques of removing all leaves and extra growth throughout the plants entire life, and it shows increased yields time after time, due to the plants reactions. More light on intended area, etc. So do not throw out opinions and claim its fact, just cause you believe in growing a certain way. I myself when I first started, without knowing much in the first place, clipped every single fan leaf off thinking that one leaf is not worth the entire branch that purports it, and wanted better light penetration. plant was great. It actually started sending more energ-y to the nodes, and they grew so much larger, and at harvest grew large colas due to the light covering it more and increase energy being sent to the branches. Think about it, the branch on the big fan leaves that connect straight to the main stem are huge, sometimes larger than the bud bearing branches themselves! Is the amount of energy that the one leaf takes in worth what it uses to sustain a branch that size? It doesn't harm the plant obviously, but you get more than enough energy production from the leaves that are coming off bud bearing branches themselves. And it helps create an over all more bushy, developed plant rather than a talk lanky one. I do it with every plant, and it always has the same effect- larger and more productive branches and a larger harvest. Study up guys, I know you "purists" do not like removing parts and avoid it at all costs but that doesn't mean you can lie to people and say it will hurt or kill it. If the plant is healthy, its perfectly fine, even preferred by some those that are informed and looking for larger yields. Study up, its well practiced and people are trying to get the word out. Proof is in the puddin!

 

[dadums]

I'm a firm believer in the trim. If you do a tight SOG or just small space air circulation is SOOOO important to prevent mold.