How much should I defoliate before scrog.

  • Thread starter Kevuk
  • Start date
  • Tagged users None
growsince79

growsince79

9,065
313
Not sure I run jacks and silica co2 1000 83-85 degrees 60 percent I play with my vpd to make plant uptake as much nutes as possible
The large fan leaves that you cut will never grow back. They are gone forever on any plant I ever saw.
 
Observationist

Observationist

5,320
313
I'm gonna add my 2c to the conversation about defoliation.

First, defoliation imho shouldn't be looked at like removing all the solar panels. Pot plants are extremely adaptive and will bounce back from a lot more stress than you might think, and, solar panels regrow.

What defoliation in combination with what I consider a tactical pruning does, is it restructures the entire plant to focus only on the regrowth that appears during the stretch phase. With the idea being that most of the stuff you remove during the strip, would have been shaded out anyway by mid flower. Also, crowded plants grow slower and are more susceptible to pests and diseases. By stripping them it gives them plenty of room to grow and keep humidity under control.

My process; First it's important to have the plants trained to deal with the strip well, during Veg I top my plants twice. Once at about a week in veg to promote side branching, and again a week before flip I top each side branch to make each become 2 branches. Then 2 days before flip once all the nodes are regrowing after the last stripping, I prune the plants by removing every single node except the very tip of each branch, and then also remove every single leaf except the ones at the very tip of each branch.

It looks wrong, but if the plants are healthy they will rebound into a much more productive structure than you started with. All new growth is up top in the goldilocks zone, there will be zero larf down below, the plants are pre-lollipopped and every new budsite that grows is kept to flower out.

One caveat, is I would only do this in a fast growing system like hydroponics or even coco. Though I've heard of people doing it in soil too.

It works. It's strategic, and I can assure you is far more benefit than it is harmful to the crop layout

Here is my plants before strip when they are ready to flip. If I flipped these the room would be way overcrowded in a couple weeks and require a lot of pruning, which I try to avoid once in flower.View attachment 1197252

After stripping they look like this, and I go to bed wondering if I'm losing my mind, or if I've killed my plants..
View attachment 1197253

But then a week later they look like this again, and the canopy is far more manageable, and doesn't require any further pruning. I will pull off some more leaves at day 21 in flower, which is next week. But it's pretty clear to me that stripping did more good than harm.
View attachment 1197254
Hi sorry can you please explain your fancy pots lol

those slabs
 
Kevuk

Kevuk

194
43
Screen is filling up fast, glad if flipped.

I’ve been folding and tucking and tops that come through for the last few days, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to do that much longer.

E8676F56 7480 4B40 9763 2E8A4C72D875
 
Kevuk

Kevuk

194
43
7 days after flip. Got to the stage where I had to let them come through the net, as tucking was getting crowded and the tops were heading out of the strongest light.

It’s a 240w lm301h Kingbrite so not the best light spread.

I’m going to have to defoliate a bit tonight. Not looking forward to it I admit. Any tips are welcome.

There is a lot of dosi in showboat and I know they like to herm.

Gap at the back is where I tucked a limb under the net today as it had grown outside the frame

FC8040D5 CB80 430B AD38 6A26980DF64B

8F43E141 965A 47AC B5F4 2397AE237EE6

5FA9F114 EAF9 422A 8325 ACF0DF4F9D43

516D933C FD9B 48A0 94BB 0AD6EDA3099D
 
Observationist

Observationist

5,320
313
Everyone else is spot on,

I would just lollipop the bottom, any leafs not getting much light and leafs blocking 🌹 sites 🌸
 
Kevuk

Kevuk

194
43
Quite a lot of bud sites are covered by a lot of those plant leaves. Want to defoliate as little as possible though.
 
Observationist

Observationist

5,320
313
Quite a lot of bud sites are covered by a lot of those plant leaves. Want to defoliate as little as possible though.
Personally I’d cut all leafs blocking

but could be wrong

that’s just what I’d do
 
Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Supporter
9,158
313
Man, I'd be in there just raping those leaves. That congestion gives me anxiety lol.
I like the plants to look like they've been hit by a tornado when they go into flower. But that's just my preference, many ways to skin a cat.
 
Observationist

Observationist

5,320
313
Man, I'd be in there just raping those leaves. That congestion gives me anxiety lol.
I like the plants to look like they've been hit by a tornado when they go into flower. But that's just my preference, many ways to skin a cat.
Yup that’s how I feel lol. I’d be having fun with some trimmers
 
Mr.GreenthumbOG

Mr.GreenthumbOG

Grow for life🌱
Supporter
2,301
263
Man, I'd be in there just raping those leaves. That congestion gives me anxiety lol.
I like the plants to look like they've been hit by a tornado when they go into flower. But that's just my preference, many ways to skin a cat.
Agreed.
leaves laying upon leaves can be problematic, if it’s below the scrog, and where light levels are insufficient. Pluck.🐓
 
H

hawkman

2,209
263
Like you my friend, I agree with the fan leaves on a plant being an essential component in the plants respiration and overall development. I have been doing a SCROG for the last couple of years, and overall I have certainly increased my bud sites and overall yield. It is the best way to get the most efficiency and consistency of your light(s) across all your bud sites for overall better development of your buds. As a rule when putting down my trellis net, I want a top or more in every hole of the net (if possible). I start a week before I go into flower by bringing down my net to lay down my branches and for that next week in veg and the first 2 weeks in flower I weave my branches into the trellis to keep it consistent in height, especially over the first 2 weeks in flower as it will want to continue to stretch, weaving my tops into as many trellis holes as possible to control that stretch, so that little light hits the floor. So, when I do trim the fan leaves it is everything below the trellis I will strip off, since any bud development beneath the net will not get enough light to ever catch up to the top, but just as importantly the plant redirects its energy for growth to its tops, making for nicer colas that will stack up nicely between the nodes of your branches. As you can see from photos below, I don't remove much above the canopy, mostly below 👍
how high is net and what aize pot are you using --- great info !!!! also how long do you veg ? 45days 60days ? (veg being when the plant has 3 sets of true leaves)
 
H

hawkman

2,209
263
Looking better today. Lights went out when I was putting the screen in last night. Plants were in sleep mode.

View attachment 1197494
understand what you mean now when you say " laying the next on the tops" -- very educational post need to try this I can get better yields LSTing --- But one always wants to improve the bottom line - Yields
 
PK1

PK1

Supporter
3,459
263
i agree with @Dirtbag, in flower their gonna stretch and all that below the scrooge net will be pointless. to think of its its a waste of energy for the plant, cuz it can take all that energy to your colas instead.
 
H

hawkman

2,209
263
I'm gonna add my 2c to the conversation about defoliation.

First, defoliation imho shouldn't be looked at like removing all the solar panels. Pot plants are extremely adaptive and will bounce back from a lot more stress than you might think, and, solar panels regrow.

What defoliation in combination with what I consider a tactical pruning does, is it restructures the entire plant to focus only on the regrowth that appears during the stretch phase. With the idea being that most of the stuff you remove during the strip, would have been shaded out anyway by mid flower. Also, crowded plants grow slower and are more susceptible to pests and diseases. By stripping them it gives them plenty of room to grow and keep humidity under control.

My process; First it's important to have the plants trained to deal with the strip well, during Veg I top my plants twice. Once at about a week in veg to promote side branching, and again a week before flip I top each side branch to make each become 2 branches. Then 2 days before flip once all the nodes are regrowing after the last stripping, I prune the plants by removing every single node except the very tip of each branch, and then also remove every single leaf except the ones at the very tip of each branch.

It looks wrong, but if the plants are healthy they will rebound into a much more productive structure than you started with. All new growth is up top in the goldilocks zone, there will be zero larf down below, the plants are pre-lollipopped and every new budsite that grows is kept to flower out.

One caveat, is I would only do this in a fast growing system like hydroponics or even coco. Though I've heard of people doing it in soil too.

It works. It's strategic, and I can assure you is far more benefit than it is harmful to the crop layout

Here is my plants before strip when they are ready to flip. If I flipped these the room would be way overcrowded in a couple weeks and require a lot of pruning, which I try to avoid once in flower.View attachment 1197252

After stripping they look like this, and I go to bed wondering if I'm losing my mind, or if I've killed my plants..
View attachment 1197253

But then a week later they look like this again, and the canopy is far more manageable, and doesn't require any further pruning. I will pull off some more leaves at day 21 in flower, which is next week. But it's pretty clear to me that stripping did more good than harm.
View attachment 1197254
for get that method of defoliating :schwitzzing -(spelled wrong all leaves are moved before flower except the top's there is a video about this- in comes from the Tree of LIfe book -it's works !!!
 
ImpulsiveGrower

ImpulsiveGrower

Supporter
2,081
263
The large fan leaves I cut never grow back. Only smaller sugar leaves that weren't cut off grow. How do you get your large fans to "grow back"?
They don’t mean that they grow exactly back in that spot you snipped but more fan leaves grow out. Smart ass lol always trying to find any flaw in everyone’s posts
 
ImpulsiveGrower

ImpulsiveGrower

Supporter
2,081
263
7 days after flip. Got to the stage where I had to let them come through the net, as tucking was getting crowded and the tops were heading out of the strongest light.

It’s a 240w lm301h Kingbrite so not the best light spread.

I’m going to have to defoliate a bit tonight. Not looking forward to it I admit. Any tips are welcome.

There is a lot of dosi in showboat and I know they like to herm.

Gap at the back is where I tucked a limb under the net today as it had grown outside the frame

View attachment 1199542
View attachment 1199543
View attachment 1199544
View attachment 1199545
Loving the scrog I did one my first grow and got a very nice yeild off smaller plants. I plan to do another but this time a big one! These are gonna look really nice as the buds stack.
 
Top Bottom