Should I remove lowest leaves?

[whelksemengmail.com]

This plant is 5.5

weeks old on 18/6 lighting. I've noticed it's just a little bit less perky than my other plants. Should I cut off those lowest leaves that are touching the soil to maybe increase ventilation a bit? Thnks

 

[PipeCarver]

This plant is 5.5View attachment 1314621View attachment 1314622 weeks old on 18/6 lighting. I've noticed it's just a little bit less perky than my other plants. Should I cut off those lowest leaves that are touching the soil to maybe increase ventilation a bit? Thnks

They look good just keep them off of the soil, I like the large solar panels while in veg, If you want them to stretch out more you can add red led lights ( cheap amzon). Then they'll jump up off the pots, its good to keep a fan blowing over the top of the pots they like a little dancing not a hurricane just a gentle breeze and don't cut leaves that aren't damaged, They should start moving north up off the pots soon enough.........if that helps

 

[mysticepipedon]

I'd remove them.

 

[BigBlonde]

For a plant that size, I'd probably focus on shaping the plant. My goal would be to encourage the plant to grow branches and create good air flow in the center of the plant. So I would remove a few and make sure none are in contact with the soil.

 

[0ttomanfarmer]

I would cut off lowest.
Touching soil is an invitiation to deseases.
Hang lights up a 10-30% of what u have now if u want a bit more stretch

 

[whelksemengmail.com]

I would cut off lowest.
Touching soil is an invitiation to deseases.
Hang lights up a 10-30% of what u have now if u want a bit more stretch

Do you think they shud stretch a bit more? I was aiming for a stocky plant but don't want t to be unhealthy

 

[0ttomanfarmer]

Do you think they shud stretch a bit more? I was aiming for a stocky plant but don't want t to be unhealthy

they will stretch during 12/12 anyways the first weeks, if you wanted them stocky, mission accomplished ;)

 

[Trixie]

Leaves are very important for many reasons. First of all, they are solar collectors that absorb light and the more leaves the plant has the more light it can absorb, the more it can grow. Secondly, a leaf has 100s tiny mouth that breathes gases out of the stomata and regulates the moisture from the roots back to the atmosphere. Thirdly the leaves hold stored nutrients for the end of the plant's life when flowering to insure reproduction survival.

Webinar: How Do Plants Breathe?

In this video, plant scientist Nidhi Vinod takes students on a visual journey inside a leaf to show how a plant breathes. Designed for Grades 3-5.

naturalhistory.si.edu

 

[whelksemengmail.com]

Leaves are very important for many reasons. First of all, they are solar collectors that absorb light and the more leaves the plant has the more light it can absorb, the more it can grow. Secondly, a leaf has 100s tiny mouth that breathes gases out of the stomata and regulates the moisture from the roots back to the atmosphere. Thirdly the leaves hold stored nutrients for the end of the plant's life when flowering to insure reproduction survival.

Webinar: How Do Plants Breathe?

In this video, plant scientist Nidhi Vinod takes students on a visual journey inside a leaf to show how a plant breathes. Designed for Grades 3-5.

naturalhistory.si.edu

I'm sure this is correct but sometimes I wonder if they even need leaves. Just kidding I know they do but I've grown some great weed with good yields on plants that have really unhealthy looking leaves

 

[Dankwanko]

I’d only defoliate if the leaves are touching soil or completely blocked by the canopy above.

 

[Fromunda506]

there are about as many different opinions on defoliation as there are people growing herb. This is what I do and it works for me. Through veg and early flower, up until stretch finishes, I pinch all lower shoots and force all of the growth out to the tips of the branches I am going to flower. I leave the leaves though to power the plant through the stretch. Once stretch is over, I defoliate liberally. They may be solar panels, but if they’re not getting light anymore, they are creating humidity, obstructing airflow and leaching moisture and nutrients for almost no return. I grow in coco so I don’t really need a store of mobile nutrients for late flower. I control that with my feeds and taper them off when the plants are finishing. This is by no means the “right“ way to do it. I have grown them totally native and I have also stripped off every fan leaf that was older than two weeks throughout their lifecycle. All has its pros and cons. Play around with it and see what works best for you, your space and the strain(s) you are growing. You are not going to hurt the plant or destroy your yield or anything like that. Good luck. Cheers

 

[RootsRuler]

Yes

 

[Dr.Dave]

I'm sure this is correct but sometimes I wonder if they even need leaves. Just kidding I know they do but I've grown some great weed with good yields on plants that have really unhealthy looking leaves

I always grow a single feminized seed, which I top and lollipop, but I'm beginning to evolve my thinking about defoliation.

I started growing with a 3'X3' tent in a 3 gallon cloth pot using a 50/50 mix of Peat and Vermiculite ammended with lime and gypsum. Five months later I've got a six ounce yield of LA Con plus 14g of kief.

Today, I grow in a 7 gallon cloth pot using CoM's Stonington Blend which was designed as the ideal soil to grow cannabis in and I'm expecting a 14 to 16 ounce yield by early March plus 2 to 3 ozs of kief.

I lollipop and top once and do alot of low stress training, but I find that I'm more of a sculptor now than a barber and my yields have not suffered in my opinion. That's my current grow at 12 days in veg and I'm keeping her short with tight nodes.

 

[whelksemengmail.com]

I always grow a single feminized seed, which I top and lollipop, but I'm beginning to evolve my thinking about defoliation.

I started growing with a 3'X3' tent in a 3 gallon cloth pot using a 50/50 mix of Peat and Vermiculite ammended with lime and gypsum. Five months later I've got a six ounce yield of LA Con plus 14g of kief.

Today, I grow in a 7 gallon cloth pot using CoM's Stonington Blend which was designed as the ideal soil to grow cannabis in and I'm expecting a 14 to 16 ounce yield by early March plus 2 to 3 ozs of kief.

I lollipop and top once and do alot of low stress training, but I find that I'm more of a sculptor now than a barber and my yields have not suffered in my opinion. That's my current grow at 12 days in veg and I'm keeping her short with tight nodes.

I grow in 2x4 tent and do 2 or 3 plants in 9 or 12 litre pots. I top plants and maybe do some light lst and usually get about 12 ounces of weed. Im not an experienced grower and still never really know how much to defoliate so usually I just leave them to grow. This grow I decided to try to really reduce stretch and produce short compact plants. Im happy with the way they turned out but still not sure if to defoliate a bit or not because they are looking overcrowded

 

[0ttomanfarmer]

I am trying to ask myself this.
Does this leave get enough light to justify its place? Is there enough photosynthesis the leave can do. Would other leaves benefit from the cut ?
Or is the leave blocking airflow, touching soil, tent or other plants? Would the plant suffer from the cut?
If you analyze if there is more positive or negative effects with the cut you got your answer.

Or you could cut only one plant and compare afterwards...