Trimming large fans leaves, yay or nay?

[hazelsgarden]

I've read various things about trimming fan leaves and not trimming them so I was hoping to get some advice. I feel like a couple of these bigger leaves just get in the way especially when trying to do lst. Should I just leave them alone? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. This is my first time growing so im still trying to figure alot of this out.

 

[Florida_Mike]

haha and welcome, there are almost as many answers to that as there are people on here. i'm prolly not the best to answer that. i believe in leaving as many on as long as i can. however, there's nothing wrong with removing big ones that are blocking new tops that are under them. @Captspaulding is prolly the best one to ask. some people on here "lollipop" the shit out them, with pretty good results. i went the opposite direction until yesterday morning @ 40 days old. find a happy medium and you'll be golden. btw - awesome looking little plant you've got there.

keep up the great work, g'luck and happy growing. just no eddie scissorhands please

*3.5 gallon bucket picked yesterday morning, many were as big as a 5 gallon bucket lid

-peace-

 

[TheGoldenRoad]

I leave every one that doesn’t shade the center / lower bud sites. But before I get to trimming, I tuck the fans leaves under the branches to push the growth sites up towards the light. When tuckin’ don’t work get to shuckin’

 

[hazelsgarden]

haha and welcome, there are almost as many answers to that as there are people on here. i'm prolly not the best to answer that. i believe in leaving as many on as long as i can. however, there's nothing wrong with removing big ones that are blocking new tops that are under them. @Captspaulding is prolly the best one to ask. some people on here "lollipop" the shit out them, with pretty good results. i went the opposite direction until yesterday morning @ 40 days old. find a happy medium and you'll be golden. btw - awesome looking little plant you've got there.

keep up the great work, g'luck and happy growing. just no eddie scissorhands please

*3.5 gallon bucket picked yesterday morning, many were as big as a 5 gallon bucket lid

-peace-

Appreciate the feedback. Im definitely gonna try to keep what I can, I also feel like is has grown so much wider than it has tall, but i think i may have pulled enough back to get some light more throughout the plant. Thanks again

 

[TheGoldenRoad]

This is a week or so ago:

This morning I took off two large leaves that were blocking out the center and cleaned the bottom up. Everything else was tucked.

 

[Phyto]

This is a week or so ago:

View attachment 2343594

This morning I took off two large leaves that were blocking out the center and cleaned the bottom up. Everything else was tucked.

View attachment 2343595

Looks good, I tend to be a tucker, not a plucker, but I do take a few off when they are blocking bud sites/shoots. I go very heavy on LST.

 

[Semimoto]

I've read various things about trimming fan leaves and not trimming them so I was hoping to get some advice. I feel like a couple of these bigger leaves just get in the way especially when trying to do lst. Should I just leave them alone? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. This is my first time growing so im still trying to figure alot of this out. View attachment 2343551

 

[Semimoto]

Personally i only removed fans that block the lower buds, the larger fans produce sugar the plant needs, its a balance though, the less leaves to more energy for the flower

 

[BudgetGrower]

Removing the large fan leaves during this stage of veg will encourage the lower shoots to grow more quickly, as you're eliminating a significant amount of weight. In 7-14 days, the plant will likely double in size. Keeping the fan leaves on, however, can block airflow and light to the lower shoots, leading to slower growth since the fan leaves are heavy and unnecessary at this point in veg.

 

[Florida_Mike]

Removing the large fan leaves during this stage of veg will encourage the lower shoots to grow more quickly, as you're eliminating a significant amount of weight. In 7-14 days, the plant will likely double in size. Keeping the fan leaves on, however, can block airflow and light to the lower shoots, leading to slower growth since the fan leaves are heavy and unnecessary at this point in veg.

i respectfully disagree - leaves are "growth engines" that use photosynthesis to

create sugars, starches and carbohydrates that the plant needs to grow. leaves

also transpire, which is what causes water and nutrients to be sucked up, which

in turn causes growth and turgidity. bottom line is; more leaves equal faster growth

and bigger, healthier buds. as well as faster turn arounds. (btw, very nice looking

plants & set up you have going on )


i wonder,

have you ever done side by side comparisons? i have not. but, i have seen growth

rates (personally, with my own plants**) that would match or beat anybody's here.

i say this with confidence, not bragging or trying to belittle anyone. my system

was producing 2.5lbs per 1000w hps 22+ years ago in a footprint of a little less

than 4x9 feet. if i had been growing and tweaking my system all these past 22

years (without a federal fucking conviction for growing), there is no telling how

far i would have come or how much i would be producing today; especially with

all the advancements in equipment & technology that have been made since then.


**healthy cuts would only be on the slabs, under 4k watts hps for appx 5-7 days

before flipping to 12/12. during stretch i've seen plants grow 12 inches in a day.

effectively doubling in 2-3 days, not 7-14.


leaves that are not completely yellow or dead, or necrotic, etc, or directly blocking

the top(s) underneath them, there is generally no reason to remove them. this

is especially true when flowering, as it's the stored sugars & nutrients in leaves

that are needed for huge, fat healthy buds.


i'll bookmark this page and perhaps in about 1 year, (once i get my groove back)

we can figure out a way to have a contest - maybe someone trustworthy and with the resources,

could send [near] identical cuts to the top [*5] contenders; who will then have a grow

off with the medium of their choosing. everybody puts up a 5 or 10 pack of seeds;

winner takes all. just an idea for a friendly competition.

your rebuttal is welcomed

happy growing and happy holidays bro.

-peace-

ps, i may have to nuke my plant i'm experimenting with now bc the trunk

has grown so fast & big that it's up-setting and destroying the 4" rock -

wool cube that it's sitting on.

pps sorry this got so long... apologies for the train-wreck on your thread @hazelsgarden

 

[BudgetGrower]

i respectfully disagree - leaves are "growth engines" that use photosynthesis to

create sugars, starches and carbohydrates that the plant needs to grow. leaves

also transpire, which is what causes water and nutrients to be sucked up, which

in turn causes growth and turgidity. bottom line is; more leaves equal faster growth

and bigger, healthier buds. as well as faster turn arounds. (btw, very nice looking

plants & set up you have going on )


i wonder,

have you ever done side by side comparisons? i have not. but, i have seen growth

rates (personally, with my own plants**) that would match or beat anybody's here.

i say this with confidence, not bragging or trying to belittle anyone. my system

was producing 2.5lbs per 1000w hps 22+ years ago in a footprint of a little less

than 4x9 feet. if i had been growing and tweaking my system all these past 22

years (without a federal fucking conviction for growing), there is no telling how

far i would have come or how much i would be producing today; especially with

all the advancements in equipment & technology that have been made since then.


**healthy cuts would only be on the slabs, under 4k watts hps for appx 5-7 days

before flipping to 12/12. during stretch i've seen plants grow 12 inches in a day.

effectively doubling in 2-3 days, not 7-14.


leaves that are not completely yellow or dead, or necrotic, etc, or directly blocking

the top(s) underneath them, there is generally no reason to remove them. this

is especially true when flowering, as it's the stored sugars & nutrients in leaves

that are needed for huge, fat healthy buds.


i'll bookmark this page and perhaps in about 1 year, (once i get my groove back)

we can figure out a way to have a contest - maybe someone trustworthy and with the resources,

could send [near] identical cuts to the top [*5] contenders; who will then have a grow

off with the medium of their choosing. everybody puts up a 5 or 10 pack of seeds;

winner takes all. just an idea for a friendly competition.

your rebuttal is welcomed

happy growing and happy holidays bro.

-peace-

ps, i may have to nuke my plant i'm experimenting with now bc the trunk

has grown so fast & big that it's up-setting and destroying the 4" rock -

wool cube that it's sitting on.

pps sorry this got so long... apologies for the train-wreck on your thread @hazelsgarden

I've been growing for over 20 years now, and I've lost count of how many crops I've done. In the first 5 years, I dove deep into the science, watched countless videos, and over time, I realized that following all the scientific advice didn’t always lead to better results. Sometimes, it felt like the research was more about generating business than genuinely helping growers. A prime example of this is when LEDs first came out. Initially, the blue and purple lights seemed amazing, with claims that a 400W LED was equivalent to a 1000W HPS. Many growers invested heavily in LEDs, only to find they weren’t as effective as promised.

Dr. Bruce Bugbee (in his "Cannabis Grow Lighting Myths and FAQs with Dr. Bruce Bugbee" video) mentions that cannabis can handle up to 2000 PPFD, which, according to a PPFD-to-lux chart, is about 148,000 lux. However, using a lux meter, I personally wouldn’t give my plants more than 60,000 lux, and I aim for around 35,000-40,000. As MIGRO suggests, you can multiply lux by 0.015 to get the PAR, and a simple phone can help you with that. I’ve found that 900 PAR is a good target range, and giving plants 2,200 PAR would likely damage them—just my opinion from growing over 120 crops.
In terms of crop size, I’ve never quite reached that “massive” yield. On average, I end up with about 18-22oz of dried bud, which is enough to fill a black bag halfway. But what matters most is light quality, not just quantity. Many growers get caught up in the hype, but plants need the right environment, a good balance of food, water, and light. There’s no magical plant food that will double your crop size, and LEDs don’t automatically give you better results than HPS. While LEDs use less power than HPS, plants still need the same amount of light (lumens/PAR). Too much light can cause stress, and that’s something you want to avoid.

I grow in soil, so I can’t directly compare my growth rates to hydroponics, but I do notice that my plants grow slower in veg, compared to the rapid growth they show in weeks 2-3 of flowering when they can double in size in just 7 days. Since I do perpetual growing, I keep plants in veg while others are in flower, and I take clones to fill the flower room when space becomes available. I don't want a record of buying over 100 seeds a year, so clones are a cheaper and more efficient option. I even reuse compost by adding some dry nutrients and potting up the next batch of plants after taking the clones.

I’ve also done side-by-side tests with clones from the same plant, and the results are clear: when the plants get too bushy (like indica's), removing the large fan leaves really makes a difference in how they grow.
I think the idea of a contest in a year is interesting, and I'm sure many other growers would want to join in!
Happy holidays, FloridaMike! And I hope you don’t mind us using your thread, @hazelsgarden!

​

 

[Blastfact]

I take the big fans off. When the solar panel becomes to big and hungry, gets in the way it's gone.

 

[OldOneEye]

Farmers have been defoliating their crop for millenia. I defoliate and prune about 2 weeks before sending to flower. Then I defoliate and prune any that I FEEL (relying on my experience) are not going to produce somewhere towards the middle of the 4th week of flower. I don't like dealing with fluff buds at all. This works for me it makes some squeamish I guess but it works for me.
Cheers

 

[Burite60]

I agree. Some of these huge fan leaves are hindering the growth underneath the canopy and imo should be removed. I think that if it’s done in moderation, and common sense is used, it can benefit a grower’s yield. Not to mention the extra air flow received to fend off pests from the extra air circulation. If lower cola’s cannot receive enough light, they simply cannot grow to the size of those that do. I lollipopped at 5 weeks, and it has opened up numerous bud sites that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps someone.

 

[carlosescobar]

This is a week or so ago:

View attachment 2343594

This morning I took off two large leaves that were blocking out the center and cleaned the bottom up. Everything else was tucked.

View attachment 2343595

 

[Burite60]

That’s about what mine looked like. I had some big fan leaves like yours that needed to go. I noticed almost immediately that all the lower small leaves perked up when they started getting the light they needed.

 

[Burite60]

Removing the large fan leaves during this stage of veg will encourage the lower shoots to grow more quickly, as you're eliminating a significant amount of weight. In 7-14 days, the plant will likely double in size. Keeping the fan leaves on, however, can block airflow and light to the lower shoots, leading to slower growth since the fan leaves are heavy and unnecessary at this point in veg.

I agree 100%.