😬🤷🏽‍♀️ Defoliate a lot more?

[SpartanHero]

Do I have 4 plants that I just flipped to flower this week. I think tomorrow will literally be the end of the 1st week. Anyway. I plan on using a trellis to even out the canopy and stuff but I’m actually moving them into a bigger tent just waiting for it to get here and since it’s semi permanent no point in doing it now. My question and struggle is should I defoliate my plants a lot more. I call myself removing some of the lower leaves here and there but it seems like everyday there’s a 1000 more than need to go. I’ve been swore off defoliating so I’m at a lost. I added a video of my tallest lankiest girl. She’s the least bushy and has a ton of lower stuff. Now I know you remove that to make the plant focus on top growth and buds but it seems like a lot. Leaf tucking and LST opened them up to better light but their obviously gonna get bigger and LST is a no go pretty much. I don’t wanna take too much. I keep looking up supercropping and all that and that seems intense. Is it too late since they’re in flower? It’s still early but . Much needed guidance.

 

[Glassdub]

Doing the same this week, first grow, I have little clue about defoliating really, just taking the less (done) is more approach, just cleaning the bottom mostly for air flow, figure I can do more later, just starting LST, probably late but I wanted to get them healthy first, supercropping is too much for me, I'm not into S&M.

 

[SpartanHero]

Doing the same this week, first grow, I have little clue about defoliating really, just taking the less (done) is more approach, just cleaning the bottom mostly for air flow, figure I can do more later, just starting LST, probably late but I wanted to get them healthy first, supercropping is too much for me, I'm not into S&M.

How do you decide what gets the chop? I know the standard ‘what’s not in good light’ but so much has potential lol.

 

[Dr.B]

Defoliation should be done in stages. A week before I flip I remove all the leaves on the bottom 50% of the plant. At the time of the flip I select and prune my bud sites leaving the leaves alone. At day 21 of flower I will return to fine tune bud sites and lightly defoliate "dark" and/or crowded leaves.
Throughout the remainder of flowering I will pull only lower "dark" leaves and those shading bud sites. Often I will opt to "tip" the upper leaves to allow the light to the buds without removing an important upper leaf.
Three days before harvest I remove everything but the sugar leaves.

I'm still playing with it but strategic defoliation increases airflow, light penetration and can cause a survival response in the plant, causing it to bud more vigorously.

 

[Dan789]

Can’t agree with defoliating at all. Maybe only the smallest branches at the bottom with no chance of forming a bud bigger than a pencil eraser...

 

[Dr.B]

Can’t agree with defoliating at all. Maybe only the smallest branches at the bottom with no chance of forming a bud bigger than a pencil eraser...

(That's pruning, not defoliation)

 

[Dr.B]

To each their own though. Successful can happen both ways. It was a regimented, organized thing where I worked. Teams specifically trained to defoliate on a schedule... Boring as hell as far as jobs go in my opinion but the master growers all swore by it.

***With up to 3600 plants in a room at a high plant density defoliation is an absolute necessity.

 

[SpartanHero]

(That's pruning, not defoliation)

See that’s what I’m trying to figure out. Am I pruning or defoliating? Which SHOULD I do. I’m only asking because I don’t know. I know it’s personal preference but I’m still learning. I obviously wanna get the most out my plants. I’m not trying to be extra fancy and ridiculous trying to quadruple my yields just because. The video I added was all over the place it didn’t really show what I was trying to say. I added a picture of just the top view. In my opinion that’s a good amount of potential tops. I think it’s like 10 or 11. So going by your method I’d strip off anything that’s not a potential top. Like everything, big fan leaves little baby shoots, even 2-3 inch shoots? I get the concept that it forces the plant to focus on making the top buds bigger and denser. I’m really curious cause I’m trying to see how far to go. I feel like one wrong snip and I could kill the plant and ruin it forever lol.

 

[SpartanHero]

Can’t agree with defoliating at all. Maybe only the smallest branches at the bottom with no chance of forming a bud bigger than a pencil eraser...

So anything bigger than a pencil eraser keep? So 2-3 in is a keeper.

 

[Dan789]

So anything bigger than a pencil eraser keep? So 2-3 in is a keeper.

Don't cut shit... when those smallest 2-3" branches develop buds, chop those, leave all the rest. You're not working on a whole room of plants with unlimited opportunities to make up weight. You've only got your small grow, optimize it, get the canopy together as you're further into bloom. The leaves you might be cutting/defoliating/pruning will power all the buds that develop on those plants. Don't short change yourself because of what you've heard, and maybe taken out of context. imho.

 

[Dr.B]

See that’s what I’m trying to figure out. Am I pruning or defoliating? Which SHOULD I do. I’m only asking because I don’t know. I know it’s personal preference but I’m still learning. I obviously wanna get the most out my plants. I’m not trying to be extra fancy and ridiculous trying to quadruple my yields just because. The video I added was all over the place it didn’t really show what I was trying to say. I added a picture of just the top view. In my opinion that’s a good amount of potential tops. I think it’s like 10 or 11. So going by your method I’d strip off anything that’s not a potential top. Like everything, big fan leaves little baby shoots, even 2-3 inch shoots? I get the concept that it forces the plant to focus on making the top buds bigger and denser. I’m really curious cause I’m trying to see how far to go. I feel like one wrong snip and I could kill the plant and ruin it forever lol.

Its really a loaded question, there are a lot of factors to it. Strain/genetics is a big factor, some like to just grow, some like the torture and stress. All plants respond to stress... Some well, some not so well. I would read into whatever you can find on your particular strain, grow diaries, cultivation guides etc. Ultimately it will come down to making a bit of a leap combined with a lot of trial and error.

I could give you specific instructions on how to defoliate and prune throughout the life of the plant, but they would be specific to the strains I grown/have grown.

The basics are simple, I mentioned them in my previous post. You can start there with some level of restraint. Until you know what you are doing less is more. Take notes, try different things, never take too much in one go...

I've worked in the industry, grown at home for over two years and researched/collected knowledge for years before pulling the trigger... I'm really just starting to get a feel for what my tents/plants need in the way of defoliation and pruning.

 

[Dr.B]

Super Critical CBD from Greenhouse Seeds

I'm going to post my progress on this grow here as I tend to drive my friends and family nuts with my enthusiasm during any given crop. After a successful run with Seedsman's Cheese strain over the last 9 months or so, I went seed shopping yet again. I found this strain, (Super Critical CBD...

www.thcfarmer.com

I follow this plant through pruning, topping, FIM'ing, LST and defoliation if you would like a more detailed idea.

 

[SpartanHero]

Don't cut shit... when those smallest 2-3" branches develop buds, chop those, leave all the rest. You're not working on a whole room of plants with unlimited opportunities to make up weight. You've only got your small grow, optimize it, get the canopy together as you're further into bloom. The leaves you might be cutting/defoliating/pruning will power all the buds that develop on those plants. Don't short change yourself because of what you've heard, and maybe taken out of context. imho.

Makes sense. That’s what I was thinking people have tons of plants and get not necessarily get the most out of all of them so they can sacrifice smaller buds, larf, what have you and it’s fine because sheer number of plants makes up for it.

 

[SpartanHero]

Its really a loaded question, there are a lot of factors to it. Strain/genetics is a big factor, some like to just grow, some like the torture and stress. All plants respond to stress... Some well, some not so well. I would read into whatever you can find on your particular strain, grow diaries, cultivation guides etc. Ultimately it will come down to making a bit of a leap combined with a lot of trial and error.

I could give you specific instructions on how to defoliate and prune throughout the life of the plant, but they would be specific to the strains I grown/have grown.

The basics are simple, I mentioned them in my previous post. You can start there with some level of restraint. Until you know what you are doing less is more. Take notes, try different things, never take too much in one go...

I've worked in the industry, grown at home for over two years and researched/collected knowledge for years before pulling the trigger... I'm really just starting to get a feel for what my tents/plants need in the way of defoliation and pruning.

Thanks. That makes sense too. I’m think I’m over thinking it and trying to not do the ‘wrong thing’. It works out.

 

[Glassdub]

How do you decide what gets the chop? I know the standard ‘what’s not in good light’ but so much has potential lol.

Intuition at this point, I just clean up what looks unproductive & watch as it grows, I've overdone it before on tomato plants & I ascetically just don't like bald plants, production a side, I just like to grow things.