If it's green, it has chlorophyll, if it has chlorophyll it is capable of photosynthesis. That said, there's a bit less chlorophyll in the buds than the leaves, so they're not quite as efficient at converting sunlight, but the do photosynthesize. Not all plant flowers have chlorophyll. The THC (trichomes) and terpenes produced by cannabis help protect the buds from destructive wavelengths of sunlight, so you definitely want to have light on them. Don't know how you'd put light on the leaves but not the buds.

Gurtgurt said:

So the buds are the flowering body of the plant, right?

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Buds are flowers.

Gurtgurt said:

When flowering, is it important that the buds get light?

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Yes. Leaves that cast a shadow on buds should be removed.

Gurtgurt said:

-- or is it more important that the nearby leaves get light?

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Some growers don't remove leaves near the buds, and some do. I usually don't remove them.

Gurtgurt said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to have the green photosynthesizing leaves bathed in light?

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True for some, but I'm sure the buds should be in the light. It's easy to see how the shaded buds don't grow as much as the ones in the light.

I dont always pull a fan blocking a lower bud, depends how im training the plant, sometimes i feel the better option is removing that lower bud, and leaving the giant solar panel attached to the higher bud. If the lower bud site seems like it wants to develop more then the fan leave shading it is allowing it to, ill pull the fan leaf. I dont actually treat all my plant the same.

I'll do a lot of defoliating with a bushier indica leaning plant, but often not even on them, depends on the plant. not so much with a lankier more sativa plant. Generally never.

Imho, more often then not, just leaving the fan leaves alone pulls a better result. Pretty dramatically so with most plants ive run. Some most definitely do prefer being defoliates, some, definitely not most.

Thank you all for your responses. Certainly I will not shadow the buds, I was just wondering how important/efficient it is to expose them to light.

I tend to lose fan leaves too early in flower stage and I suspect it leads to anemic and airy buds. This grow I have not removed barely any green leaves. In week 4 and all plants are doing much better than normal!

Well, the buds, I mean the flowers - they have small leaves too, those leaves do photosynthesis, but the buds - I mean flowers themselves - not