Do you remove the top fan leaves of your cola?

[hydrotran]

Hey whats up guys. I had a quick question. These are some pics of my ladies. My question is do you remove any of the fan leaves on the very top so it can expose more light to the bottom area? or do you leave all the fan leaves on there? I notice my canopy is very bushy on the top. Any advice would be much appreciated as usual! Thanks!

http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2692.jpg
http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2691.jpg
http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2689.jpg

 

[Budds Bunny]

I am not the most knowledgeable person on here so if someone says something dif I could be wrong. But I was told they are needed until 2 weeks b4 u pull em they asorb the light.

 

[crazywb]

Id say not true. This technique is called defoilation and ime it works great. Google it brotha

 

[LUDACRIS.]

Hey whats up guys. I had a quick question. These are some pics of my ladies. My question is do you remove any of the fan leaves on the very top so it can expose more light to the bottom area? or do you leave all the fan leaves on there? I notice my canopy is very bushy on the top. Any advice would be much appreciated as usual! Thanks!

http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2692.jpg
http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2691.jpg
http://i1143.invalid.com/albums/n629/hydrotran/IMG_2689.jpg

Yes. Prune them and a little supercropping will do nicely. You dont have to remove the whole leaf. Just cut in in half as i do and bend the stems sideways (supercropping). Your plants will love it and only grow more and more bushier. Cutting leafes in half greatly increases plant growth with new nodes sprouting everywhere alowing the lamp in to the shady spots.

LUDA.
:)

 

[audius]

go for it,,just dont pluck the sugar leaves

 

[E.T.]

a little late for supercropping.....but some defoliation is helpful. i would try to tuck as many leaves as possible down/sideways/etc. so more light is getting to some lower bud sights. removing leaves is a touch and go process. they feed your plant, so removal of a lot of leaves will not be beneficial...but removing some and partial removal of others works well. shouldn't remove too many at one time, spread it out over a couple weeks. how far along are you?

 

[hiboy]

More leaves is more intake of light. But i usually take a few here and there. Dont take too many off a single plant so you dont shock her.
h

 

[hydrotran]

a little late for supercropping.....but some defoliation is helpful. i would try to tuck as many leaves as possible down/sideways/etc. so more light is getting to some lower bud sights. removing leaves is a touch and go process. they feed your plant, so removal of a lot of leaves will not be beneficial...but removing some and partial removal of others works well. shouldn't remove too many at one time, spread it out over a couple weeks. how far along are you?

I'm about to enter week 7 of flower so last two weeks. I wanted to know so for my next run I'll begin to supercrop and take off some of the top fan leaves. I usually average 1.5 to 1.75 per light but I'm trying to hit the magical 2 :) so trying to figure out anyway I can improve my yield. Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[E.T.]

another trick i use to increase swelling is with around 2-3wks left, i'll drop the lights to 10hrs on 14 off. really makes the plant think winter is closing fast....if you have plants at different stages of flowering, i would avoid this method...

 

[650homegrown530]

Yea the supercroping and cutting down on the amount of foliage should get you that much closer to lucking number 2. "Yo E.T." would you just drop the timing for the lights in you last two weeks (flush time)? That sounds like a great idea, i heard that right before you cut, if you leave the plants in total darkness for 24 to 48 hours there tri-come increase in quality or something?

 

[hydrotran]

another trick i use to increase swelling is with around 2-3wks left, i'll drop the lights to 10hrs on 14 off. really makes the plant think winter is closing fast....if you have plants at different stages of flowering, i would avoid this method...

All my ladies are on the same cycle. I wanted to know that when you say 2-3 weeks you go 10 on and 14 off do you include the 1 week of flush as well? or are you talking about the final 2 to 3 weeks of bloom? Thanks!

 

[E.T.]

All my ladies are on the same cycle. I wanted to know that when you say 2-3 weeks you go 10 on and 14 off do you include the 1 week of flush as well? or are you talking about the final 2 to 3 weeks of bloom? Thanks!

all organics for me, so a flush isn't really needed, however, if you have a 70 day finisher, i'd drop the time around day 55-55---depending on what my ladies are telling me...

 

[Rasta Man]

Yea the supercroping and cutting down on the amount of foliage should get you that much closer to lucking number 2. "Yo E.T." would you just drop the timing for the lights in you last two weeks (flush time)? That sounds like a great idea, i heard that right before you cut, if you leave the plants in total darkness for 24 to 48 hours there tri-come increase in quality or something?

as i remember from another thread on this site leaving the plants in darkness for 24+ hours does not increase tri comes.. this is not from my experiance but this person did a side by side with no change..

 

[E.T.]

Yea the supercroping and cutting down on the amount of foliage should get you that much closer to lucking number 2. "Yo E.T." would you just drop the timing for the lights in you last two weeks (flush time)? That sounds like a great idea, i heard that right before you cut, if you leave the plants in total darkness for 24 to 48 hours there tri-come increase in quality or something?

i prefer to give my ladies at least 2 wks, if not 3. again, not suggested if you have plants at different points in bloom. placing your plants in darkness for multiple days doesn't work to increase quality or quantity. harvest when your plants are ready. for instance, i take mine down when i have about 5% amber trichs. when you dry and cure, the trichs mature and amber anyway....i like my herb a little more 'up'.

 

[paperplane]

Interesting might have to try the 10hr method towards the end of bloom. Sounds like it could be a winner!

 

[bobman]

E.T. your saying you have increased yield by dropping flower timer to 10 hours near the end. Everything i have read says it will decrease yield but speed up flower time. I actually saw some guys experimenting with increasing the light hours near the end to increase yields.

 

[E.T.]

E.T. your saying you have increased yield by dropping flower timer to 10 hours near the end. Everything i have read says it will decrease yield but speed up flower time. I actually saw some guys experimenting with increasing the light hours near the end to increase yields.

What I'm saying is that it will increase the speed at which your calyx swell. I use this technique at the end of flowering to stack up more calyx. If used too early it will decrease yield, so don't drop the time @ 50-55 days on a sativa that finishes in 90. Drop it @ 70 and you will notice a positive outcome.

 

[bobman]

Interesting, before I read this I was thinking about dropping my hours for the last week or so. Right now I have 4 phenos in one room. I think two will be done at 60-63 days but the other two may need 67-70 days. I hate pulling early. I was thinking of dropping the hours to 10 or 11 for a week or so and take the whole room down at 65 days. Do you think that may work? Any suggestions?

 

[steelyeyes]

As to pulling leaves, you'll notice that some of the older leaves get harder and in my strain redder stems. Once the leaf is there it's not pushing nearly as much into the plant as the newer leaves that drip sap when you pinch the stem. That's kind of my guide as to which leaves to remove and which to leave. Although if a big fan is shading a bud site it's going to go. Tucking them down doesn't seem to last past the second sweep of the occilating fan so it's a waste of time for me.

 

[E.T.]

Interesting, before I read this I was thinking about dropping my hours for the last week or so. Right now I have 4 phenos in one room. I think two will be done at 60-63 days but the other two may need 67-70 days. I hate pulling early. I was thinking of dropping the hours to 10 or 11 for a week or so and take the whole room down at 65 days. Do you think that may work? Any suggestions?

I don't suggest pulling until the trichs are ready. Dropping the hours will help to ripen the flowers.