Flipped - eight cola 4-plants. Remove leaves??

[HowardC]

I flipped these 4 plants 2 days ago. They're all 8 cola trained and no branches other than the 8 per plant. I'm curious about what to do with leaves. Typically I remove leaves that are shaded out. Leaves that block light from other colas get tucked away/under. This is my 2nd grow and I believe I removed too many leaves from the first grow. Is there a rule of thumb for the large fan leaves and if they need to stay or go? Obviously the yellowing ones get removed.

 

[RoadKillSkunkHunt]

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I flipped these 4 plants 2 days ago. They're all 8 cola trained and no branches other than the 8 per plant. I'm curious about what to do with leaves. Typically I remove leaves that are shaded out. Leaves that block light from other colas get tucked away/under. This is my 2nd grow and I believe I removed too many leaves from the first grow. Is there a rule of thumb for the large fan leaves and if they need to stay or go? Obviously the yellowing ones get removed.

If this were my grow, I would leave the leafs on the plants for now. If you go too far with your defoliation, your buds will be more leafy because it's the only place left to add green once you strip it bare.

I would concentrate on tucking fans out of the way as opposed to removing them. If a leaf is full of blemishes and dying, it's a candidate for removal. Later on as your plants fill out, we might reconsider and do another round of LIGHT defoliation. The leaves are your solar panels that provide your plant with its energy required to grow. Unless a bud is heavily shielded, its incorrect to think a few fan leaves are interfering with your grow. Tuck and bend for now.

 

[homegrowncannabisco]

If this were my grow, I would leave the leafs on the plants for now. If you go too far with your defoliation, your buds will be more leafy because it's the only place left to add green once you strip it bare.

I would concentrate on tucking fans out of the way as opposed to removing them. If a leaf is full of blemishes and dying, it's a candidate for removal. Later on as your plants fill out, we might reconsider and do another round of LIGHT defoliation. The leaves are your solar panels that provide your plant with its energy required to grow. Unless a bud is heavily shielded, its incorrect to think a few fan leaves are interfering with your grow. Tuck and bend for now.

Great reply @RoadKillSkunkHunt. Less is more here definitely!