Stevenh82
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I've got 3 auto ultimate which I was told to either top or fim at week 3, they are week 6 but really really bushy and in preflower. Can I defoliate some leaves or will it stunt them.
I've got 3 auto ultimate which I was told to either top or fim at week 3, they are week 6 but really really bushy and in preflower. Can I defoliate some leaves or will it stunt them.
OK mate, thanks for the input. I've not touched them as yet I'm scared too lol but getting pushed towards cutting 5 or so a day. Is that too much.I'd take some of the center leaves off first to get better airflow and light to the center. Take what you feel comfortable with and not all at once. Plants tend to mind gentle changes best.
The plants look very healthy and keeping them that way is a priority.
OK mate, thanks for the input. I've not touched them as yet I'm scared too lol but getting pushed towards cutting 5 or so a day. Is that too much.
Thats perfect mate, thats what I will do. Cheers. Nice plant btwIf you're not comfortable with 5 leaves pinch 3 off every second day. Clear out the center so light and air can get in and lower leaves after that. There is no perfect answer but it will be a good thing to let more light/ air in.
I've taken a total of about 5 leaves off this plant so far. The hole in the center is a good thing for air flow and light getting to bud sites. This plant is about a month old.
View attachment 1108254
If you had the room you could tie a couple branches down (blue yarn tied around a branch and masking tape on the side of the pot used on the other end) and really open things up. This was just done but it won't take long and the plant will move those leaves up to catch the light. Lots of light and air now.
View attachment 1108261
Thats perfect mate, thats what I will do. Cheers. Nice plant btw
See the tiny thin stems that are growing in the middle coming off the main stems of the plant is it ok to cut them off aswell or just the leaves as Theirs hundreds of them.If you're not comfortable with 5 leaves pinch 3 off every second day. Clear out the center so light and air can get in and lower leaves after that. There is no perfect answer but it will be a good thing to let more light/ air in.
I've taken a total of about 5 leaves off this plant so far. The hole in the center is a good thing for air flow and light getting to bud sites. This plant is about a month old.
View attachment 1108254
If you had the room you could tie a couple branches down (blue yarn tied around a branch and masking tape on the side of the pot used on the other end) and really open things up. This was just done but it won't take long and the plant will move those leaves up to catch the light. Lots of light and air now.
View attachment 1108261
See the tiny thin stems that are growing in the middle coming off the main stems of the plant is it ok to cut them off aswell or just the leaves as Theirs hundreds of them.
As long as they are not with in 14 days of flower, of course you may. But try to not do it right before time to flower. However, only take the fan leaves; because, if you remove tops, it only makes them more bushy in the end (Google low stress training LST). I've done both types of foliage removal tons of times on these 8 ladies, and 2 weeks later you cant tell except for the fact they grow back more bushy. I did a huge removal of both leaves and cuttings for cloning less than 3 weeks ago. I removed no less than 54 cuttings and enough fan leaves for it to look like botanical homicide from these 8 ladies And as you can tell, it's now impossible to determine it from this photo taken 2 days ago. Warning, dont end up like me, I've LST'd them to the point my canopy is now too thick for the 5x5 tent, causing the bottom parts of the plant to receive little light and I'm using 2 lights (marshydro TS3000 and SP150). As long as they are in veg, you can pretty much take almost all the leaves, within a couple of weeks, she will recover (assuming the roots are strong and not rotted and the nutes/pH is good). For reference, these ladies were planted on 1/3 and I flipped them to flower 17 days ago.I've got 3 auto ultimate which I was told to either top or fim at week 3, they are week 6 but really really bushy and in preflower. Can I defoliate some leaves or will it stunt them.
As long as they are in veg, you can pretty much take almost all the leaves, within a couple of weeks, she will recover (assuming the roots are strong and not rotted and the nutes/pH is good). For reference, these ladies were planted on 1/3 and I flipped them to flower 17 days ago.
I'll have a look, thanks.I don't know buddy all I grow is autos and I don't do much defoliation on my autos until they're already in flower for a while, they're very temperamental and have a high risk of hermaphrodising if there's too much stress early on in veg. So unless it's completely necessary I wouldn't remove anything, I do a lot of low stress training... If you'd like you can check out some of my Autos on my profile.
I'm a user of pipe cleaners to lst as well--works great.If you're not comfortable with 5 leaves pinch 3 off every second day. Clear out the center so light and air can get in and lower leaves after that. There is no perfect answer but it will be a good thing to let more light/ air in.
I've taken a total of about 5 leaves off this plant so far. The hole in the center is a good thing for air flow and light getting to bud sites. This plant is about a month old.
View attachment 1108254
If you had the room you could tie a couple branches down (blue yarn tied around a branch and masking tape on the side of the pot used on the other end) and really open things up. This was just done but it won't take long and the plant will move those leaves up to catch the light. Lots of light and air now.
View attachment 1108261
I'm a user of pipe cleaners to lst as well--works great.
I wouldn't advise to defoliate most of the leaves. Like you said they grow back, so all its doing is slowing progress, they just end up where they were before you defoliated a couple weeks later.
Horticulture studies have shown to remove less than 25% of total leave mass at 1 time. I keep it around 10%.
This is especially true for autos, because you don't have the luxury of extending the vegetative phase as long as you want. They will automatically flower and if a large portion of the leaves get removed they won't have time to recover.
Whenever someone gets advice from random people online, please double or triple check multiple opinions before making a decision.