i have recently started using led lights mixed with hps lights and have noticed that my plants are a lot more bushy where the led lights are placed, so today i stripped most of the big fan leaves that were shading the smaller buds. I dont like doing this but i felt i had no choice.
So i guess my question is, is this normal procedure with led lights as i have seen people go overboard with the leaf stripping
I always take lots of fan leaves. I lollipop my girls and really train them by tying down the outer stuff and open up the plant. Aside from the obvious bottom 1/2 or so from lollipopping, I also take quite a bit off throughout the plant.
I don’t have a set schedule or any firm rules about when or how much. If the plant is healthy and thriving, it can take it and never miss a beat. If a plant is struggling, for whatever reason, I won’t defoliate at all until I feel it’s dialed back in.
I see in your vid that u have side lighting. That may cause me to defoliate a little less.
I grow 3 plants at a time in a 2.5’ x 6’ space and I always veg a week too long….so they’re wall to wall and busting out of the joint by the time they really start flowering. So, I have no real space for side lighting.
As is, I can get 16-18oz of nothing but dried and tightly manicured tops…..almost zero larf. Could my yield be more if I didn’t defoliate or lollipop ? Maybe, but I detest trim jail and trimming a lb of tops is bad enough…I hate to think of all the bottom growth that would jail me for days.
