Hi Guys

Im a new grower, my friend came over who has grown for years and started
breaking off my big leafs saying they are not good as they shade to much of plant below...
there was a smaller leaf above it he said was more inportant as it feeds the flower...
(i didnt like him doing this, is he right)

Thanks regards

Darran (Sydney Australia)

As a general "rule", it's best not to trim those big leaves..."Removing 'shade' or fan leaves DOES NOT supply more light to smaller leaves and growing tips. Plants need ALL their leaves to produce the maximum amount of chlorophyll and food. Removing leaves slows chlorophyll production, stresses the plant, and stunts growth. Remove only dead leaves or leaves that are more than 50% damaged." That said, if your using the sea of green technique than trim everything 8" and below (after their tall enough) to allow good airflow/exhange around the base of ur plants. This will help to reduce humidity and help to get CO2 rich air to the leaves. It's those big leaves that r collecting the light (sun or HPS) and coverting it (along with the nutrients u give it in the soil) into sugars (energy) that the plant uses to grow and produce fruit/offspring. Any high school txt book can go into much better detail than i can. Hope this helps.

Cheers

There is a BIG section on this subject in faq's. At the top left of your screen.

Some growers remove the bottom sets of branches, and claim it increases the main bud growth, and allows for good air circulation under the plants.

Usually along with the lower leaves, they also remove the lower buds too.
Theres a reason they call em sucker buds. they suck the plants attention away from more important tasks at hand.
(now I know this is a controversial statement)
Peace

Thank you for your feed back and wealth of knowledge on the matter,
this is a great web site which has been a great help, you can see that people
know what they are talking about and take time out to help others with a passion...
thanks heaps for your help
best wishes
Darran (down Under Australia)

Thank you for your feed back and wealth of knowledge on the matter,
this is a great web site which has been a great help, you can see that people
know what they are talking about and take time out to help others with a passion...
thanks heaps for your help
best wishes
Darran (down Under Australia)

Thank you for your feed back and wealth of knowledge on the matter,
this is a great web site which has been a great help, you can see that people
know what they are talking about and take time out to help others with a passion...
thanks heaps for your help
best wishes
Darran (down Under Australia)

sucker buds are for seeds to grow really, if you got a male, get his pollen and dust the lower buds with the help of a brush carefully, never harms to get a few seeds and the big buds get nuts since they want some to and produce more haze to catch pollen they won't get

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