I tried harvesting the bigger buds, once, on my 2nd GROW, to see if the smaller ones grew. I waited two weeks, and they did not . The entire plant goes into shock when you cut off some major growth. Many people told me that I didn;t wait long enough, but I grew impatient and went back and harvested the small ones too.
People also talk about REGENERATION. Or harvesting the buds and trying to revitalize the remaining plant. I've seen lots of pics where they were successful, but when I tried it, the plant just stayed in Shock and did nothing.