Cutting vs. Pulling Leaves Off

What are the pro's and con's to cutting your leaves and branches off vs. just pulling them off. Im not talking about harvesting or anything, I just mean while it's vegging and flowering.

Everyone always says to cut the leaves off with a clean razor... but why can't I just pull the leaf off? Does it cause more stress somehow?

i cut sum if i want but dont pull bend down towards ground and if it wants it'll come off

thewake91 said:

https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/356214-cutting-dead-leaves-off-ok.html

Click to expand...

that didn't address my question really. but thanks for the try. I am wondering why people say you should cut the leaves off instead of just pulling them off. By pulling them off I don't mean just pulling straight out. I do what easterbunny said, I pull down on them until they snap off.

Why would you cut leaves off? If they are dead then they should come off the stem with very little effort. That's if you don't just let them fall of on their own. I don't know why anyone would cut the leaves off though. Don't cut your leaves off, the plant needs them.

Dead leaves should come off with ease now alive could strip more off then you would want which could lead to some nasty disease or fungi. Clean trimmers always

Hey man dont abuse your plants. They needs the leaves. Just let the dying ones fall off.

Due to my lighting situation I am trimming some of the fan leaves off. I was really just wondering what the difference was between cutting vs. pulling.

Your just trying to minimize infection and unnecessary damage to the plant. A cleaner cut usually heals faster. You can cut with your finger nails by pinching them. If you pull (even downward) you could accidentally rip part of the stem off. And if that happens it looks ugly and slows growth down.

Vindicated said:

Your just trying to minimize infection and unnecessary damage to the plant. A cleaner cut usually heals faster. You can cut with your finger nails by pinching them. If you pull (even downward) you could accidentally rip part of the stem off. And if that happens it looks ugly and slows growth down.

Click to expand...

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for +Rep for you

bamfrivet said:

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for +Rep for you

Click to expand...

Dont you think if you have poor lighting you would want all the fan leaves you could get to soak up what light you have? I dont get how removing a healthy part of a plant is a good thing.

I am just at a loss as to why you would want to cut your fan leaves off? The leaves are growing for a reason, to soak up light. If you have poor lighting to start with, pulling your leaves or cutting them off is only going to hurt your plant in the long run.

The leaves are growing for a reason, to soak up light. If you have poor lighting
to start with, pulling your leaves or cutting them off is only going to hurt
your plant in the long run.

Click to expand...

Hit the nail on the head .... IMHO the only time trimming is justified is when growing a SCROG, and only then trim in veg stage. NEVER EVER prune plant in flower stage. It will only shock plant and reduce yield. Pruning or trimming to expose buds to light is a waste of time. Light hitting a bud does not make the bud any bigger, however light hitting a leaf fuels the plant which in turn makes the buds grow.

Well, if I remove the fan leaves than the new grow inside gets more light. Then I have more growth and more bud sites. Makes sense to me, and it's been working well for me. I didn't make this post to get into "should I remove leaves or not" discussion. I just wanted to know what the pro's/con's were to pulling the leaf off compared to cutting it off.

either way and you'll be fine bro ...
pull'em or cutt'em ...


i agree with what ur saying about letting more light get to some lower bud sites to help the growth ...

just dont pull off too many ...
i also try not to take any fan's off during 12/12 ... maybe just a few if u must ...

Well, if you want to trim your fan leaves, then I would definitely cut them off at a 45 degree angle to prevent any disease.

Don't cut the leaves off, if you want them out of the way then tuck them away or tie them up.

If you are worried about light reaching the lower parts of your plant then add lights (if you can) or double harvest your plant. When it is time to cut then cut the top of your plant and then leave the bottom that was covered and allow it to grow a bit more with the new amount of light it will be getting. Taking off leaves that aren't dead is just taking away more food for the plant that it could be getting.

Edit: forgot to mention tucking like carnage said, I had to tuck with my first grow and it worked just fine.

the way i always do it is if when you pull the leaf it gives any sort of a fight just leave it, if a leaf is dead when you touch it it should fall off with no effort at all,

Okay guys, like I already said. I didn't start this post to debate or get tips on when or why I should be removing leaves. I started it to see what the different between pulling leaves off or cutting them off. I appreciate peoples concern about my plant and me removing it's leafs, but im going to remove them.