pinching fan leaves

my room is pretty tight and i just started week 4 of flower instead of plucking the fan leaves that are cock blocking some of my other tops ive been pinching them(like you would pinch the tops) and moving them out of the way so far not one leaf has died.has anybody tried this?and is this a bad idea?
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
bad idea, use a piece of string to tie them out of the way. you dont want to injure your plants energy producers and hurt its ability to effectively move the energy snd that into the buds.
 

volx707

Member
pluck them if you are flowering you do not need fan leaves as much make sure you dont block the tops by leaves
 

burninjay

Active Member
I wonder if poultry farmers pluck the chickens feathers to let them direct more energy to the eggs.

Completely non-applicable analogy, I know, but this is the thought that runs through my head when people post this kind of stuff.
 

dkmadman

Member
Just remove any yellow or dead plant matter off the plant and let it be. The leaves absorb the light and convert it to energy which is turned into growth. Taking off the fan leaves or "sucker" leaves as some call um is not a good idea IMO. Do kids eat like like crazy when they are growing? I know my brothers and I did. This is because the body when growing NEEDS more energy. If a child is malnurshed it has determental effects on their growth/health. Same princaple just a little different. Your plants grow by converting light into energy this is the plants GO GO power then the plants uptake newts through the root system to feed all of the vital energy making processes and round it goes. Give your plants plenty of light and don't over do the newts keep the room at 65ish lights off and 80ish lights on and they will be happy happy plants. Oh and just a bit more info, during flowering stage the plants naturally shed lower/older leaves. They do this when they start converting all power into "budding" and not growth. Hope this helps.
 

burninjay

Active Member
Oh and just a bit more info, during flowering stage the plants naturally shed lower/older leaves. They do this when they start converting all power into "budding" and not growth. Hope this helps.
In my experience, cannabis doesn't take back it's own foliage unless it is nutrient deficient. If your leaves are dropping during flowering, you should revisit your feeding practices.
 

Southern.IL.Buds

Active Member
Heh common subject, it is also a bad idea, just so there is no doubt in your mind, early in flowering, go to the middle of a cola and pinch off a fan leaf. At the end of flowering check the bud site where you pulled it off and you will be surprised at your result. It will be less noticeable on a plant with popcorn buds but the bud on the other side of the stem will be MUCH bigger, obviously because the fan leaf is intact.
 

quillo

Member
Heh common subject, it is also a bad idea, just so there is no doubt in your mind, early in flowering, go to the middle of a cola and pinch off a fan leaf. At the end of flowering check the bud site where you pulled it off and you will be surprised at your result. It will be less noticeable on a plant with popcorn buds but the bud on the other side of the stem will be MUCH bigger, obviously because the fan leaf is intact.
It sounds like you're saying that fan leaves closest to a bud help that bud grow. Would it then make sense to pinch fan leaves that are further from the bud if they shade the bud's own fan leaves?
 

Southern.IL.Buds

Active Member
I have trimmed foliage only in cases where mold may be caused by perhaps moisture or lack of air flow, I prefer to tie branches down to maximize penetration of light, thus no trimming is required.
 

burninjay

Active Member
It sounds like you're saying that fan leaves closest to a bud help that bud grow. Would it then make sense to pinch fan leaves that are further from the bud if they shade the bud's own fan leaves?

Cannabis plants are vascular. Nutrients and water flow through their xylem and phloem much like blood flows through our own veins and arteries.
Think of the leaves as little stomachs spread out around the plant, using photosynthesis instead of acid to 'digest' nutrients into usable compounds.
When you pluck the fan leaves, you're removing one of these 'stomachs' and limiting the total amount of food the plant can synthesize. It's not that the opposite bud gets a boost when you remove the fan leaf, it is just that the nutrient solution in the plant is less concentrate by the time it gets to the part of the plant you plucked. Other parts have already fed off of it, and the leaf you removed would have replenished the food flowing through that part of the plant.

If you were to restrict the blood flow to your left hand, would your right grow bigger? Hell no, your left would just grow at a slower rate.

We should let our plants be. Keep their vascular system as intact as possible for the duration of the grow,and the plant will reward us nicely.
 

Shrubs First

Well-Known Member
Cannabis plants are vascular. Nutrients and water flow through their xylem and phloem much like blood flows through our own veins and arteries.
Think of the leaves as little stomachs spread out around the plant, using photosynthesis instead of acid to 'digest' nutrients into usable compounds.
When you pluck the fan leaves, you're removing one of these 'stomachs' and limiting the total amount of food the plant can synthesize. It's not that the opposite bud gets a boost when you remove the fan leaf, it is just that the nutrient solution in the plant is less concentrate by the time it gets to the part of the plant you plucked. Other parts have already fed off of it, and the leaf you removed would have replenished the food flowing through that part of the plant.

If you were to restrict the blood flow to your left hand, would your right grow bigger? Hell no, your left would just grow at a slower rate.

We should let our plants be. Keep their vascular system as intact as possible for the duration of the grow,and the plant will reward us nicely.
I would +rep that statement if I could.
 
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