pinching fan leaves

this site is good my partner is helping me with the grow and he says he plucks some leaves which i did not want to do so i pinched one and bent it down three days later the leaf was right back up and healthy i know it must cause some stress on the leaf but it was better than completly chopping it off i was thinking.he told me to take clones and clean up my plant take some lower stems that arent going to do much which i did i hope i didnt hurt my ladies by doing that right before flowering is this going to hurt my yield?heres some pics you could see after i cleaned them up it seemed they came back with a vengance after a couple weeks.
 

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RickWhite

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.
Well put.

I always wonder what people assume the leaves are for and why they think they are shaped the way they are. Do people think they are there for decoration?

It's like asking if you should cut off a bird's wings to reduce drag so it can fly faster.
 

ref

Active Member
take fan leaves off! i did it if anything it stunts your plants a bit just give them a extra 7-10 days of flwering
 

Kriegs

Well-Known Member
take fan leaves off! i did it if anything it stunts your plants a bit just give them a extra 7-10 days of flwering
Sometimes, plants succeed despite us, not because of us. Just food for thought.:idea:
 

burninjay

Active Member
take fan leaves off! i did it if anything it stunts your plants a bit just give them a extra 7-10 days of flwering

Translation:
"Hurt your plant. I did, and if anything it made it heal itself and waste energy. Only delayed my harvest a few weeks."

Scary, but this makes sense to some people.
 

doobiesnax

Active Member
during flowering lower branches and fan leaves eventually fall off. energy is already stored in the plant. however, it is best to let the plant just grow, but if you really need space it woudnt hurt.
 

burninjay

Active Member
during flowering lower branches and fan leaves eventually fall off. energy is already stored in the plant.
Please tell me you have pics of a plant you have grown that has lost it's lower branches. I have seen some pretty abused plants on these forums that have lost all their foliage, but never one that got so bad that it dropped whole LIMBS! I would love to see this.
 

dtp5150

Well-Known Member
aggressive fan leaf removal may be needed in small grow set ups in order to ensure light can reach all bud sites

is it ideal? probably not, but it cannot be argued that in some situations is the only way to get best results
 

doobiesnax

Active Member
Please tell me you have pics of a plant you have grown that has lost it's lower branches. I have seen some pretty abused plants on these forums that have lost all their foliage, but never one that got so bad that it dropped whole LIMBS! I would love to see this.
If you've ever grown a monster yourself you would know. I'm an outdoor grower and I was referring to outdoor at the time, and was pretty ripped not realizing I was talking about indoor. lower branches have weaker bud sights due to lack of sunlight. Many leaves and some branches WILL FALL OFF.:leaf:
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
aggressive fan leaf removal may be needed in small grow set ups in order to ensure light can reach all bud sites

is it ideal? probably not, but it cannot be argued that in some situations is the only way to get best results
really? I use small setups all the time, ive never had a situation where cutting fan leaves would of helped anything. and i fit tons of plants in my lil boxes. if your bud sites are not getting enough light the problem is not enough light,not that the fan leaves are blocking light..
 

burninjay

Active Member
really? I use small setups all the time, ive never had a situation where cutting fan leaves would of helped anything. and i fit tons of plants in my lil boxes. if your bud sites are not getting enough light the problem is not enough light,not that the fan leaves are blocking light..

I agree. I have had to resort to small box grows for a while now, and I only remove the very lowest branches/leaves only if they are getting in the way of basic care like watering and such. IMO, if your light can't reach through the canopy then you either need more light or have vegged too long for your setup.
 

mr.smileyface

Well-Known Member
Well put.

I always wonder what people assume the leaves are for and why they think they are shaped the way they are. Do people think they are there for decoration?

It's like asking if you should cut off a bird's wings to reduce drag so it can fly faster.
If you cut a hippys hair will he see better? You should only prune if you are doing a sog method and dont have much space.
Pruning isnt bad at all. its more of a timing thing. The only ones i take off are the bottom ones. The leaves that dont get much light and die off. Usauly around the 6 and 7th week. Make sure you clean up your mess. ALways sweep.
I prefer to lollie all the weak growth on the bottom. It increases air flow and makes an easyer watering and easyer to spray underneeth the folage.
I prune after the first flowers have appearred.
Never prune while your plants are under stress. Ex. If your plants are crawling with mites dont prune. Fix your problem before you prune. After i prune i always give them Vitamax to reduce stress on them.
Pruning the bottom weak growth induces floral hormones to the top growth. Just like topping induces floral hormones to the lower growth!
Some people like to prune and some people dont. Cannabis is a very hardy plant and can handle a lot of stress. Just go easy on it. Dont hack big branches off. Take the little ones on the bottom off and a few leafs off if you really think it matters.
 
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