Trimming and pruning?

I wanted to do some trimming and pruning of my fan leaves to increase light to bud sites. my plants have been flowering 3 weeks now and have large fan leaves which block a lot of light to the bud sites.

how can i trim these leaves to allow more light to the bud sites? or should i not at all?
 

shylas

Active Member
I wouldn't cut any leaves off that weren't 75% yellow or brown. The leaves catch the light they need for photosynthesis.

If your still bent on cutting the topmost two biggest leaves when cut let in the most light.
 

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
DO NOT CUT THEM.
Get some paperclips and hold them back, if you insist on doing anything, but DO NOT CUT THE FAN LEAVES OFF.


IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, When a large FAN leaf starts yellowing, say it is half yellow, that means in the photosynthesis process, that leaf has ate nutes, sucked in some LIGHT and made food for the plant and buds and NOW, half of that is gone, or used or consumed. Well, what about the other half? Can it not it's energy still be used or consumed?
AND when it is ALL consumed or used, that leaf will naturally just fall off.

AND you say it is blocking LIGHT?
GREAT and GOOD, that means it is getting the LIGHT it needs and deserves more than the other leaves do, to do it's job.


Years ago I tried removing lower fan leaves to allow more Light to penetrate in. When i did, the plant went into shock for a day or two, and quit eating or only ate half as much, and just went on "stand by" mode. Then, after a day or two, suddenly, I saw that big fan leaf replaced by a new leaf, and I saw my plant use the energy to replace that leaf, more than it used it to grow bigger and make more buds or bigger buds.

I now believe that removing fan leaves is pointless, and that a leaf has a purpose and will serve that purpose until it is dead. Then it will fall off.


Don't ever remove fan leaves before harvest for several reasons.

1. The fan leaves MAKE AND STORE energy for the plant. The fan leaves are doing a process called photosynthsis, and it is the most important part or task or job the plant does, to make it grow. They make the FOOD, the sugars and carbs needed to grow.

If you remove a FAN leaf, the plant will stop growing taller until it can replace that removed fan leaf.

Removing a healthy fan leaf is a big waste of time..they are rapided replaced,, unless you are in the last few weeks of flowering.


2. Even if the fan leaves are yellowing in late bloom I do not remove them until they are almost ready to fall off. The yellowing in the fan leaves at late harvest is the plants metabolism at work. She is transferring all stored energy in the fan leaf to bud production. It is the easiest source of energy she has late in life.



From the Growers Bible by Jorge Cervantes:
Leave leaves alone! Removal of healthy leave hacks up a healthy plant. Removing large or shade leaves DOES NOT make plants more productive. This practice 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 its growth. Stress is a growth inhibitor. Remove only dead leaves or leaves that are more than 50 percent damaged.
 

MrFishy

Well-Known Member
How d'ya use the paper clips for positioning leaves? Weight them downward?

I just fold them down out of the way . . . as I notice them. Of course, this would only be a temporary fix and wouldn't probably suffice in larger grows.
 

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
How d'ya use the paper clips for positioning leaves? Weight them downward?

I just fold them down out of the way . . . as I notice them. Of course, this would only be a temporary fix and wouldn't probably suffice in larger grows.

I used some engineering, for sure. I have some little plastic ones and I just "rig it" by putting the clip on a leaf tip and pull it back and hook the clip to a stem.. The fan leaf still gets light but some light also penetrates in the plant too.
 

Brick Top

New Member
well i guess that makes my decision then.... no trimming for me.... i will try the paper clips though. Thanx guys

Many times at the rates plants grow the buds that we are worried abut not getting enough light will I a few days or so grown enough that the fan leaf that appeared to be blocking it can be tucked under it or often times there is another branch of set of buds to tuck a large fan leaf under if someone is concerned about light reaching their buds.
 
Just do not cut leaves!
 

Heterotextual

Well-Known Member
I just cut the lower leaves and branches off to lollipop them, cuz the lower buds don't get light and the plant focus' all of its energy on producing a big thick cola
 

bucks

Active Member
I have some yellow and shriveling leaves on the bottom of the plant occupying the branches from the lowest few nodes. These are the smaller 3-bladed leaves underneath the bigger fan leaves. Should I trim these off? If so, where am I supposed to make the cut?
 

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society
Remove only dead leaves or leaves that are more than 50 percent damaged. Those lower leaves continue to die and should be removed as they die.
 

MrFishy

Well-Known Member
I used some engineering, for sure. I have some little plastic ones and I just "rig it" by putting the clip on a leaf tip and pull it back and hook the clip to a stem.. The fan leaf still gets light but some light also penetrates in the plant too.

I see . . . think I'll try using regular old pipe-cleaners for this (thanks Pan)
 
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