# should i remove fan leaves during final flush?



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

I flushed my plants yesterday and just made sure the soil was clear and there were no dead leaves on my plants to help prevent mold but want to know if I should now remover the fan leaves from my plants to improve air circulation and give the buds extra light for the last week? Iv got 17 cheese plants growing in a sog in 15litre pots. My mate sed take the fanleaves off but just want some confirmation first from a few other growers?


----------



## tip top toker (Apr 29, 2012)

The leaves need the light, not the buds.


----------



## scroglodyte (Apr 29, 2012)

not necessary, imo. a lot of light blasts right thru them fans, and a gentle breeze will keep things airy and mold-free, again.....imo


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Something in me didnt want to take them off. Dusnt feel right taking off healthy leaves. They grew ther for a purpose right!? Whenever i see pictures on here tho the plants rarly seem to have many leaves on them. I was beginning to wonder if it was standard practice to remove them once the buds were at a nice density and overall size.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Wot does imo meen? sorry im not into all the abbreviations.


----------



## TriPurple (Apr 29, 2012)

I remove the lower fan leaves & have noticed significantly more thickening on the lower nugs. I'm talking about a confined indoor set up. Outdoors the sun isn't stationary so you have much better penetration & air movement. IMO "in my opinion"


----------



## scroglodyte (Apr 29, 2012)

in my opinion......which it all is. i've been right, more than wrong, but i've been wrong


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Haha decisions decisions.


----------



## DoctorSmoke (Apr 29, 2012)

u could just remove leaves from 1 plant and tell us about it. that way u learn something firsthand.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Tell you what il take the fan leaves off half and leave the other half on and write about the differences if there are any in a thread. Why not.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

parate the other fellas idea il do a third of the plants with all fan leaves left on, a third with none and a third with just the bottom half removed.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

That should of read infact to incorparate the other fellas idea.


----------



## Mr Mc Wilson (Apr 29, 2012)

Why not just do it on one or two. I take them off if the fan leaves are really covering the nuggets below but if it's outdoors it's not a massive deal. Just turn your plants a bit every day for the whole of flowering and leave them on. Only in a tent will the be blocking lower leaves producing energy for the bud. But it really is growers choice I never noticed a huge difference.


----------



## Vindicated (Apr 29, 2012)

I'd leave the leaves alone, they're like little sugar factories, and serve only to help the buds. Adding a fan or opening a window would be my first choice, but if I had to get creative I might try dusting them with diatomaceous earth (DE). Normally DE is used to prevent pests, but it absorbs moisture too, and it's safe to use up till harvest. Just make sure to wash it off before harvest or lest you want people to think is moldy or tainted with crack.


----------



## Mr.Therapy Man 2 (Apr 29, 2012)

leave the fan leaves alone,the idiot I grow with now pulls to many off and fucks our yields up ever run.This is my last grow with this dumbass...


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Mr Mc Wilson said:


> Why not just do it on one or two. I take them off if the fan leaves are really covering the nuggets below but if it's outdoors it's not a massive deal. Just turn your plants a bit every day for the whole of flowering and leave them on. Only in a tent will the be blocking lower leaves producing energy for the bud. But it really is growers choice I never noticed a huge difference.


The only reason i want to break it up into thirds like this is simply beacause il trust wot a few plants tell me over just one or two if u get wot i meen. If they all react the same way in a certain group then i know its due to the fan leaves been removed or kept on and not just an individual plant doing its thing. Hope that makes sense it does in my head ha. You might be right tho it might not have an effect, especially this late in the plants cycle.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Vindicated said:


> I'd leave the leaves alone, they're like little sugar factories, and serve only to help the buds. Adding a fan or opening a window would be my first choice, but if I had to get creative I might try dusting them with diatomaceous earth (DE). Normally DE is used to prevent pests, but it absorbs moisture too, and it's safe to use up till harvest. Just make sure to wash it off before harvest or lest you want people to think is moldy or tainted with crack.


Haha im gonna mix it up abit and just see the reaction the plants give if any. Probably a bit late in the cycle as it is with just a week to go. I appreciate evrything everyone has said here tho. It seems the majority would leave there fan leaves alone which surprises me actually. Iv heard people remove them during the flowering phase but definatly will not be trying this as i cant see any good coming from it. I dont even like the idea of lollypopping but have no experience with the method so who am i to comment.


----------



## Sunbiz1 (Apr 29, 2012)

I used to be a purist when it came to fan leaf removal, would never remove anything under any circumstances. Then I ran into this weird(large one photo's on left))plant last year, had to trim it repeatedly. And after that, I ran into Sannie's indica gear which in some cases are necessary to trim b/c bud branches tend to grow directly into above fan leaves.

So, now I trim on a case by case basis.


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

One question i have is does direct light onto the budsite help the bud grow? If not then why would anybody care about fan leaves blocking there budsites? Only saying because theres a comment from someone at the start of this thread saying its the leaves what need the light not the buds. Someone also told me the leaves dont photosynthesize at this point of the plants cycle and dye off because now the plant just takes all the nutes built up in the leaves etc.. any one shed abit of light on this for me?


----------



## bmaster1964 (Apr 29, 2012)

I've found that the lower buds that are blocked by fan leaves don't finish as well. When I trim some leaves later in flower the green lower buds really respond and bulk up and turn a nice finished colour
like the tops


----------



## dodgydan (Apr 29, 2012)

Was thinking this bro thats how the question came about.


----------



## ghb (Apr 29, 2012)

my first grow i cut off fan leaves, now i cut off lower bud sights.

you can't have your cake and eat it too, you're going to have fluffy popcorn buds at the bottom if you leave them on or you are going to have fluffy buds all over if you cut them off, oh the dilemma.

try doing more plants with less veg and you won't have the problem, having more plants to care for with less window for making mistakes makes you a better grower FAST,


----------



## SirLancelot (Apr 29, 2012)

The lower buds will grow the same whether a fan leaf is over it or not. The buds don't contribute to photosynthesis that's what the leafs are for. Their the solar panels, your plant is the factory and your bud is the final manufactured product. 

Now obviously if the leaves are unhealthy get em out of there and if it really bothers you to have your bud sites covered by a leaf why not just tuck it under the branch instead of hacking off healthy pieces of a plant. I know that farmers don't practice removing healthy leaves off of there tomato plants, or any plants for that matter. MJ isn't all that different from other plants.


----------



## KI11TH3W3AK (Apr 29, 2012)

^^I agree and i like your name...that's what i named my johnson


----------



## Uncle Ben (May 1, 2012)

SirLancelot said:


> The lower buds will grow the same whether a fan leaf is over it or not. The buds don't contribute to photosynthesis that's what the leafs are for. Their the solar panels, your plant is the factory and your bud is the final manufactured product.
> 
> Now obviously if the leaves are unhealthy get em out of there and if it really bothers you to have your bud sites covered by a leaf why not just tuck it under the branch instead of hacking off healthy pieces of a plant. I know that farmers don't practice removing healthy leaves off of there tomato plants, or any plants for that matter. MJ isn't all that different from other plants.


Exactly.

With every new crop of newbies comes this tired age old question. Shows you how little new growers know about botany. Sure as hell are clueless when it comes to photosynthesis! If one doesn't understand the function of a leaf, they shouldn't be growing.

Lower bud sites have smaller yields, less bulk, not because they are shaded by leaves. It's because of the influence of apical dominance and the fact that they were produced last during the life cycle of the plant. You can increase yields quite well by taking off the big colas when they are ready and putting the bottom half of the plant back under the lights to bulk up those bud sites. Gotta have leaves at those lower levels though and that's where most folks fail.

Use the Search engine people, the removal of fan leaves has been discussed a million times at this site! 

Now, just in case someone STILL didn't get it, try to keep as many fans leaves healthy and green right up to harvest as you can.

UB


----------



## SirLancelot (May 1, 2012)

I started out with gardening as a child and then started growing MJ a few yrs ago, I was amazed in how different people think MJ is compared to other plants, like it's some magical plant or somethings.



Uncle Ben said:


> Now, just in case someone STILL didn't get it, try to keep as many fans leaves healthy and green right up to harvest as you can.
> 
> UB


BTW I love this, When I first started growing everyone told me to flush my plants to rid of any chemicals and essentially starve out my plant causing it to canabalis on it'self thus causing the leafs to turn yellow and wither and die up untill the end. I did 3 seperate indepth flushing experiments, and the results were as expected, irradic and subjective to the person (talking about the effect on taste). I have never been a fan of taking wonderful care of my plant just to hold back nutrients in what I consider one of the most crucial phases of the bud plant (the last few weeks) And from my experience gardening I never want any of my cucumbers, tomatoes or anything for that matter turning yellow and withering away once it's fruiting. Healthy Plants = Healthy Fruit/Flowers.

Healthy and green all the way up to harvest... amen.


----------



## SirLancelot (May 1, 2012)

KI11TH3W3AK said:


> ^^I agree and i like your name...that's what i named my johnson


 are you hitting on me? hahaha


----------



## Uncle Ben (May 1, 2012)

SirLancelot said:


> I started out with gardening as a child and then started growing MJ a few yrs ago, I was amazed in how different people think MJ is compared to other plants, like it's some magical plant or somethings.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If it's stupid and makes no botanical sense, you'll find it right here amongst cannabis growers.

Blind leading the blind......


----------

