if the bottom buds are not really getting light will they still grow?

my grow room is too crammed my plants grew fast this time and big, the bottom buds are not really get light but the main bit of the plants are , do they take light in through the leaves? meaning the buds will still grow?

harvest them twice, grasshopper.
first you must cut the colas when they are ready, but not the little ones... this allows light to reach them, and gives you bud to smoke whilst you wait 3 weeks for the lil ones to fatten up.
only then may you leave the temple...

iam5toned i like your avatar. and yea jim no light=wispy buds they need light to be fat and tight.

I wondered the same thing because im always bending things to keep good lighting on the bottom buds as well as the top. I know it going to be a yes and no kind of thing because I had two colas that were topped from the same plant at the same height at the same time. The one new site with great light exposure is blooming nicely with two new sites, while the opposite one is coming along quite slowly with little to no direct light

I'm in the final week of my first indoor and I ran into the same problem.

Depending on the light you use and whether you grow sativas with thin leaves or indicas with thick leaves that block the light, the bottom buds will grow quite small, and will take longer to finish, in some cases they won't even finish even if you chop the top and give them light. Plus you have to wonder if it is worth an extra week or 2 to finish out what will be a small amount of popcorn buds, when you could be that far into vegging your next crop.

Idk how far into flower you are but definitely for my next grow I will be trimming off the bottom growth. I think that the amount of gained energy put into your top colas would easily outweigh any popcorn. I seemed to get about 3ft max of penetration growing mostly indica genes, 50% sativa hybrid at most before my bud size and density started to really suffer. I am expecting to see my top colas gain a fair bit of length and girth from this gained energy and relieved stress of trying to mature those bottom buds. Now I see why most growers do lolipop style trimming before flower, growth seems to explode all through flower.

ps.. i forgot to mention that cuting the colas stresses the plant, so when the little ones start to grow, they grow pretty nicely, like the plant knows its about to be doomed

Like Iam said, harvest the top, lower the light and finish the bottom, you will get up to 30% more yield doing this and if you keep the plant healthy the lower buds will fatten up

trimming the lower buds does not transfer energy to the top, the plant spends energy fixing where you cut it and stunts growth

riddleme said:

Like Iam said, harvest the top, lower the light and finish the bottom, you will get up to 30% more yield doing this and if you keep the plant healthy the lower buds will fatten up

trimming the lower buds does not transfer energy to the top, the plant spends energy fixing where you cut it and stunts growth

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I'd have to disagree. As long as you trim the bottom growth prior to flowering, you will see an increase in growth rate (not stretch, but vegetative growth, and bud growth once the time comes) in the remaining branches that are getting optimal light. This is a technique used by many of the breeders, and I think you will find it actually relieves stress. A plant that is trying to produce resin for the top half but still trying to produce weight on the other half is under more stress than a plant that is receiving optimal light to all budsites. You will see that extra 30% in the increased top size due to the increased vigor. Your plants are not harmed by trimming off the bottom, shaded growth. As long as you stay under 1/3 you cause no STRESS, although I will admit you may theoretically loose energy briefly while those areas repair. Is it enough to notice, no. And remember you are doing this to increase the growth rate of the tops, over time the benefits of the increased top growth become clear and outweigh the time etc that is needed to chop the top and flower out the bottom.

Plus, are you really getting a 30% increase in yield by taking extra time flowering the bottom of your plants which by that time have little vigor, so you would be looking at around 2 weeks minimum. I'd be half way through veging my next crop, which is something you may be overlooking. Perpetual growers would be 2 weeks into flowering their next crop.

That brings up another benefit of trimming the bottom before flower, this provide's you with clones to keep or sell.

had the same issue with light penetration, was using horizontal bulbs and reflectors. Switched to bare vertically mounted bulbs and now I place my plants around the bulbs and the bud sites all grow much more evenly, plus the plants tend to grow outwards more and remain bushy. I would never do vert with 1 bulb though, I think it needs at least 2 so you get a nice sweet spot in the middle and both sides of the plant get hit, it's great!