Remove fan leaves for increased light absorption?

I have been so confused on whether or not to remove my fan leaves to help the buds get more light.

I am budding 15 plants now under a HPS 600w indoors.

I have seen my friends get great results from removing fan leaves, or so I think that played a part, but I want to get better advice from more knowledgeable people so any help and opinions are appreciated. thanks.

well from my experience the fan leaves act like solar panels for the plant so I dont remove them unless they begin to die off. But if you need more light to get to the lower growth either use cfl's or trim up the fan leaves to add for l;ight penetration

good luck

Remove fan leaves for increased light absorbtion-
Is like taping your mouth closed for increased food consumption...it ain`t gonna work.
Fan leaves are your source of turning light to sugars ,which is the plant food.
NEVER take em off until completely dead and brown.
Tuck the leaves aside as mentioned or spread her open and tie her branches down,BUT don`t cut the leaves off.
ccb

This is a REALLY good question and one that is going to get mixed results no doubt.
My friend and I always have this debate but here's my take on the idea.

I never take off fan leaves untill the very end when they are dying. They are a source of energy for the plants. They turn chlorophyl into energy for the plant. During the end phases when the plant is close to ending its life cycle then it is ok to take these off otherwise it really is best to try tuck them away. I've loosely tied mine back with very positive results.

Also every time you take anything off of a plant, it slows the growing time down because it needs that extra energy to heal that cut. At least thats the plants point of view.

I agree with what everyone on this thread has mentioned.

canadiancowboy said:

Remove fan leaves for increased light absorbtion-
Is like taping your mouth closed for increased food consumption...it ain`t gonna work.
Fan leaves are your source of turning light to sugars ,which is the plant food.
NEVER take em off until completely dead and brown.
Tuck the leaves aside as mentioned or spread her open and tie her branches down,BUT don`t cut the leaves off.
ccb

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Taking off the fan leaves is like getting you KAK pierced... some people do it.. personally... I never damage or put holes in my prize possessions..

don't remove fan leaves..

that being said.. there are some exceptions.. one of them being..

during a massive SOG grow where ventilation becomes and issue and the canopy becomes soooo dense that even multiple 1000 watt HPS bulbs can not penetrate more than 1-2 inches.... it may be smart to remove a few of the fan leaves on the lower part of the plant.... the leaves that are not getting ANY LIGHT... you don't want them to mold..

yikes..

iloveyou

bet i could run faster if i cut off my arms.

cool, thanks you guys.

what are "CFL's" btw ?

skullsmasher said:

cool, thanks you guys.

what are "CFL's" btw ?

Click to expand...

Compact Fluorescent Lights

They are the curly ones that use less energy.

FDD swears by them. ;P

skullsmasher said:

cool, thanks you guys.

what are "CFL's" btw ?

Click to expand...

yes fdd loves them

i have been posting this question for a week now with hardly any responses. first time grow for me as well, but i did some reading on the subject and have to say to not remove fan leaves except when they have necrotic growth thats all brown and crunchy. cut that off.
heres a picture of a sick plant that i took some fans off.

for those with question about a cfl grow, this may be of some help...Constructing a 100% CFL Grow

I cut a lot of fan leaves initially to let more light in. Then i got crazy and cut too many fan leaves. result: Tiny baby buds. I f'd up. Keep almost all of your fan leaves. You can take off one or two.

i have heard the same thing. Picture this, you have a 2-3 ft plant. The typical grower doesnt not use side lighting, in that case you'll notice the fan leaves forcing themselve to grow a longer stem to to force the leave to the exterior of the plant. Thats for light consuption. Fan leaves act similiar to a solar panel soaking up light and sending it to the lower linbs. If the fans are removed the top half of your plant will always out produce the bottom half. People seem to think it helps to clip the leaves. Seems to do more harm then good

I really dont know if its a good or bad idea as I've only got minimal experience growing, but I know I did it on my current grow I really needed the light penetration as I'm using CFL's maybe it was a mistake but it worked for me. This is how I looked at it (maybe this is wrong too) but I mow my lawn and trim my bushes all summer and they get better looking and heathier every week. Granted their not pot plants but their still plant leaf's and the principle behind it should be the same? anyways don't beat me up over this its just an opinion I thought I'd throw out.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR GROW