This is my first outdoor grow. I am in Massachusetts. I planted 6 different varieties of non auto indica variations. They look amazing. About 4 feet tall and extremely bushy and wide. They are thick all the way to the ground. I hate to mess them up by pruning but should I take off some of this lower stuff?
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Never grown cannabis outside myself, but a good habit on any plant outside is to keep lower growth off the ground. It leads to all kinds of infections and such.
Even indoors I keep the leaves off the dirt.
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Hello welcome to the forum! From what Iâve learned from people on here bout pruning outside is that you donât really need to do it unless youâre worried about bud rot (when the time comes)âŚ.let me do their thing and would love to see some pics! Click my profile and find the link to my grow to see what Iâve got goin it just might help ya
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YES!!!..unless you want a bunch of under-developed flowers underneathâŚ:>)
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It would be a preference. I like to top and also do a little pruning on my plants outside so I can end up with a bushy wide plant more stable. Will Survive hard Wind and Rain from breaking limbs out.
Happy growing ! 
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I clean out the bottom 1/3 of the plant when it goes into flower. Just strip it bare. Anything that doesnât reach the halfway point when the plant goes into flower gets cut out. I trim off the bottom third of all branches at about two weeks of flower.
Pollyâs lower buds were bigger than most of her upper buds.
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@Renwoman I concur with @oldmarine strip the bottom of of plant. get rid of the larfy stuff that wonât amount to popcorn bud at best. you are going to have to watch crowding of cola development and make sure you have good airways throw the canopy. this is where I stake with bamboo and pull branches down/out and tie with some velcro strips. this is what I have going on at the moment with six plants at 6 âto 7â
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Yes! You must defoliate in order to keep good air flow. Also, lollipop those so they get air from the bottom up.
Iâm in MA, growing outside in MA for the last 4 years.
Moisture and mold are the biggest crop killers in our area (MA), also have to keep a look out for bugs.
Watch a couple of videos and then get to pulling off some fan leafs and some lower branches.
I was afraid my first grow to do these things, but now I know you get bigger and healthier plantâs this way.
Keep an eye on the weather in SeptemberâŚI usually am forced to harvest right before a week of rain moving in.
Happy gardening
Processing: IMG_20210622_081209_01.jpgâŚ
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Is that an after/before shot. Either way, great looking plantsâŚ
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Very nice great area to work with.
I like the âcandelabraâ look myselfâŚ:>)
No,they are different plants.
I actually saw that after I posted, The bush is behind the lollipopped plant.
I start early on my trimming. Usually lollipop when the plant is young.
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I wondered about doing that @OldMarine and sort of did to a couple that had yellow leaves near bottom but not NEAR to the extent you did. Is that so it can focus on the âupwardâ or top growth that you do that early so it focuses on making them more robust?
Yep and I believe it is worth it.
Polly was a clone that produced 24 oz. last year.
These are her top branches at harvest.
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LIKES what you said, but canât actually like it, lolâŚsilliness
side note: hahaha, youâre like me, walking around fists balled and veins popping out my forearms like popeye. Everyone always asking why iâm madâŚiâm like iâm NOTâŚi just still have GI Joe combat grip built inâŚLOL 
I donât even realize i do it and i canât help my armsâŚi WORK, lol
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^^^^^^^^^
Hired a dwarf to hold buds to make them look huge!
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