Why trim the leaves from my buds?

Several people suggested cutting back most of the leaves from my buds. Hardly any budding sites at all we’re even effected by my league because I keep an eye on them. I did some modest trimming but since I never got even a cursory explanation of the possible benefits I didn’t do too much. My plants were trained to have pretty optimal airflow at the bottom near the soil and I routinely thin out leaves so they don’t block budding sites so I’m still wondering.
What is the purpose of it?? Please don’t say for better airflow or to allow more light in. I already did that abs stayed on top of it. One guy suggested I would see a tremendous difference.





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Smart move on your part.

Don’t shoot the messenger but usually light and air flow. :man_shrugging: :wink:

Some folks do a major defol at 21 and 42 days in flower. Yes it lets in more light and air flow.
I’m more for leaving most leaves on the plant.
I’ll selectively remove them if blocking bud sites. But I don’t strip the bulk of them till just before harvest. Makes trimming a bit easier.
If your light is hitting your floor it’s wasted energy that the plants can use to finish growing.
Leaves being the light eng that makes it possible.
No leaves. No growth. Just my opinion so take accordingly.
Nice looking plants btw. Looks like a couple /few more weeks if I was to guess. :+1:
:v::call_me_hand:

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Yea I think the trim job is all they’ll be getting. I’m hoping 2 weeks will get the job done but as long as they are continuing to plump up I’m happy. The wife on the other hand is sick of hearing “ two more weeks !”

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hearing “ two more weeks !”

Seems to be the standard reply to “how much longer “. :joy:
Just wait till most of the pistils have receded on the plant and you’ll be in a good place for harvest.
Check the trics with a loupe to be sure tho for ur mostly cloudy with a few ambers.
:v:

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The GG4 is adding so much frost that I’m curious to see how heavy it can get.

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I’m with @Oldguy Not a fan of stripping my plants. Right or wrong everybody has their own style happy growing my friend. :v::+1:

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I think the best explanation of defoliation is on growweedeasy dot you know what once there search the site for defoliation and I believe it’s called nebula’s three step defoliation. If done right it will increase your yield

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The fact that two different strangers suggested it and not one explained the intended reasoning behind it makes me glad that I didn’t do it. The leaves I did strip were damaged from an earlier issue and there are plenty of leaves to feed the plant for the last two weeks before harvest. I’ve actually read a lot of times about people doing this with good results but taking away the plants main source of feeding itself feels very unnatural to me

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I think that by no means did I take too many leaves off

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Plants look great , I like to tuck a few leaves an take a few Throughout the grow. Good air flow is plants best friend to Prevents mold and mildew. I start by cleaning up around the bottom of the plant Also helps with watering and feeding. Top of the plant tucking my 1st choice. Good luck

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I keep air flowing pretty hard from two different spots plus a exhaust fan. I’ve never experienced mold and DO NOT WANT TO !! I’ve been plucking leaves for months. I think I need a break after this grow. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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Okay this is all second hand because I don’t know where I read it and it probably wasn’t here. Just one adventure down a google rabbit hole researching something or another when insomnia hits.

Vaguely something about the fan leaves are no longer needed x days/weeks before harvest so it a jumpstart on trimming?

Yea that’s always been true. Not the reason I pulled my leaves though

One guy at least said he gets giant buds by pulling ALL the cola leaves. I just wasn’t willing to chance it. I have months invested in these. One of mine has already got to the stage where it cannibalizes it’s lower leaves and they turn yellow. I’ve waited this long. I’ll wait a little more

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I have tried it either. The day before I harvest I bring the plant to the kitchen table and hand trimmers to my husband. He trims all the fans since he is the beneficiary of all of the product.

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I grow for my wife. I only smoke when I make a harvest

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A major defoliation ahead of harvest does two things: makes trimming easier at harvest (no small thing if you have 20 lbs of green plant material to go through) and removes some reservoirs of salts that don’t need to be present in flower.

Flower does not produce photosynthesis which of course drives flower production so really; removing leaves unnecessarily will decrease overall yields. Any grower saying otherwise has not conducted any side by side comparison testing.

I also like to keep a green canopy all the way to harvest: some say this leaves a lot of residual N and chlorophyll in the dried flower but IMO a healthy plant is a high-yielding plant.

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I’ve never seen any evidence of it so I wasn’t going to do it. There’s more than enough leaves to complete the photosynthesis process and they are far enough along that they aren’t going to add much size now. Two weeks left at the most. Several guys did suggest pulling every single leaf and told me that the results would amaze me. (I highly doubt it ) and I realize the complete strangers more times than not would rather see you fail than succeed and if you are naive enough to do such a drastic thing only because a stranger suggests it , your probably in for a lot of hard times in life

Over time you will gravitate towards fellow growers that share similar views on how to go about producing great cannabis. I have not found anyone here yet who is trying to sabotage other growers; most are genuinely interested in seeing you succeed.

Very high intensity lights obviate the necessity for having a dense canopy as the plant can support excellent growth with fewer leaves. Light and airflow are valid issues to deal with but less so in dry climates. Sometimes you have to go with your local conditions. For example: I can’t get my RH above about 50% so really doing a defol does little to prevent mold issues.

I’ve also seen folks ‘lollipop’ a plant right after transition which to me reduces the plant’s potential for heavy yields.

There is some validity to a heavy defol within a couple of weeks of harvest as the plant is not really doing much except stacking flower and going into senescence. It also depends on the individual genetics. I’ve had plants that were so bushy it was a nightmare to trim, while other plants ‘self-pruned’ their leaves before harvest.

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It was suggested that I pull every leaf about 4 days ago. I don’t actually know a single other grower so any fellowship or shop talk along with advice is going to come from strangers. It’s only the second time I’ve grown and I think I’m learning quickly. The single biggest reason I do it is for the sheer joy that it brings me. I don’t smoke and won’t sell any of it I just love it. This is by far the best forum. Every other one the growers were downright mean and rude telling me that my lights sucked and I want likely to see a quarter ounce from each plant. I’m sure my club sized , 15 inch buds would hush them up a little but positive feedback was hard to come by before finding this site after purchasing my seeds

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