Can I/Should I Defol ?

[GrumpyOldMan]

Ok everybody, I've got more questions now...

As you can see, my plants are about 65 days old and are at day 16 of flowering, and they've really grown up and out.

But now my question is can I defol these some, or should I not and leave them be?
I've noticed that some of the fan leaves were blocking light to some of the buds, should I open these up?
Or will the buds grow up past them?

Thanks,
GrumpyOldMan

[Ckbrew]

You will get many different answers to your question. It is a matter of preference. I defol leaves that: are damaged/not healthy, leaves interfering with other leaves, leaves blocking light from bud sites. Also if you can try and spread apart some of the main stems. Looks overgrown in some of those. Go slow. It is a balance of removing what you want, and keeping what the plant needs to thrive. The further you get into flower the fewer new fan leaves the plant will make. Don't be afraid to experiment. Make a plan, write it down, and keep track of it. Experiment, maybe one heavy defol, one medium, and one light. Once the bud sites are defined you will have a better picture of what you are trying to accomplish. Then you will learn how you like to do it.

[GrumpyOldMan]

Ckbrew, I appreciate your input, you've always given me what I've found to be good info.

So I'm going to take most of my leaves at or near the top and work my way down?
Taking a few (3 or 4) fan leaves off of each of the main stalks, near the top?
Also, in a previous post, you said not to take more than 30 - 40% off at any one time, should I follow that rule here and now?
As you said, I don't want to deprive the plant of needed leaves by taking too much.

BTW, as far as making a plan, I have kept EXTENSIVE notes on this grow - being my first I wanted to document EVERYTHING, I have a 47 page spreadsheet with over 70 pictures, and I'm just past the halfway point of this grow...

Thanks again,
GrumpyOldMan

[MagicMike66]

I would only remove any lower leaves that are below the canopy and not getting any light. Simply, plants need the leaves to make the buds grow, if you remove all the large fans at the top of the plant your yield will suffer. I’ve done this on most grows up until my last and the results were significant. I’m also trying it this grow with photos to see how they turn out too. As Ck brew has suggested, maybe try doing it on one and leaving the other to see how they turn out. Good luck

[Going2fast]

I agree with Mike. You want to leave as many leaves as possible. Try to tuck them out of the way first and spread out the branches gently. Ckbrew is right once they get into flower they stop growing more fan leaves. I only take them off as a last resort and then only a few at a time.

[PRIMO]

I'm a firm believer in defol. With that being said, If they were mine i'd strip the bottom 1/3 neked of all leaves and budlets and probably 50% of the rest. If it's to scary just do one like that and you'll see what a difference it makes.

[Ckbrew]

Like I said, you will get many opinions. I start at the bottom removing any unhealthy or crowded leaves. I strip the very bottom up to the bottom of the canopy to increase air circulation. Once the canopy gets established, I play ray of sunshine and look down from above to make sure all the buds can see the light, removing leaves that block light from buds, selectively. Also remember to listen to your plants. They will tell you if you take to much. I use the 30% rule for veg. If you keep taking that much in bloom you won't have much left quickly. They don't produce much new growth except for bud growth, after the stretch. In late bloom some people start removing fan leaves, some don't. Some times you feel like a nut...

They look good so far. Follow your instincts.

[GrumpyOldMan]

I think I'm going to err on the side of caution and only remove the few leaves that are blocking light, probably 4 or 5 leaves per plant.
Most of the larger stalks are going nicely, I just have a few promising bud sites that I want to open up, so I won't be doing much.

Thanks again,
GrumpyOldMan

[LemonBud]

Tuck the leaves if you can and create the less straining of the plant in flower. So be careful if your plucking.

[GuitboxTom]

GrumpyOldMan , Hey there, I’m old and grumpy too. I also grow some awesome tomato plants with great yields. This requires pruning. with mold, blight etc.. lots of pruning.
Ckbrew and others are very helpful, with plenty of experience. I would say fear not! Great suggestion that you try it three ways. Even maybe some pinching and bending (low stress training). The only thing is, many different variables can change results from plant to plant. So it can be a mistake to run with a result from a one time trial. You may get some idea for future grows, but nothing conclusive. The pruning idea is, that your plants energy needs to be channeled to where it is needed and not wasted on lower, shaded growth that takes energy away from parts that will produce fruit, bud, etc... These cannabis “self prune” in a way because they will start letting lower leaves die off and then begin to suck out nutrients from other leaves while flowering. Again fear not! To some degree, the abuse can lead to better yield and potency. It grows like a weed after all.

[GrumpyOldMan]

I've read 2 or 3 people here saying that I should clear out the bottom of the plant, removing any leaves that aren't getting any light anyway, so that the plant can focus on bud growth.
So I'll probably do that as well, again, erring on the side of caution.

I ended up removing about 5 or 6 leaves per plant already, mainly at top, near the center, really can't even tell.

I also managed to fan the plants out more, to help open up the bud sites.

I'll post more pictures after I butcher the plants and you can tell me how bad I did...

Thanks,
GrumpyOldMan

[PRIMO]

GrumpyOldMan Click on the three bars, top left of page. Go to the growing basics page and enter defoliate in the search bar. There's some good info there.