Confused and need help pls!!!

[Vapo69]

Hello friends, I have been swotting up like mad on GWE and I have reached a dead end and need help. I have moved my girls(one still hasn't shown and I live in hope!!!) into a much bigger home since my last post, the advice I received was good and I acted on it straight away(thanks to green75+insomniaczzz), I topped one plant and fimmed the other and used LST, as this is my first grow I am interested to see the difference, if any, the two techniques have on my plants, I have counted 10 bud sites on the fimmed plant and 4 on the topped plant, the fimmed plant is defo female but getting bushy and some of the bud sites are becoming shaded, I looked into de-foliation but as a first timer I'm advised against it, so I wondered if any fellow growers had any advice to give, thanks in advance if any replies.

[insomniaczzz]

Do not be afraid of removing fan leaves that are blocking possible bud sites. Have you switched your plants to the 12/12 light cycle yet. If not, it is probably time. You should be switching to a bloom food, lower in nitrogen, higher in potassium and phosphorous. Cactus food can be substituted. Just keep a close eye on the plant that you are not sure of sex yet. Switching to the 12/12 should make it show itself soon.

[kingfish]

If you spooked about cutting any more leaves you can always tug them under and out of the way or tie them back.

[Green75]

This keeps popping up......just because you are a beginner do not be afraid to cut leaves. Your plant will thrive from doing so...I promise!!! Defoliation is a must when growing indoors!!!

Skin them ladies to the chicken bones....Leave a few here and there....New ones will grow back quickly.

I am aware this is is a controversial subject,but the proof is in the pudding.

[Grower-Aaron]

Gotta agree with ya. I was nervous about the first time I did indoor (I had outdoor experience tho) anyway I ended up mainling and HEAVILY defoliating my first indoor grow. They turned out great. Don't be afraid man

[NebulaHaze]

Hey, feel free to post pictures of your plant so we can see and give our advice based on the plant! Many plants would benefit from defoliating, but not all

Growers definitely can over-pluck their plants and stunt growth, and that's most common with first time growers.

The idea is to take enough leaves that it causes the plant to have certain internal reactions that improves how the plant grows. If you take too many leaves, even if your plant recovers that doesn't mean the growth and yields are as good as they would have been if you've left more leaves.

I'm definitely not the most experienced grower out there, but I've defoliated hundreds of plants over several dozen indoor grows. As I've gotten to know the plants better, there are times I wish I'd defoliated more, but there's also definitely times I am certain I would have improved my yields or gotten faster vegetative growth by defoliating less.

Each leaf produces energy from light and if you take too many the plant needs time to "re-leaf" before it really starts growing at full pace again. In late flowering it can't make new leaves anymore at all.

Sometimes after you strip the plant it stops growing and is stunted for a few days. If you overdo it in veg you only lose time because the plant can easily recover after a few days, but if you take too many leaves in flowering you lose yields. Colas that are plucked too much during the first 3 or 4 weeks don't grow as tall, so you get shorter buds. Your buds stop fattening without lots of green healthy leaves to make energy from the light.

Even if you look at other commercial crops that use defoliation to improve yields (for example cotton) it not just a matter of removing leaves whenever, you need to do it strategically to get that balance between the reaction you want while stunting the plant as little as possible. With cotton they've been studying for over 50 years to pinpoint exactly when and how much to defoliate for the best yields. They're still studying, and I think cannabis growers are too.

You'll see on this forum that there are as many "best" ways to grow as there are growers! I've shared what I believe and everyone has their own opinion - honestly with something as subjective as training, there's no way everyone will ever agree

So my advice is to post some pictures of your plants you want to defoliate so we can take a look And welcome to the forum!

[Vapo69]

Hello all, I took these today, sorry about the quality.

[insomniaczzz]

Comparing the two plants, I see bud growth on one but not the other. Seriously, it may be a male. Please keep a close eye on it, before it is too late. As a first time grower, this was very hard for us. We kept saying why isn't this one and this showing, when this one and this one is? They do look healthy!

I hope some others come along to give their opinion, but I have serious doubts that they are both girls.

[Vapo69]

Thanks for the advice everyone and for the welcome from nebula haze, I think I'm going to go middle ground on this one and just do strategic leaf removal, I'm doin ok at the moment and I don't feel confident to "skin those ladies to the chicken bone"(lol green75!) and it would be a big kick in the family jewels if I killed/damaged them. This may sound like a stupid question but is there a best way for actual leaf removal and after care of removal sites? As always any advice is much appreciated. Thanks again.

[insomniaczzz]

DO NOT yank leaves off as it may damage stalk, main stems. Pinch the leaf stem off using your thumbnail and forefinger. Or snip with a sharp scissors. It doesn't matter if some of the leaf stem is left behind.

[Karlee]

Is that smoke in your pictures? LOL They look lovely and happy

[NebulaHaze]

They look very healthy so far, and your plan sounds great!

[Vapo69]

Comparing the two plants, I see bud growth on one but not the other. Seriously, it may be a male. Please keep a close eye on it, before it is too late. As a first time grower, this was very hard for us. We kept saying why isn't this one and this showing, when this one and this one is? They do look healthy!

I hope some others come along to give their opinion, but I have serious doubts that they are both girls.

I had doubts myself, big doubts but today, on the top growth I can see white hairs! I am a bit dubious as yet because they are sort of coming out from behind the stipules and I can see no calyx(bud). Are white hairs the be all and end all of this plants gender identification? Also I have used no nutrients so far and I know I need some but need advice, I will purchase bloom nutes and I will get the best that money allows, I have found two separate with NPK at 2.5+10.0+2.5 and 1.5+3.5+7.0, I know the plant needs P and K but will this be too much? or do I buy already mixed nutrients? Hmm food for thought about food for my plants lol. Thanks as always.

[Green75]

Emerald harvest nutes....swear by it

[Vapo69]

Is that smoke in your pictures? LOL They look lovely and happy

Haha it looks like it, I was pretty baked!!!

[NebulaHaze]

White pistils definitely only appear on female flowers though it's still possible for the plant to hermie (show signs of both gender). Could you post pics of the plant's flowers so far? That being said, some strains naturally take longer than others to start making buds, especially long flowering strains

[Vapo69]

Sorry I can't post pics as I don't have a micro camera, what I saw was through a jewellers loupe, ill try and take some closer pics tomorrow, they are asleep right now

[Chemichael]

Patience. Time and Patience. So hard to have- yet its needed.