Autos are best left alone IMO. What you’ve been doing sounds perfect, a little LST and leaf tucking is really all you need to do for a while. Autos are finicky and if you defoliate too much during vegetation it can trigger flowering. I’ve had my best success with autos the less I handled them.
Once they get 6 or 7 nodes I’ll remove the two big fan leaves at the top to expose the colas underneath to more light but that’s about all I remove until they start to flower. Once in flower I only remove what’s necessary
-
Auto defoliation best practices - First Timer
Hello everyone, I am at day 10 of my very first grow and would like some help cutting through all the chatter and contradictions I've read about autoflower defoliation. I've researched myself to death (as I do) and have made decisions on my growing style, nutrition, soils, etc. I'm in a 2x2x72 ACI tent so my goal will never be to get the biggest and mostest. Two old folks here, just puttering around, not needing pounds and pounds but I don't want to leave potential on the table either. My intention for this first grow is to settle in and see how the plant wants to behave, so I will be leaf tucking for the most part and using the included net for gentle LST if necessary to control the height of any overachievers.
What I haven't seen is any sort of consensus on defoliation for us beginners for autoflowers - how much, exactly when in their growth phases, whys and whynots for different LST methods, especially if we just want a good healthy plant that produces well and has a low risk of mildew and rot. On other user sites (that start with "R"), it runs the gamut from "don't do it, never for autos!", to "lollipop and defoliate the crap out of that sucker, no leaves!" with much of the info seemingly taken from the photoperiod methods.
Can you experienced auto growers share your best practices, especially as they relate to small space grows? Thank you!
Subscribe to Weekly Newsletter!
Leave a comment: