To trim or not to trim????

[Stealth_b0nger]

Long time smoker first time grower here. Lol I know, but I had to... it's been eating me up inside.

Dutch passion- think different auto fem

So these ladies seem to be growing very nicely. day 46 and have been in flower for about 14 days now. They are getting really bushy, but they are stretching too. Should I defoliate or leave them B? Thanks in advance for the response. Happy Growing

 

[insomniaczzz]

Yes, defoliate. I personally would get rid of a lot of those big fans leaves. Especially those blocking bud sites below them.

Plants looks great though.

 

[Stealth_b0nger]

insomniaczzz I figured... just making sure! thanks!

 

[insomniaczzz]

No problem. I'm glad you found this site so you can ask questions.

 

[Canyon Grower]

Autos are still new to many of us. Be sure to report back on what effect, good or bad, you think defoliation had on your grow.

 

[Karlee]

What I see is your bud sites are set you aren't going to get any more, the defoliation helps to give all bud sites light.

If the underside of your plant has little buds that are being in the shadow of a fan leave 2 choices take that bud off or remove fan for light to hit it .

Auto's are a fast plant it wants to grow bloom flower die, next grow with Auto's train it first like Green75 does and then you'll see how to open the plant up. Our goal is buds

 

[DW2]

Stealth_b0nger, Welcome to the forum.
I am not a big fan of defoliation, and as long as there is light and air circulation around the bud sites, I will not remove any of the leaves. After all, the leaves are there for a reason, to absorb and utilize the light energy and absorb carbon dioxide and make sugars (Mother Nature don't do things for no reason).
I do not like to remove any of the leaves, I do a lot of 'weaving' and 'tucking' of the leaves to allow air circulation and light to reach the buds. Everyone has their own methods and results and most have merit. It comes down to 'what feels right' and what works best for your growing method and situation.
Good luck with your grow!

 

[Weed Pharma]

@Stealth_b0nger- if you are not accustom to defoliation- an "auto" is not the place to start- due to limited time for recovery.

Also you could be as close as 20 days from Harvest, and the plant won't be growing much more anyways-
Overall and generally - If you can see your medium looking strait down- there is little need to defoliate.

That said: I would take only the largst fan leaves that block a bud site. - starting from the top of the plant- and do NOT remove more than 1 leaf per opposing pair.

 

[rockman]

Welcome Stealth...fine looking babies you have! I've grown some autos, and until my latest grow I was not too keen on removing leaves. Plants got big, were productive, but not knowing if they could have benefited from more defoliation. So my current grow, also auto, I've done way more training and trimming. From what I'm seeing so far (37 days from sprouting), this baby is in for a great finish. I'll be posting a pic today....check it out and see what defoliation on an auto can do. A great part of growing your own is experimentation to find what works for you. 🌿

 

[Stealth_b0nger]

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Man I'm so overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge coming my way!!!!! It's like trying to drink water from a fire hose hahaha. Anyways thanks to everyone for the replies. Here is an update.


I did defoliate. I did a very thorough inspecting of both ladies before doing so. Not very much came off of the sweet tooth it has been doing well with LST. So the bud sights were all exposed for the most part. I mostly just removed what I thought was unnecessary at the base of the plant.

Now the Think diffrent on the other hand was totally different. You can see in the pics the difference it made.
On one day I saw a difference in the stance. All the bud sites are now exposed and I can't wait to see how it's going to grow in the next couple of days.

 

[rockman]

Nice job Stealth....I think you're going to be pleased with the thinning results! 😊 Both plants look like they have a lot of potential in those buds....congratulations!

 

[DW2]

Your ladies look very lovely. You must be doing something right!
Good luck Stealth_b0nger.

 

[Stealth_b0nger]

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Just a pic of trichome development. Looking pretty nice if I do say so myself. But I really did see it go into overdrive when I defoliated. So for those on the fence about whether or not to trim as for me right now I would say it's totally worth it. In just the three days I have also seen it stretch about 2 in. I'll keep the updates coming as I start to notice more changes.

 

[Nartak]

Sweet trichs b0nger,you've done the right thing i believe!!I wont repeat what's been said before,Karlee covered me on anything i would have said,including mentioning the

way of man-handling plants

 

[Karlee]

Hi Stealth

It's like hitting the nitrous oxide button on the plants opening it up! when you defoliate .

Keep the pictures coming and don't change anything you have a good grow going.

Here was a good candidate for a defoliation

 

[Green75]

Looking Damn nice bonger...defoliation is key when growing marijuana plants...like my blade brother nartak has said before..pay no mind to the leaf lovers...lol...he kills me....

For real bonger....nice buds man...

 

[Nartak]

snip snip

I pledge allegiance to the Blade!!!!

 

[Stealth_b0nger]

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Just an update on the lady's!!! So the think diffrent is doing really well and frosting up wonderfully. The only thing that is not there is cola density. All the nug sites are very loose and fluffy. I had some early temp issues that I'm sure contributed to that. Any suggestions on how to develop more dense nugs.

As for the sweet tooth she is doing very well. She really started to frost about 2weeks ago. Her colas are nice and dense and her smell is oh so sweet. I'm thinking I have about another 2-3 weeks left for both of them. Any opinions on that as well would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Green75]

that's a lot of time to fatten up....don't sweat it.....the weight will be packed on for sure

looking absolutely great!!

 

[Stealth_b0nger]

Thanks green I really appreciate it!!! Based on the pics do you think I'm in the ballpark as far as the time that's left for these ladies?