yesterday I just chopped down a plant and have the whole thing hanging in the basement. fan leaves and all. my plan is to trim back as and when the parts dry out over a week or two. then continue to dry the buds on the plant still till they are dry to the touch, and then the plan is to remove and trim the sugar leaf off the buds and right into jars. once in the jar I will check on them daily for about a week and then less frequently to make sure they are free of any mold.Well your experience may be different than mine, but proper air drying will get the buds 90% of the way there, with great smell. Dry the whole untrimmed plant and see the difference. Believe me, my buds done this way are really smelly and good.