I use to 100% agree with that till my current grow. I had to cut them to make them all fit and I dont think it hurt them one bit! I actually believe it is beneficial now. I had the notion that whatever little leaves were sticking out of the bud sites were all it needed to keep that particular node growing and it seemed to work out. I was trying to do a comparison originally and just didnt have the space so they all got the chop. Looking at the plants in this thread they are lush and green but it feels like all those leaves are just choking out the bud sites. Just my thoughts, and I do like to tinker and try different things!
I must agree with this, But if its a 60 day strain remove the fan leaves at day 40 - 45 and then double harvest the plant, cut the tops first and let the bottom buds fatten up for another 1-2 weeks depending on the trich colour preference, i like some of my smoke mostly white trichs, but also love amber trichs, its the best of both worlds. With the above technique, noticed that the buds keep on throwing new pistil growth, but when i removed all fan leaves at day 40, noticed that pistil development stopped for about 1 week and then resumed.
If one is going to remove fan leaves at day 30 it actually stresses the plant way to much, it should be a gradual process, maybe remove them over a course of 2 weeks, something like 1 fan leaf every 3 days. Remember reading a article in SoftSecrets mag explaining certain stress techniques actually help the final yield, and them actually mentioned that removing fan leaves gradually is way less stressful then all at once. Its the same concept when it comes to cloning from a mother, i stressed out one of my bonsai mums by taking about 6 cuttings all at once. When it comes to cloning its always recommended not to take away to much foliage at one given time, the larger the mother plant the higher number of cuttings one can take before the plant become to stressful.
Your grow is looking beautiful, keep up the great work man, those blackstars rock, and you will not be dissapointed, currently rocking a 500w blackstar and the smoke and yield out does my 430watt sont argo hps. Im sure you will not be dissapointed.
Peace to all, happy growing, stay safe.