defoliation at end of flowering to increase thc release to the bud?

defoliation at end of flowering to increase thc release to the bud? i have read this is possible but not sure at what stage exactly!!im growning arjans ultra haze 2 ,sativa plants and its my first grow!has anyone ever defoliated near harvest for this reason?
 

SCCA

Active Member
Welcome to RIU! You have brought up a very sore subject on these boards, lol. there is plenty of evidence on both sides. most of it not very scientific. i feel until you have a firm grasp on how the plant grows you should avoid most extreme techniques and focus on the basics. you should prune you plants to allow air flow through the canopy, but avoid removing large amounts of leaves. for a strong sativa it could continue to increase in height until a couple weeks before harvest.
 

RyAnRioT

Active Member
my friend who is ommp looks like he grows tropical trees lol takes all the popcorn bud spots off as they go into bloom so only the top makes buds
 

Serapis

Well-Known Member
My last grow was two plants in a 4' x 4' scrog.... I got almost 14 oz in bud and a little over 2 pounds in leaves.... guess what I'm doing differently next time? Defoliating my ass off...
 
well its my first grow and ive already benefitted from a lil supercropping a lil more lst ing and topping!!!i like to experiment as so far its been all good!!i have 2 big plants and 2 small i mite try defoliating 1 of my big uns!!at what stage shud i start pulling off leavers on a 12 week flower??say last 2 weeks of flushing maybe??
 
also the leaves i remove atm that are dead or what ever or yellowing can i use these to make hash right now or can i save em all up togerther or will they just all dry out and be useless?
 

Gmz

Well-Known Member
also the leaves i remove atm that are dead or what ever or yellowing can i use these to make hash right now or can i save em all up togerther or will they just all dry out and be useless?
I could be wrong, but put them in a container and store in the freezer? The reason i say that is because my brother in law was growing, and he harvested. The next day he had to leave town for his son's kidney transplant so he stored what he harvested in the freezer so he could dry and cure it properly when he gets back.
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
That would be a huge waste, plants make and store energy for a reason, to power bud growth. Cutting off its main and most effecient energy sources and all the energy the plant has stored and will start to pull it all out towards the end of flowering and focus it into bud growth/swelling is not a good idea and doesnt make any sense. .
 
I could be wrong, but put them in a container and store in the freezer? The reason i say that is because my brother in law was growing, and he harvested. The next day he had to leave town for his son's kidney transplant so he stored what he harvested in the freezer so he could dry and cure it properly when he gets back.
cool!!but what about yellowing or already dead leaves??is it only green leaves u want for hash makin? thanks everyone for the quick input!!!! seems the world is quite divided on defoliation to increase thc release to buds!!
 

drgreentm

Well-Known Member
also shud i trim any leaves blockin bud sites after the stretch , whenerver that is on a sativa i dunno!!
if the sites are blocked just eliminate them. they take a ton of energy away from the larger colas as the plant tries to keep them alive under little light conditions (hints indoor lighting) and they usuually dont amount to any buds bigger than you thumb nail wet and when dried are good for nothing more than hash in my eyes. you could have a 1/2 oz main cola with 1 1/2 oz's of popcorn or just plenty of upper large colas weighing 2 oz's and a breeze to trim lol. that tiny plant in pic was 2 oz's.
 

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tip top toker

Well-Known Member
Just focus on completing your first grow. It should be seen as little more yuan learning.g the ropes. Once you've a grow and some knowledge of what to expect, then start thinking about training and hash etc
 

drgreentm

Well-Known Member
Just focus on completing your first grow. It should be seen as little more yuan learning.g the ropes. Once you've a grow and some knowledge of what to expect, then start thinking about training and hash etc
agreed and fyi large fan leaves are crap for hash i throw them away all you want is the little resin covered trimmings off the nugs themselves.
 
if the sites are blocked just eliminate them. they take a ton of energy away from the larger colas as the plant tries to keep them alive under little light conditions (hints indoor lighting) and they usuually dont amount to any buds bigger than you thumb nail wet and when dried are good for nothing more than hash in my eyes. you could have a 1/2 oz main cola with 1 1/2 oz's of popcorn or just plenty of upper large colas weighing 2 oz's and a breeze to trim lol. that tiny plant in pic was 2 oz's.
thanks fellas!! so that plant u got 2 ounces off i have 2 similar sized plants and 2 large ones!!!! i am in third week of flowering now so can i trim the lower leaves on my small ones which dont receive much light (lollipopping) if i want to produce such a fabulous yield like urself??i heard its only recommeneded to take off 1 r 2 leaves a day and no more due to stress?and as for my big uns ill only trim fan leaves that block bud sites?honestly i love to try as much as i can even tho its my first grow cause ive already benifited so much from this forums awesome insights! even tho i tried fimming one plant and i missed in the first week of flowering but its all good.loving this learning curve :-)
 

drgreentm

Well-Known Member
thanks fellas!! so that plant u got 2 ounces off i have 2 similar sized plants and 2 large ones!!!! i am in third week of flowering now so can i trim the lower leaves on my small ones which dont receive much light (lollipopping) if i want to produce such a fabulous yield like urself??i heard its only recommeneded to take off 1 r 2 leaves a day and no more due to stress?and as for my big uns ill only trim fan leaves that block bud sites?honestly i love to try as much as i can even tho its my first grow cause ive already benifited so much from this forums awesome insights! even tho i tried fimming one plant and i missed in the first week of flowering but its all good.loving this learning curve :-)
man i pulled a good amount of branches and leaves from mine in the second week i did like 4 branches a day (as well as the leaves coming from the main stock under them) then did more in the 4th week lol plant never had a issue but my white widows are very tight noded and have tons. if i did 2 a day it would have took me 8 weeks to lolypop them lol. but i did allot of different styles as this works for my widows it doesnt work the same for my other strains. learning your strains and what "they like" is a major part of growing and can be quite obnoxious at times lol. i know for sure you can safley eliminate the lower 1/3 off any strain with no ill effects (which is what i did first) but in the end on my widows i do more like 1/2 or more lol.
 
"I am talking of removing fan leaves on day 18 of flower~nothing to do with topping.

I don't remove leaves any other time as it seems to stunt the plant, If you guys are interested check out MrDizzle, and Jackmayoffer tests.
They have done several documented grows trying different defoliation techniques, and day 18-21 is the generally consencous.
I know some folks swear by never removing a single leaf, but I too have had the best results following this schedule."

this is a quote on this forum!!! i cant find the 2 grows but im in week 3 of flowering so if im guna do it itll ave to be soon i guess
 

budalushious

Active Member
This has been gone over .............so many times. Do a search, read and formulate your own opinon.
My advice based on personal experiance.....Never remove leaves unless they are dead. Tuck them back if you must, do not trim.
Keep those fan leaves green and healthy...........until the end.
If you concentrate on growing the biggest, healthest fan leaves you can, you will be rewared with the biggest, tastiest bud you can get.
peace B
 
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