Large Fan Leaves?

jpete0001

Member
20141009_091332.jpg 20141009_091422.jpg Ok yes i am newbie and have only grown mostly Sativa's hohowever am now using SH bubbleponics indoors. Here is some info.
PH, 5.8
Nutes, standard house blend (SH) mirco and grow
Critical + seeds
Lighting CFL with one side panel LED
my question is the fan leaves are HUGE compared to what I am use to, and worried the bottom half of plant when growing will not get the light it needs. I have a trellis ready to go when they get a little bigger to spread out the stems/plant but not sure this will do it.
 

hydro30

Member
I can't answer your question in regards to the fan leaves. Some will say its fine while others will say its not. At this point I'd be more concerned about your plants. They look like their having a deficiency of some sort. The leaves are curling under and you can see the veins in the leaves.
 

jpete0001

Member
Thanks for input it was light burn, I kept reading put CFLs real close and few days ago I noticed the leaves brittle and curling under, moved lights a little further up and now leaves are not browning and they are now soft to touch not brittle. I also think i had nute strength too strong for small, new plants. I used full strength when I should have just went with half dose until they were bigger. I pulled a couple gallons out and added plain PH 5.8 water.They seem to be bouncing back though as they have really started growing and drinking, root system looks awesome, white, long and water smells like fresh alphaha :) I am switching water every 7 days. I have been doing so much reading and learning, I am a newbie but I am putting the time into learning and listening to others that have more experience. I grew a plant outdoors this summer, 8 ft tall and when the dam thing flowered it was a fucking male, i felt like crying hahahah now I will take mistakes and learn from them.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
I usually try and tuck the big fans under the new shoots reaching for the top of the canopy.
Later in flower if indoors, I might pluck a few if there shading too much below them.
This is what I'm dealing with atm lol

 

jpete0001

Member
HOLY fuck now i dont feel so bad hahaha those look HUGE ahhaha Thanks I also went from 24/0 light schedule to 14/10 as I read that 14/10 will typically produce more females as I am using regular seeds.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure about the female thing, but I would think 14-10 might cause some strains to flower.
Is that's what you want, then flip them back to 24-7 after you see the sex?
I would just keep running 24-0, 20-4 or 18-6, then just wait for them to show sex.
 

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
I have fan leaves that will cover your entire face on my Medijuana bushes, I don't remove them because fan leaves do not "block" light.

The only parts I remove are branches/leaves that touch the ground/growing medium and in the case of extremely bushy plants like I'm growing now, I'll thin out some inner growth to keep humidity down in confined growing spaces.

I've never heard the 14/10 line before. I like to veg my plants until they at least show preflowers before flowering. I doubt there is much truth to it, especially if the people stating that aren't able to provide an explanation of why it would cause a higher rate of females and just expect you to believe it because they say so.
 

jpete0001

Member
No dont want to flower yet, when they get a little bigger I will grab some clones and force flower them. I will go 18/6. I wanna veg them until they are at least three feet tall before flowering. Another question I have more height than width, length but I wanna top to get more buds with trellising is this doable? I have about 30 inches width and length but have about 5 feet height.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
3 feet tall vegging?
That would make like 6 foot plants in flower.
Unless your putting them outside or running a 1000 watt I'd have to not recommend vegging that long.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
And the guy that said fans don't block light.
Leaves are not transparent. Yes I'm aware that fans should normally be left on and they're not suckers etc.., but saying they don't block light would be ignorant.
If they don't block light then why does a 400 watt penetrate only 8 or so inches?
Why are bottoms buds airy and small?
Lack of light /shade.
 
Last edited:

jpete0001

Member
Thanks Furtnz then 2ft tall vegging it is, in couple weeks plan on ordering some decent quality LED panels for better light, I cant do heat very well
 

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
And the guy that said fans don't block light.
Leaves are not transparent. Yes I'm aware that fans should normally be left on and their not suckers etc.., but saying they don't block light would be ignorant.
If they don't block light then why does a 400 watt penetrate only 8 or so inches?
Why are bottoms buds airy and small?
Lack of light /shade.
I don't get where you're coming from, are you saying light does not penetrate through fan leaves? Your light is not being blocked by those fan leaves, it's being absorbed and turned into energy.

Calling fan leaves light blockers is a pretty ignorant statement and ignores the reasons plants grow them to begin with. "Sucker buds" are more a result of apical dominance than light intensity.

Can you prune and train to increase light penetration? Yes. Should you be chopping off fan leaves that lay over the top of a developing flower and saying its blocked from light and won't mature the same if you don't? I don't think so.

There are better ways to increase or manage light penetration than going through and cutting off the part of your plant that fuels the development of your flowers.

If the idea that lower bud sites were small because of light penetration was true, the lower branches on my current plant that have stretched and been trained to where they are nearly even with my tops should have equal bud production because they are receiving full light. They don't, they're just as airy as the lower buds "blocked" by light. That's because they're not the apical growth, not because they're not getting as much light as my tops.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
Arguing light penetration, really?
Yea if your side branches are even with the canopy, obviously they are getting the same amount of light.
That's not what I was arguing, and yes there are better methods then defoliating... as I first stated.
 

BDOGKush

Well-Known Member
Arguing light penetration, really?
Yea if your side branches are even with the canopy, obviously they are getting the same amount of light.
That's not what I was arguing, and yes there are better methods then defoliating... as I first stated.
I'm not arguing anything other than the fact fan leaves do not block light.

You wanted to try to start an arguement with me and call my statement ignorant for saying fan leaves do not block light, which they don't. I clarified my view point but you refuse to clarify yours.

There is a difference between sun and shade leaves (levels of chlorophyll and how they go about photosynthesis) but some people like to act like if they see shade, then that shaded leaf must be useless. Shade leaves adapt to absorb low intensity light and feed on the light that passes through your sun leaves.

You asked why bottom buds are airy and small and I explained. If you don't wish to have a discussion and would rather try to pick arguements over nothing then I see no reason to continue to reply to you.

You also seemed to miss the point of my example. My lower branches are equal to my tops, they are recieving just as much light as my tops. They are still airy despite not being "blocked" by those pesky fan leaves. You were arguing that branches that don't get light are small and airy and I provided an example of why that's a misinterpretation of how plants grow.
 

furnz

Well-Known Member
I think you need to take your argument to the the defoliation thread.
I can tell your all fired up thinking I'm advocating defoliation and your here to defend your ways.

Yes they do directly block light. Notice the shadow they make? And yes, less direct light to the buds obviously makes them less dense and smaller.
I see what your saying and how they still use the light so its not wasting the light in that sense.
I'm not advocating defoliation.
 

WestDenverPioneer

Well-Known Member
I would leave the big leaves on. They look healthy.

If you feel like cutting something off, consider the lower growth. If its shaded, say goodbye. Leave the tops and grow lollipop plants. It may be easier for you to maintain overall without all the branches. Your harvest will be about the same in the end. Lots of little buds on those lower shaded branches, or one big one.

You can also try to bend those girls to the side and let the light in. They will constantly seek the light so even if you turn them away... they'll be back.
 
Top