pruning during flowering

I'm growing legally as a mmj patient in the CO. I am growing Chunky Cherries under a 600 watt hps Agro. Bulb. I am at week 2 of flowering, plants in soil. I have ceiling height issues so I have topped and pinched my plants. I now have 6-8 dominant stems with buds developing in full light. I had trimmed the lower 1/5 of plants during veg., but I still have 2-4 branches below the canopy that aren't doing much. Can I simply remove them to direct energy to the most productive bud sites. I have big bushy plants with tons of fan leaves, though I had trimmed fan leaves when I switched to 12/12. Removing the lower 1/4 would reduce the fan leaf quantity per plant minimally. Should I do this? Growing in soil in pots allows me to move the ladies. Right now, I have them tight together under the light. Seems like a modified SOG style of growing in which you do strip the lower part of the plants, Right? What are your thoughts?

personally i wouldnt do it, it could cause stress for the plant

Thanks webb. I trust that you have more experience than me and I will take your advice and continue the art of not doing. I would hate to take the chance and end up with a hermie ruining the batch. That is the major concern with stress during flowering, right? I had read about stress during transplants, but I have never seen a plant not benefit from it. I repotted 4 times during veg. to provide fresh soil and keep them small. I never saw any stress. My plants act like they are on the tropical Jamaican holiday I wish I could afford. I don't think I fully understand the idea of the plants getting stressed and hopefully I will never need to. Thanks again for your advice.

If you don't mind helping a newbie:
I've made the assumption that if a plant grows well outside with 300ppm of carbon d, then with a fresh air supply from with-in a household of 3 people and 3 dogs, there is ample carbon d at 1000+ppm supplied to the plants. Is this reasoning correct or do I need to rig a tank? Thanks again.

YukonTucker said:

If you don't mind helping a newbie:
I've made the assumption that if a plant grows well outside with 300ppm of carbon d, then with a fresh air supply from with-in a household of 3 people and 3 dogs, there is ample carbon d at 1000+ppm supplied to the plants. Is this reasoning correct or do I need to rig a tank? Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Your absolutely correct.. only if the growspace is "open" to the above mentioned.. you will have a higher ppm concentration.

If its behind closed doors, you will not.

I run Co2 in my flowering room, and it stays at about 1500 ppm..

When I go in there to do my nute changes, or do the stare down, my ppm rises anywhere from 200-300 ppm more in a very short while.... and thats only me in there.

Dogs and more people..an added bonus! Co2 ppms will indeed rise!!

I have (2) 6" fans venting the light/heat through duct work. I've drilled holes in my floor and the air flows into the room at a rate which can be felt and blows the sawdust from the drilled holes upward, as a result of the suction created by the venting. This qualifies, in your mind, as open? I also have a veg room on the other side of some black plastic, with a similar venting system. The veg room has a humidifier and keeps the veg room at 40-60 RH. A blower pushes fresh humidified air into flowering and flowering room stays above 30 RH (stomata open, but resin forming), but not by much. I researched all this for a few weeks now, but this is my 1st grow. Any advice is appreciated. This is quickly becoming a passion.