to prune or not to prune

hey there i'am new to this so here it goes, i have ten chocolopes three weeks into flower, i topped them when the were in the veg stage and they are looking healthy, my problem is they have taken over the growroom so much you can't even see the floor. the question i want to ask, is it acceptable to do away with some of the leaves as i want the lower branches to get some light. I ask this because i was told that doing this while they are in flower will set them back. any help will be greatly appreciated. cheers

bigjaffer said:

hey there i'am new to this so here it goes, i have ten chocolopes three weeks into flower, i topped them when the were in the veg stage and they are looking healthy, my problem is they have taken over the growroom so much you can't even see the floor. the question i want to ask, is it acceptable to do away with some of the leaves as i want the lower branches to get some light. I ask this because i was told that doing this while they are in flower will set them back. any help will be greatly appreciated. cheers

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I'm a first timer, too, about 1 week from harvest. So I have had the opportunity to watch and experiment thru a whole grow cycle.

If you're going to prune, take stuff off the bottom -- don't take things off up high to try to get light to the bottom. The top of the plant is where the good bud will happen.

I took the bottom quarter off my plants when they were about at your stage. It didn't phase them a bit. A lot of experienced growers do the same. Why..? Cause artificial lighting, no matter how much you have, can never penetrate through the plant like the real sun. By removing those bottom leaves and branches (yes.. branches, too), you focus the plants' energy on the tops and high branches, which is where the good bud is going to come from anyway.

If I were you, I'd measure my plant height, divide by 4, and cut everything from the base up to that height.

Some people go nutso when you mention cutting things off ... so you might get some of that, too. All I can tell you is that it didn't hurt mine a bit, and it def cleaned up the grow space. And, I've been growing trees, shrubs, and ornamentals for decades... I can't think of too many plants that don't respond well to proper pruning (ie.. whatever you cut, cut it right to the base of the main stem -- don't leave little "sticks" and such behind -- these will just rot back and become points for disease entry).

Wait until they stop stretching before you take anything off the top.

I'm gonna say prune. Also, in my opinion, tie a bit to space your nodes out. More flowering nodes that can see the light, the better. Pics??