Defoliate or Not in flower

I've only done one grow with 3 auto strains and I read up because of there short life they dont recover well. 

I didn't plan defoliation but there were so many bud sights getting blocked by big fan leaves I clipped a few most nights and it didn't seem to bother them at all.

These question threads you're starting are super cool man lol! I like it Sammy! Great way to discuss things! 

For indoor growing, you have to defoliate, and timing is important. 

Through veg, I remove very little, and the very bottom leaves. At about week four, ill remove the tiny branches at the bottom of the plants and train them out. 

Ill keep training them until they are the right size, and flip. 

Ill continue to train for 2 more weeks, keeping the canopy flat, and not removing anything. 

Then, as flowers start to form, not just white hairs, but actual flower, I do the last trim. 

Here I would remove anything that is blow three nodes on a main stem, but try and leave the leaves on. Just remove the bit where the flowers will grow from.

You pretty much just want to keep the top third if the plant after the last trim, anything below that, will be popcorn buds, and energy can be better spent growing the fat colas. 

Trim too soon in flower though, and the plant will stretch too much, you gotta wait for them flowers to start crowning, then do that lst big trim. 

@cheezy-g

Hey man thanks for the reply I suppose it all comes down to which strain recovers better  autos I’m yet to experience but love hearing others experiences are like ????

@macky

Have to gain more knowledge mate and where better than here @percysgrowroom haha appreciate it mate thanks! ????

Yeah, think Macky pretty much covered everything there. I basically try to leave as much on as is useful... knock off any leaves that are hindering airflow, but leave on as many as possible/is practical as they are your solar panels/nute reservoirs during the last lean weeks of flower. The lower reaches of the plants usually end up looking pretty bare.. ? 

I do a defoliate a week before flower ( big fan leaves but not all them ) , I tidy the bottom up so you get plenty off air flow , I will then do a clean up  After 2 weeks and  rid off bottom of plant  what’s not doing to do much (  Few small branches  and leaves  )  hope that can help you mate 

@sammy

The last bit is 2 weeks into flower when the plant stops its stretch , I was ment to write sorry mate 

@lfc a good general rule is not to do any defoliation until after the plant is completely through the stretch growth and you see real buds forming. If you defoliate too early, before the plant has switched completely to flower mode, the plant tries to replace the lost foliage and it causes the stretch phase to be very excessive and you get an overly large plant and unruly plant. Better to be slightly late to defoliate than too early.

@monkeydo

I see , would it be to much stress on the plant aswell ? Would you say maybe  end off week 3, btw cheers for the advice mate  

Defoliate is a very powerful way of training  plants,  on other grow forums it causes some very heated discussions.

The problem is most low stress training will not cause long term damage to the plants and if you defoliate your plants wrong, you can decimate your crop, seen this so many times.

My advice would be to only take a few fan leaves at first and really get an understanding of how the plants react to it.

also you need to know what plants need to be defoliate, some really don't need it.

all plants need a good amout of fan leaves but also need good airflow/light in the canopy.

a very thick canopy will increase the humidty and is a great breading ground for bugs, budrot and its makes harvesting the plants take so much longer.

I like to grow a few large cola's so there quick and easy to havest and I have lower chance of getting any problems.

but it has taken me over 5 years to really understand how to defoliate plant

This is a thread I'm glad that I stumbled across! Cheers Percy growers 😁✌🌿

I feel like this has really put defol into perspective for me! And I'm getting a feel now for how the canopy needs to be! I am confident this will improve my 2nd grow! I love this place so much I learn something new literally every day around here 🤩

After I read this I looked over my crop and I could physically see the damage I had done in there by over trim at veg and I could see which branches were the energy wasting ones!

I have a clear picture in my mind of how ill be defolling next time thanks to Percy Growers! 😁✌🌿

I made them spread energy out into too many places and they couldn't keep up they could have stayed in veg for a decade the way I was going ☺

I kept hearing the term the "stretch" and didn't understand it but today I seen it with my eyes! The stretch should happen with the flip yeah or close to? Mine didn't they were flipped near on 3 weeks back now, and finally today I could see them all doing there thang, stretching for that light

Hi @noni_growsweed92

It's a great feeling when you see everything clear in your mind for the first time.

You will not believe the results you should get from now on, if you keep thinking this way  

@jacks_farm that is a super comforting comment especially coming from an experienced grower such as yourself!

Thank you kindly for the encouragement! I value your feedback very much indeed

It does feel very uplifting, I feel like a better plant parent as I slowly discover more of what the kids need 😁✌🌿