Hi there, probably this is one of those things were EVERYONE of us have a different opinion, and experience, of course! So I would be delighted to read others experiences, and this thread could help new members
My experience is as follow:
I have found that in ScrOG it is not only convenient but also neccesary to trim, as plants need space under the net and some secondary internodes will recieve light (energy) when you trim a few fan leaves. Now I have to add what my mentor always tell me, LESS IS BETTER!
So if you do trim, you will notice a fast recovery (within 24h) in the plants, but only if you trim with moderation otherwise you are going to stunt your plant(s)
Just my 0.02 pennys
Now is your turn, tell others your experience and opinion about trimming, and grow method for a better understanding
Thanks

I'd have to say no I dont trim. The only time I will mess with my fans,I tuck them down or back. Last batch , as the fans yellowed and got real dry I took them. I always heard that No fan leaves,No food for bud.
I Supercropped one run of some tall plant and I do trim at the base of the plants once they're growing good. I try to let them be.

If its yellowing et al, I pull it. Allows for more air flow amongst
the leaves, also, yellow dead things tend to rot and mold.

Sometimes ya get that one big fan thats in the way no matter
where ya put it. There is no problem trimin' those.

I don't trim. Aside from taking clone's that is. I only pull off dead or almost dead leaves.
I believe they are a food source for the plant. I am not limited space wise , so I usually try to grow the biggest plant possible.....

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Seems we are all in agreement so far. I don't trim, don't think I ever have, taking off the dead leaves is a must though. I do my growing outside, always have so sky is the limit hopefully,,Once this years grow season is over I plan on doing a grow inside for the first time. I was wondering if most do trim if growing inside. It seems to me they might have to with not much room for the plants to spread their wings...

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I Agree Less Is Better, But There Are Always Cases Were You Need To Trim, But Like Was Already Said Trim A Little At A Time, But For A SGROG Every Thing Will Need All Of It's Foliage, But Under The Screen Will Need To Be Lolli-Poped, That Is Leaving All The Branches But All Leaves & Foliage Will Need To Be Removed By The Third Week Into Flowering..

I Also The Last week Or Two Of Flowering I Will Really Prune The Large Fan's To Get Light To The Lower Bud Sites, I Don't Feel At This Stage It Will Hurt The Bud Development, If It Isn't What It Needs To Be By This Stage I Didn't Do Something Right Way Before Now.

But Like Has Been Said, To Each His Own Way, & If It Works For Ya I Would Stay With It.

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Outside i dont trim at all (except dead leaves,or a bad eattin leaf)

Inside, depending on your set up i guess some people wouldnt,

But i know for me, i just cut 4 of te older fans off, that was kinda starting to turn yellowish, i trimmed them off, and my under growth up & down the branch REALLY liked this,

So for me, trimming works for now,
My baby liked it anyways

because i'm a micro-grower running a small SOG my aim is to grow only the
top 15 to 18 inchs of my plants, all i want are budsickles, so i trim mercilessly.

i've also run my SOG long enough so i've done it both ways, trimmed and not
trimmed and it seems to me that when i don't trim i get more buds because i
have more budsites but they are all kinda small.

and when i trim, it appears to me to stimulate growth in the buds that are left
on the main stem. they seem to flower more prolifically and so my end result
feels like bigger, denser buds.

also, my experience with bondage training my mothers and all the trimming,
aka pruning, i do taking cuts leads me to believe that trimming, if done properly,
can stimulate new growth and ultimately lead to higher yields.

then again, i haven't bothered weighing my crops in many months so i could
be completely full of crap! lol.

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i agree with that,100%

Whats goin on Bozo ?

i'm digging givin' back my friend!

Hi again, and thanks to all for participaring, this is an issue that I am reading a lot in several forums, and from experienced growers like many are here. And all in all, most inside growers admit what Hatch, JABozo and Controversial has indicated that sometimes it is NECCESARY to trim in the indoor growing (aka pruning as JABozo has indicated) after a trimming you will notice a growth explosion, and more compact and bushy plants (at least in ScrOG as it is my experience)
But hey keep cpming your comments, it would be nice if found when and how it is productive or counter, as Hatch very wisely has said, timing is important, for example, MOST ScrOG growers agree that third week into flowering IS THE TIME to trim in ScrOG
Probably JABozo can tell us when he does the trimming in SOG, and/or Pine Boy can tell us when to trim when Supercropping
Once again, thanks to all for sharing your experiences

For Newbies, this is important, as suggested from Deb, and Shinningwind, when you are growing outside (which I have not experience whatsoever) do not trim, in the inside, the argument is still alive
Please, participate and share with others your experiences in trimming

i arrived late... you need those green leaves mate. they are whats feeding your buds. thats what changes raw light into growth.. like factories...

i never trim if possible, especially not outdoors, the more and bigger the leaves the merrier.
i reckon indoor also.. theres always some reflected light getting caugt on them so.. leave em, what i did in a recent grow was tuck the leaves under branches.. sort of rearanging things so the buds would be in the open.. anyway, id rather that than pulling them, my experience shows the buds/stems on the node where a leaf has been taken away grows slower and smaller... its especially noticable in sicker plants.. anyway. each to his own, i can only say what my methods and reasoning is.

but there are those that are all for it for various reasons. my golden rule of thumb...

nature knows best, we can only try to do as good, never better

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Hey Ileso, you are never late, your knowledge is always welcome. I understand your point, and honestly it makes sense, if one removes fan leaves probably the plant stop sending food there because it is not longer needed, and the intenode recieves less food in comparison with others internodes, and so the bud in the internode without fan leaves will grow smaller as a consequence of lack of food, good point, is this what you mean, right?
I will try myself and see what happens
Good luck

that has been my experience. it was especially obvious in my last grow. though the branches where the fan leaf was does pick up if it was suficiently evolved first. i guess they fend for themselves after a while and the fan leaves become redundant and eventually die and fall off. but if this is done early on when the branch is just forming and still very fresh they fall behind the others because their food source has gone... its like the production plant for that section of plant... try it and see if it occurs with you also.

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If green = chlorophyll, aren't all green parts of the plant producing food? I personally remove fan leaves only as a very last resort, but think perhaps the leaves aren't the only thing feeding the plant.
Food for thought?

Tex

I find it also matters the type of plant it is. i have had indicas that look more like bushes with multitudes of smaller leaves. And more sativa with fewer leaves and longer nodes. With the indica bushes, if you thin out part it doesn't really hurt the plant but helps because it adds air flow and new buds form. Especially with my mothers. they are pretty dense. Not the same with a sativa.

Peace

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well guy i trim but the trimming i do is used for cloning and i cut above the node and leave the stalk completet with everything including the fan leaves under. now that being said it does somewhat slow down the grow for a period because of the stress that is induced during the cut. the benefits are more plants to grow and more places for new bud to form so its not about "is it good or bad" its more perosnal preference peace

If we are talking 'just' about fan leaves,

If said plant is outside, leave it.
If its a Sativa indoors, leave it. (low leaf ratio, needs em all).
If its an Indica indoors, We can actually notice a modest increase
in yield per plant with only 2 to 3 key fan leaf removals.
Don't trim cus of where they are but where they will be later.
Mostly, on an Indica, it ends up being the 3rd or 4th set down.

This is not with SCROG or anything, just straight up.
The little that is lost from a couple of fan leaf removals
is more than covered by the increase in light exposure
and penetration further down the plant.

As usual, your results may vary.

High all...

IMO.. SCROG (my favorite) and SOG growers tend to trim/take clones (I trim up to the last 2 weeks bloom) because we must. It (SCROG/trimming) also has given me/us monster yields.. so I, at least, think "hell, trimming doesn't hurt!" and since I do not do 'bubble' or the like, I'd like as few popcorn bud at the end (there is always a z for 'butter')... That meens not a hint of green under the screen and no 'big' fan leaves above. The last month of bloom, I put little fans under the canopy blowing up or it gets too dark (without trimming) and damp under there.. they love it.

And now with this new idea, thanks Hatch, trim all leaves the last week or two before harvest sounds good to me (less popcorn).

By the way, there is no wrong answer here, as long as there is reasonable moderation.

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