Been told to cut the fan leaves??? Please read...

[Atrayou]

First off one person said "sucker" leaves the other said to cut the big "fan" leaves. I am assuming they are one of the same. One person is my neighbor who grows also. I have 3 weeks left in my grow season thats it. I can not leave them out in November it will be too cold. So weather they are ready or not they are coming down.
Question CAN I CUT THE FAN LEAVES???? This will allow more sun to the buds. So I have heard YES and I have heard NO.......what is the correct answer????? What will happen IF I do cut them????
I need a bunch of different opinions......
Oh and Stinky if you read this I would especially like your opinion. Thanks everyone.

[GoldenGraham84]

from what i understand, the plant uses its leaves to create its energy. my guess would leave them on till you harvest to allow the plant to continue photosynthesis. but i would take stinky's opinion over mine.

[jchap]

i leave them on

the buds take sugars and that from the fan leaves

you could just tuck the fan leaves down and out the way

[Storm Crow]

To put it simply, your friends are misinformed! Leaves produce food for the buds to grow. Now which leaf has the biggest surface area? A tiny "sugar leaf" or a big old "fan leaf"? So which one produces the most food? Your friends are slowing their bud's growth by removing fan leaves!

Fan leaves should be removed only if they are yellow! Tuck those babies out of the way if you feel you must, but don't cut them!

If you feel that the lower buds aren't getting enough light, add a CFL or two down by the bottom of the plant. I just got some ceramic light fixtures, wired them up and screwed them on to a board that is about an inch longer than the tubs I grow in. The lights just sit between two tubs giving light to those "popcorn" buds.

Also, not all buds ripen at the same time! I usually harvest the largest buds and leave about 1/2 of the plant to grow another week or two.


Granny :hippy:

[jchap]

where on the plant do the buds ripen first top or bottom?

i would like to harvest half my plant and let the rest ripen, how should i do it?

i was going to just chop her in half but that's probably wrong

[WildFire.ca]

i leave them on

the buds take sugars and that from the fan leaves

you could just tuck the fan leaves down and out the way

What these two tuckers are suggesting is the way I would go also.

[Storm Crow]

Look at the buds. Generally they are made up in sections of a leaf and a flower cluster. As you go toward the main stem, gaps start to appear where there is stem and no bud. That's where you clip. By leaving the smaller buds, they get a chance to grow larger.

I just did a partial harvest of a Jack's Surprise. I took off about a dozen partial buds that by my calculations should yield about a rather generous 1/3 ounce dry weight. This is the second partial harvest- the first was last week- just 4 buds that dried to maybe 1/4 ounce (more of a taste test than a harvest!). The majority of the buds are still on the plant. Next harvest is the last for that plant. I should get another 1/2 to 1 oz from it. (I live in a county where the sheriff says he'll bust legal MMJ growers if their plants even LOOK like they could produce over 8 oz! I keep my indoor plants small on purpose and produce just enough for me and the hubby.)


Granny :hippy:

[Lit Up]

I happen to know for a fact that stinky would say she doesn't cut anything on her plants until them bitches come down. I trim from time to time though but that's just me.

[Revanche21]

I asked the same question and Stinky told me

Don't cut fan leaves unless they are 80% damaged and are about to fall off anyway

[lehua96734]

don't cut anything off. when its time for the fan leaves to come off, they will fall off. you cut the leaves off when your trimming them to dry.

[derrickboi]

i trimed 4 fan leaves 4 days apart cause someone told me would bring more light to the bottom ones .my top leaves the tips are turning yellow any thoughts

[Gatekeeper777]

HMMMMMMMMM! lets look at this another way.
You spend its whole life cycle keepeing it healthy and making it green and get as big as you can, only to cut it when it needs the most energy?
If you Tjose fan leaves are like its power plants. Cutting them off is like shutting down its main food source. Sucker brances are for trees not weeds!

[Revanche21]

i trimed 4 fan leaves 4 days apart cause someone told me would bring more light to the bottom ones .my top leaves the tips are turning yellow any thoughts

high times advises against cutting fan leaves as well

and Jorge Cervantes grow Bible says don't

[JeffersonBud]

I cut some fan leaves off in the last week that are covering the tops of the lower buds. I usually don't cut them all off, but if I can't bend them or move them and they are blocking a lot of light, then I take them off. usually the ones that are being taken off have already turned color so they are of little use. I have seen many plants truck along in the same fashion the last week of flowering with most of their leaves taken off. Depends on the plant genetics.