Cutting off damaged leaves?

[lampost]

Hey,

I have some clones that I transferred into their veg pots about a week ago. They're very young, have maybe 3-5 nodes and are 5-7 inches tall.

Some of them have very damaged leaves because of early nute burn, cat chewing on them, and/or spider mite damage.

Should I cut these off so the plant doesn't waste energy repairing them? What level of damage warrants the axe?

lampost Reviewed by lampost on 01-14-2010. Cutting off damaged leaves? Hey, I have some clones that I transferred into their veg pots about a week ago. They're very young, have maybe 3-5 nodes and are 5-7 inches tall. Some of them have very damaged leaves because of early nute burn, cat chewing on them, and/or spider mite damage. Should I cut these off so the plant doesn't waste energy repairing them? What level of damage warrants the axe? Rating: 5

[Rusty Trichome]

It's not a beauty contest at this stage, so I leave them till they fall off. Nothing is gained in removing 'em till the plant is finished with 'em. :thumbsup:

[Vancefish]

The G-13-X-Haze clone we bought a few days ago had wrinkled leaves with dried tips. We potted them up on Sunday.

Yesterday two of those leaves were completely dry and crispy so I clipped off the leaf itself. However I left the leaf stem which was still green to help pull more water up from the roots while it recovers. The clone still has three leaves on top but all of them are nearly as ugly as the two I removed. Luckily we already have a new leaf and another forming. By tomorrow she'll have two fresh leaves and the dying ones can/could be removed.

What I read (god only knows how long ago). Once the leaf is no longer Photosynthesising it becomes a "leach" on the remaining plant. It continues to pull water as well as some nutes, but provides nothing in return. This CAN be useful to a point. If the plant has barely any leaves this can assist in keeping water flowing to the top of the plant while it grows new Photosynthesising leaves. BUT if the plant already has other healthy leaves but not a lot of them, the leaf could be mildly harming recovery speed. Because the plant is feeding that dead leaf instead of building a new functioning one. Once the plant is healthy and has MANY leaves then I agree with Rusty Trichome. Leaf it be!:thumbsup:

[mainegrown]

i agree with rusty.. if the plant dont need em it will drop em..~MG a.k.a. le Maine développé

[Rusty Trichome]

If the leaf is still green and pliable, it is still in use. If you cut-off this nutrient supply before the plant has had a chance to generate enough growth, (above and below ground) you risk stunting the clone. It's in a fragile state, why add more stress having to heal wounds?

The most I'll do is to cut-back some of the neckrosis. (the dead ends of the leaves) The only reason I do that is to keep the leaf ends out of the soil. You should be keeping the humidity higher on fresh clones anyway, so moisture leeching shouldn't be a problem. :thumbsup:

[lampost]

OK, I'll probably hold off on cutting the leaf.

I did have something weird happen with one clone. The main growing shoot somehow shriveled up and basically died. So now one of the other stems became the main growing shoot. It was kinda like a "self-topping". I have no idea how this happened! I thought it was some kind of nutrient issue, but I don't know. So, I cut off the dying/shriveling grow shoot and hopefully it'll just be the same as an early topping.

[mainegrown]

odd that.. i have a clone now that is looking kinda odd.. it has 2 tops! lol we shall see if it will continue with both or if one will drop.. never thought of that as a possibility :thumbsup:

~MG a.k.a. le Maine développé