Trimming Fan Leaves

[tacman7]

My plants have been in the flower box for a month now.

I tied strings to them and bent the tops over exposing a lot more flowers to the light.

I started snipping off large fan leaves if they are covering up a flower.

I just do a few here and there everyday.

Is that the right thing to do?

Should I have been doing that all along?

Do I save them? Would you cook with them?

The cat likes them.

Thanks

tacman7 Reviewed by tacman7 on 12-12-2011. Trimming Fan Leaves My plants have been in the flower box for a month now. I tied strings to them and bent the tops over exposing a lot more flowers to the light. I started snipping off large fan leaves if they are covering up a flower. I just do a few here and there everyday. Is that the right thing to do? Rating: 5

[bigsby]

Feed them to the cat. They are worthless. There is a debate about trimming leaves. I scrog so I just tuck them under the screen. Note that you don't have to take the whole leave. You can just trim off the fingers and leave the rest so that the plant still gets some benefit. I would be careful not to take too many. They provide a lot of energy for the plant.

[tacman7]

Thanks.

I'm kind of developing something similar to scrog but I'm noticing the lower branches are coming along because of the high reflectivity on all sides. That's my theory anyway, time will tell. So there is some side area's where light can get by and I raise the plants up for proper proximity.

This is T5 only.


I was cutting the fan way back where it starts, I'll try strategic trimming, just where it's needed.

[tacman7]

I'm still trimming a few fans but doing more tucking under also.

Flower arranging, yeah.

Seems like a lot of flowers, but this is my first grow so not sure.

[prettygirlsmokes420]

Well guys.
I recently posted a thread about the same thing...
I have a deep water culture bucket experament I've been doing for arount two and a half months now.
It's been topped a few times and has spurratic new growth.
The fan leaves, or feeder leaves, are so big that they sometimes cover up my new growth from getting light.
I usually cut off the leaves that are blocking light. Sometimesmes ill try and tuck the leaf under a branch to try and move it without cutting it, but tuey always bounce right back. I don't ever cut off a fan leaf that's growing around the outer egdes of my plant, only the ones in the middle that block my new growth. so the growth comes from the middle of the plant.
Sometimes I'm a little iffy about chopping of the big huge ones as there's only like four or five that big so far. But with the trimming, I noticed my new growth is taking off like wildfire!
My personal opinion is that trimming fan leaves in moderation, and when needed, is ok...
Here's the top of my plant I was talking about....
It's kind new to me as well, this trimming stuff. I usually just let em grow!

Good luck to ya!


PGS420

[bobjob4u]

I like to tuck.look at those large leaves as solar panels that create energy to supply plant with the power to grow.The only cutting i do is to top plant or harvest.My rule of thumb is tuck large leaves,if still not enough light penatrating canopy then more light is needed.