Hunh!

Those are some mighty big fan leaves for young plants. Maybe just a quirk of the strain? Can't see how it could be a bad thing though... More leaf surface area allows for more conversion of light to growth.

I wouldn't remove them if I were you. Those biggies at the bottom are probably going to be advantageous! Your plants will do more of their branching higher up on the plant where they can consistantly get light. This is a good thing.

If they are really bothering you, try LST instead of pruning first. Just tie them aside to let some light get to lower branches if you see them trying to grow. You could even add some side-light or up-light to compensate for that shading growth. Cutting them should be your last resort, IMHO. It will reduce your plants' photosynthesis - therefore, temporarily, their growth.


As for the tops being so closed up, I suspect that's directly related to the size of the fan leaves. Healthy new growth should hold itself upright in a kind of V shape, so with your leaves being large & broad, they may simply not have the room to unfurl & flatten out as quickly. I say just keep an eye on them, and see if they don't flatten out a bit in a few days.

It looks also like you have abundant new growth and like ZERO stretching (good for you!), so all those leaves bursting from the top at once are bound to get a little crowded. Again, this is a good thing! Dense, short, bushy, healthy-looking plants. They look really good to me... I'll bet you get some huge colas on those plants come flower time!

And you've got a nice set-up. Very ambitious for your first grow!

How much vertical room do you have? I ask because given the size of the leaves, I think those plants want to get big. If you have the headroom, you may want to let them! (More plant = more bud!) Accounting for your lights, eyeball your grow area. When the plants are filling about a third of your vertical space (since they may well triple in size during flower), go to 12/12. This may mean being patient (I know it's hard!) and waiting beyond your proposed end of veg. All of this is assuming you plan to flower after you try to clone them. Probably worthwhile to keep them in veg until you see your clones getting good roots & new growth anyway.

Keep in mind that you can't take "feminized" to the bank - You might end up with some males in there, and there's a good chance at least one will go hermie. So label your plants & clones well so if a plant goes male/hermie on you during flower, you can ditch the cooresponding clones if you wish rather than using up your resources on them.

Continued good luck to you!