Leave or remove awnings and leaves?

One question that many growers ask themselves is whether or not they should remove the large leaves from their indoor plants during flowering. Is it better if more light can fall into the lower area because there is less foliage in the way or are you not also removing an energy source with the solar sails that the plant urgently needs? This question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. It depends on the strains. It depends on the strains that are in the growroom.

Not all strains react in the same way to the removal of awnings. In principle, you should never remove leaves from autoflowering strains before harvesting (unless they are diseased) and sativas also react negatively to this.

However, if you want consistent quality and big yields from the top to the bottom of the cannabis plant in Kush and indica-dominant strains, the only way to do it is to remove the big leaves. It is more a question of timing than yes or no. For Kush and Indica strains, there is an increase in yield of up to 25% if the large sun sails of the plants are removed after the 4th week of the flowering phase.

Increase yields by pruning?

In the wild, cannabis plants no longer have all their solar sails intact towards the middle of the flowering phase. Only in indoor grows do they still have strong, green leaves, because there they enjoy consistently good conditions and a have above-average nutrient supply from the grower. In nature, by this time the lower leaves have used up their nutrient reserves and made them available to the flower-producing part of the plant. Especially when the sodium content of the soil drops, the lower leaves fade and fall out on their own.

From the 5th week of a 9-week flowering cycle, Kush and indica-dominant varieties no longer need these leaves, even when growing under artificial light. They are also not necessary as a nutrient depot in the good nutrient conditions that prevail with proper fertilisation. By removing the large leaves, the crown is opened up and a flower boost can begin. More light and fresh air reach the flowers and moist air accumulates less under the dense leaf canopy, ensuring a better supply of CO2. This leads to bigger, firmer and resinous buds when harvesting, as all the nutrients can be made available directly to the flowers and are not stolen or stored by the leaves and only released after a delay.

You should remove all the large leaves at once after the 4th week of flowering, just before the light goes out in the grow cabinet, not one here, one there. This shocks the plants once, but healthy and vigorous females recover overnight, especially if they are also treated with minerals and vitamins, e.g. with Revive.

With Kush and Indica strains, it has also been proven to remove one or two (never more!) crown leaves during the vegetative phase. Until the 4th week of flowering, only diseased leaves should be carefully removed, as all the green of the plant is needed for growth and the first flowering phase.

I would like to point out again that removing the leaves has a positive effect on most Indica and Kush strains. In any case, you should first observe how one plant reacts to the treatment before you subject your whole grow to defoliation.

In this sense, keep it green,

Your Juan

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