So yes, trimming makes your buds more visually appealing and, like it or not, it's now the new standard. 2. Smoother product: When your final product is ingested, excess leaves on the buds can make for a harsher experience when smoked.
You can remove fan leaves during flowering in much the same way you do during veg. Prune away large leaves that are overshadowing bud sites, as well as dead or dying fan leaves. One thing to keep in mind is that you should prune in intervals, giving at least a couple weeks between each session.
Trimming increases the overall percentage of cannabinoids on a bud by removing the plant material that has a lower amount of cannabinoids. These are the leaves that poke out which, while having some trichomes and cannabinoids on them, do not nearly have the concentration of cannabinoids as that of the bud itself.
Trim the sugar leaves.
Use your scissors to carefully reach into the bud and snip them off at the stem. If you like, leave any sugar leaves that have a healthy amount of trichomes, which can contribute to the overall THC yield. Trimming all the sugar leaves often makes for a smoother and more potent crop.
Usually, growers trim the fan leaves weeks before harvest, which is a period that leads to senescence, a phase in the plant cycle when the larger leaves start fading away. It is safe to start removing these dying leaves and continue until harvest.
If you've never defoliated before, we recommend you always play it safe and stick to removing only the foliage that very obviously impedes bud production. In particular, focus on big fan leaves and interior foliage that's already covering bud sites.
Some growers choose to remove all fan leaves before hanging the branches to dry, while others leave some fan leaves on the branches. Leaving fan leaves on the branches can slow down the drying process.
Leaves serve an important purpose; they absorb sunlight or light from your grow lamps and turn it into sugars or energy so that your plant can keep growing. If you remove them your plants might not get enough energy to keep developing and they might stop growing or even die if you take too many.
You'll want to lollipop your plants just before they begin flowering. We also recommend pruning—removing unnecessary branches—as well, although you should proceed slowly, and with a plan.
Make a note of the small leaves that stick out of the buds; you will be able to see the leaf tips, but usually not the stems. These are typically referred to as “sugar leaves” and don't need to be removed, only trimmed with your scissors if they stick out.
Trimming or plucking away yellowing or dead leaves is an easy way to help prevent any unwelcome plant pests from settling onto your plant, which are attracted to decaying or dead leaves more than healthy ones, and they are more likely to appear on a struggling plant.
Can I Harvest One Bud at a Time? Yes, you can trim the matured buds from the plant's crown and tidy up the branches and leaves. This will enable more sunlight to reach the bottom part of the plant. The bottom buds, however, will keep developing and maturing until a week or two later, when they'll be ready to pick.
Once your plants are in the flowering stage, you will definitely need to defoliate them during or after the post-veg stretch. That is because after switching to the 12/12 light cycle, your plant will go through a tremendous growth spurt for about three weeks. We recommend defoliating your plant in Wee 2 of Flower.
Studies have shown that within 48 h after pruning, the sugar and starch of the buds on the plant stems will be temporarily lost, and then will increase rapidly and reach a stable level. The changes in nutrients directly promote the development of flower buds (Girault et al., 2010).
Should I wash cannabis buds after harvest? While not mandatory, it's definitely a good idea to wash cannabis flower buds that were grown outside.
Feeding with carbohydrates
Another type of supplement that can help increase bud density and create huge buds is sugar-based additives. These products contain carbohydrates that can provide your plants with all the energy that they need to grow larger and denser buds.
Speaking of key nutrients, the one that should be at the top of your list for fattening buds is bone meal. Right before your plants start to bud, simply add the recommended dose weekly, continue to water, and the calcium and phosphorus will start to do their magic.
Fan leaves support the cannabis plant throughout the vegetative phase. They enable plants to absorb enough energy from light that is then converted into food needed for growth. While they might not be a smokable component of the cannabis plant, it's a pity to dispose of them following the harvest.
But the longer you wait, the more highly intoxicating and sedative your flower will become. This is especially true for indica strains, but even sativa strains can become sedating. Additionally, if you extend the flowering stage too long before harvesting, THC will begin to degrade.
Glandular Trichomes. Glandular trichomes, epidermal appendages found on the stems and leaves of many plants, store and secrete secondary metabolites in a species- and cultivar-specific fashion.
Whether you are removing fan leaves during the vegetative or flowering stages, it is important not to remove too many leaves at one time. Defoliating is a sensitive process, and if it is not done properly, the removal of the leaves can shock the plant, trigger early flowering, and produce a less impressive yield.
However, once the plant begins to flower, you can trim off some of the fan leaves. However, don't remove more than half of the fan leaves, because they are still needed by the plant.
Most people enjoy the cooling and comfortable breeze of a fan. But excess wind makes the air dry. When you sleep, this dry air may affect your breathing, causing sleep disruptions. Using a fan at night can even aggravate your allergies, making you uncomfortable throughout the night.