Ive been plucking foliage during flower for some time, experimenting throughout different stages of growth and intensity of defoliation.
Some key points I've noticed:
- Heavy defoliation during veg will shock the shit out of your plants if they are not 100% stress free, all other factors must be dialed in. But, works very well as an alternative to OR in conjunction with other training methods if plants are established and in good health. I see it as this: when foliage is removed, the plant wants to create new foliage, and will do so by creating new shoots that are now able to get light.
- If defoliated before flip, you must allow time for the plant to come out of shock before flipping to 12/12.
- Plucking during stretch is a big no-no. Wait until between week 2-3, the same timeframe you would perform under grooming. Some strains with a lower amount foliage or stretchy strains, plucking at this point may be unnecessary. This is usually where I do "selective" defoliation.
- Heavy plucking between roughly week 3 to week 7 (strain dependant) can slow flower production, I don't recommend it.
- Another round of plucking can be done after previous point to open everything up again, by now your colas have basically established and are entering the ripening/swelling stage. I believe this is where the plucking can be done liberally up until harvest.
The timing of these stages of plucking is of course strain dependent, but this example would be for a 8-9 week strain.
Disclaimer: as said above, timing is strain dependant, and also although I believe any strain can benefit in some way from defoliation, some strains may be more sensitive to the stress.
The science behind this method would be very interesting to dig into; as in when/if foliage either adds to, or takes away from flower production. Perhaps with the recent legalization we will see more professional botanists/horticulturists either confirm this theory or put it to rest. This is surely a debatable topic and some growers are very passionately against it... and although I've had good success with the method, I am unsure how beneficial it is during veg versus other training methods. It seems as though every method stresses the plant to some degree obviously, but the benefits of heavy defoliation in veg could be a catch-22 if the plants are shocked to shit. At a minimum though, I always remove foliage at the later stages of flower. Its a constant experiment in my garden, and although I believe in benefits, I don't support claims of a MASSIVE increase in yield. But, timing is everything.
Some key points I've noticed:
- Heavy defoliation during veg will shock the shit out of your plants if they are not 100% stress free, all other factors must be dialed in. But, works very well as an alternative to OR in conjunction with other training methods if plants are established and in good health. I see it as this: when foliage is removed, the plant wants to create new foliage, and will do so by creating new shoots that are now able to get light.
- If defoliated before flip, you must allow time for the plant to come out of shock before flipping to 12/12.
- Plucking during stretch is a big no-no. Wait until between week 2-3, the same timeframe you would perform under grooming. Some strains with a lower amount foliage or stretchy strains, plucking at this point may be unnecessary. This is usually where I do "selective" defoliation.
- Heavy plucking between roughly week 3 to week 7 (strain dependant) can slow flower production, I don't recommend it.
- Another round of plucking can be done after previous point to open everything up again, by now your colas have basically established and are entering the ripening/swelling stage. I believe this is where the plucking can be done liberally up until harvest.
The timing of these stages of plucking is of course strain dependent, but this example would be for a 8-9 week strain.
Disclaimer: as said above, timing is strain dependant, and also although I believe any strain can benefit in some way from defoliation, some strains may be more sensitive to the stress.
The science behind this method would be very interesting to dig into; as in when/if foliage either adds to, or takes away from flower production. Perhaps with the recent legalization we will see more professional botanists/horticulturists either confirm this theory or put it to rest. This is surely a debatable topic and some growers are very passionately against it... and although I've had good success with the method, I am unsure how beneficial it is during veg versus other training methods. It seems as though every method stresses the plant to some degree obviously, but the benefits of heavy defoliation in veg could be a catch-22 if the plants are shocked to shit. At a minimum though, I always remove foliage at the later stages of flower. Its a constant experiment in my garden, and although I believe in benefits, I don't support claims of a MASSIVE increase in yield. But, timing is everything.
