Small/lower Branches in Flowering-Cut them or leave them be?

[longwaters]

It's important to remove under developed leaves and branches that don't get much light.

When a branch doesn't get enough light, it tries to stretch so it can get more. This causes the plant to send energy into making stretchy loose popcorn buds instead of making big dense buds near the light.

There is also the possibility that light (ultraviolet in particular) increases trichome production.

 

[BasementGrower]

i cut most of the bottoms.. but this is also strain dependent.. i have a big sur holy cross.. that honestly.. even the buds right at the bottom of the plant.. like literaly a foot from the ground.. and like 4 ft away from the light.. sometimes 5 feet.. and the bottom buds still get huge and dense.. and then i cut it all down at the same time.. and honestly anything i dont feel like trimming gets used for hash.. but honestly.. its strain dependent.

 

[think_fast]

Another benefit from removing leaves and bud sites very low on the plant that are not exposed to much light (i.e. bud development is negligable) is that air flow increases in the lower canopy. This will help reduce stagnant air which is a haven for powdery mildew and other nasties. This is more important if you are growing in an environment with high levels of humidity. Airflow airflow airflow.

Also a good idea to stick a small fan in the lower canopy to help circulate the air here.

"Better safe than sorry"

 

[think_fast]

One additional point to culling leaves and bud sites in the lower canopy: by removing these sites early in flower, the plant will no longer leech energy from the growing medium. So if you have a problem with yellowing in early flower for example, one way to help reduce this effect is to cut away the areas of the plant that are hogging nutrients but producing very little results.