# Fan Leaves



## hottip (Sep 1, 2013)

This looks like my best year growing. I have many flowering buds that are 
6 or 7 inches long with lots of fan leaves. Should I trim the fan leaves while the buds are still growing or wait till harvest? I'm thinking that if I trim them now my buds will get bigger. Any suggestions?


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## ozzydiodude (Sep 1, 2013)

Don' t trim the Sun Leaves are the power plants of the plant world. They take the nutrients, water and sunlight and convert it to food to feed new growth be it more sun leaves or buds


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## hottip (Sep 1, 2013)

Ozzie,  Thanks for the reply. I haven't trimmed them in past years but there are more than in previous years, but we have had a great outdoor growing season this year.


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## Dman1234 (Sep 1, 2013)

they dont block light, they provide light, among other things, please leave your fan leaves alone.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 1, 2013)

Basically, virtually all the photosynthesis takes place in the large fan leaves.  That is why we recommend not trimming them.


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## DrFever (Sep 1, 2013)

Stress induced by removing leaves causes the plant to produce auxins too recover, this is good and bad, too much can make plants stretch fluffy buds and unexpected pheno. expressions. only remove leaves that are 50% dead, if trimming for size and shape try and do so in the early stages growth up to the second wk of bloom. I may be confused but its my current understanding of cultivation.
 I think it benefits to trim at least some inner fan leaves ,Branches  and sucker buds off the plant   them small sucker buds  will only end up being shake when dried , 
 When should you start to trim/ prune plant
  in final veg state and up to second week of bloom  dont be afraid to  clean up lower part of plant  and removing small branches and through out bloom   removing all sucker buds that are taking away energy from the plant 
 benefits  This allows better circulation  preventing bud rot  and keeping a healthier environment IMO. You can then feed more often.


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## DrFever (Sep 1, 2013)

THEORIES WHY TO TRIM FAN LEAVES 
Increase Lower Bud Development 
The fan leaves shade lower buds and that these buds do not develop to there full potential because of a reduction in lighting intensity due to shading from upper fan leaves. 

To conserve energy for upper bud development 
Trimming fan leaves and lower, shaded branches focuses the plant&#8217;s development on main top buds (Che Bleu, 03.13.2002). A plant wastes precious energy several ways. A tall plant needs to use energy to build extra stem, and then use extra energy to move water up higher, this is why I believe "scrog" methods are productive. An untrimmed bushy plant causes the plant to expend energy to build elaborate branches and leaves, and then has to use excess energy to supply all these structures. Careful trimming to remove unnecessary branches (which wont produce nice buds) and unproductive suckers will leave more energy for a larger yield. Suckers do exactly as their name suggests, they suck needless energy from the plant which can be put to better use, towards yield (Leaf, 03.13.2002). 

Reduce the Stretch 
If fan leaves are trimmed during the early flowering stage, the stretch is reduced (Che Bleu, 03.13.2002). Reducing the stretch might be advantageous in certain cultivation conditions. 

Speeding Up The Flushing Process 
Remove some of the fan leaves 14 days before harvest. It helps speed up the flushing process and or makes flushing unnecessary (Homemadepot, 03.13.2002). 

Reduce The Chance of Mould 
Removal of dead fan leaves is necessary to reduce the risk of mould. Failing to "clear the airway" can lead to development of mould in the "crowded" areas of the plant (Jeast, 03.13.2002). 

Scrog growers may also reduce the chance of mould by removing fan leaves due to reduce the level of transpiration. This is because many scrog grows are in a confined space where humidity is a serious problem (DoctorDangerous, 09.04.2002). However with better ventilation it may be necessary to avoid the mould problem (Nietzsche, 09.04.2002). 

HOW TO TRIM IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO 
If you decide to trim your fan leaves, one should always do it by clipping the petiole about halfway between the base of the fan leaf and the stem/branch. Allow the remainder of the petiole to dry up and fall off on its own. This will help protect the plant from risks of infections. They should never be stripped or broken off at the base of the petiole as that would be expose more chance of infecting the plant. Petiole is the he foot stalk of a leaf (10k, 03.16.2002) 

Leaf (03.13.2002) believes that excessive leaf trimming and branch pruning will cause the plant to use extra energy to repair itself. However, trimming must be done from time to time, for the longer a plant is left untrimmed, the more material must be removed at one time, therefore the greater the damage that the plant will need to repair. Do not trim fan leaves during veg either, unless they turn yellow. The first real pruning starts when going into 12/12 (Jeast, 03.13.2002). When trimming and pruning, I try to ensure that I do not cause the plant to 'bleed'. Leaf tries to pinch off shoots and leaves with my fingernails as opposed to leaving a clean cut. One thing to remember is every time you cut into any part of a plant, you are exposing the inside of the plant to fungus and bacteria (Leaf, 03.13.2002). 

Tuck instead of trimming 
Another method is to tuck your fans leaves under to expose the buds, don't forget that even though they wont be getting as much light they are still photosynthesizing and more importantly exchanging gases storing nutrients, and building sugars which the bud then converts into THC and other cannibinoids (Ca, 13.03.2002)


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