ok I don't want to stunt growth or anything so what If I defoliate, like cut maybe 3 pairs of big fan leaves at the main stem then switch to 12/12, bending would only get light to the half that's on the side facing upwards though right?
The thing with that is
A) the plant isnt really big enough to start chopping alot of foliage, although it technically can be done and there are grow styles based on it, although typicaly they will have like 20 or so plants all that size clustered together, and really they are aiming for one main cola each plant, and not counting on alot of weight from any one in particular.
B) that plant doesnt have too many sets of fan leaves to begin with. Remember that those leaves primary function is to collect light and store it as energy (among other things, like co2) to use to make more plant. Any leaves you remove will make it that much less efficient at doing so. IF you were going to remove fan leaves, i would recomend doing so starting from the lowest set (the ones closest to the soil) and working your way up until you are satisfied. That way there are still leaves close to the light.
C) IF you decide to chop, you are going to want to give the plant some time to heal before you switch to flower. When you chop the plant, its going to know its damaged, and its going to start healing itself. That puts it under certain levels of shock, depending on how much you chopped. Throwing it under 12/12 will trigger hormone changes in the plant and with that much stress on it, you MAY get a hermaphrodite, if it was female. Stress during flower can trigger this. You generally want to avoid this, as your plant is now using bud resources to make pollen, and you are going to get seedy buds.
D) IF you decide to chop, make sure your tools are sterile and the cut is clean (not ragged), otherwise it could get infected.
Bending the plant (or LST) is going to do a few things.
A) its going to effectively move the top few pairs of fan leaves out of the way, allowing light to reach the middle/lower leaves more effectively, without having to chop. Dont worry about whats going to be pointed at the light, every leaf on that plant is going to point itself back towards the light source, and start growing towards it.
B) there are growth hormones in the top of the plant in the new growth (the little curled up delicate leaves at the very tippy top of the stalk) that tell the plant to grow up. Thats why you see the plant growing taller rather than wider. When you bend the plant on its side, and bring the top shoot lower than the shoots farther down along the stalk (the tiny leaves close to the main stem) the plant knows what happened and knows those tiny leaves are closer to the light now, and will redistribute those hormones to the tiny leaves, telling them to grow up towards the light. What this means is instead of having one main bud site with several little ones along the stem, you now have a row of several medium bud sites including the main one.
C) bending the plant is going to accomplish what you are looking for (bringing more light to lower leaves) without having to chop or hobble the plant. No risk of infection, no risk of shock, no loss of plant production. Its also going to give you more room to grow (remember anything growing towards the light is going to double in size during flower)
IF it were me, i would bend the plant. But keep in mind that going your route isnt going to melt your face, kill your parents, or implode the sun. Your plant is going to grow regardless, im just recomending ideal techniques to get the most out of your space and resources.
How much space do you have from the top of your ceramic pot to the light?
