help! should I cut leaves that are covering buds?

Should I cut off my plants fan leaves that are covering/overshadowing the buds? or should I keep them on?

Yeah you can trim the fan leaves if you like to help get light into the bud sites but be sure to not go overboard!!! Have fun.

You really shouldnt ever prune or trim any leaves that are not at least 50% dead while flowering. The best solution may be to get a refector shield or get another light source to put on the side of your crop to supply light to the lower leaves and to more evenly supply the light. The leaves are what need the light not the buds.

be careful not to get too focused on the leaves on the bottom of your plant. depending on what light you use, it will only penetrate so much so focus more on where you do have budsites at about mid-plant and they will grow bigger

You could also use pipe cleaners or twist ties and simply manage the foliage. You could just move the fan leaves to a better position, up, down, sideways etc. using twist ties.

Kind of like Bonsai manipulation

this is the first crop ive grown where i didnt prune at all throughout all stages i have plenty of light getting to the budsites yet the buds are smaller this time around, i found that if i prune throughout veg and even into flowering i seem to get better result in the outcome although growth takes longer sometimes even 9 weeks longer but i have experiemnted with diff strains and all seem to react the same in this respect.... correct me if im wrong

Yes get some twist ties or stainless steel wire to wrap around the branches so you can position the branches where they will get the most light. It is probably the best idea. That way you dont have to prune as much. I also prune some of the fan leaves off and it seems to do better for me than leaving them all on.

buster7467 said:

Yes get some twist ties or stainless steel wire to wrap around the branches so you can position the branches where they will get the most light. It is probably the best idea. That way you dont have to prune as much. I also prune some of the fan leaves off and it seems to do better for me than leaving them all on.

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One thing I should have mentioned very thin, cloth coverd floral wire

You can also buy it by the roll. This stuff is about as good as it gets for managing rogue fan leave, this stuff also is seriously excellent for plant first aid. Many of us have Ogre moments and break a branch, or heavens forbit, a stalk. This wire makes excellent splints

Its usually always best to only cut as a last resort unless your pruning on purpose