I don't cut any leaves. I tuck away what gets in the way. I get decent buds all throughout the plants. Top, middle, and bottom. Any so called larf as people call it is stripped off and used for dry ice hash. Despite what many seem to think the lower stuff and leaves do not rob the plant of nutrients that would instead go to the buds. In fact from what I've read many people say is that they stipp most of the leaves but they grow back. Well then that would mean the plant is replacing leaves and using more energy for that process. Any plant grown properly is capable of supporting all the growth it produces.
Also, using an HID gets better light penetration than the cheap LED's many are using. Plant height makes a difference as well. Many try and grow trees with some underpowered lighting.
It's getting old listening to people and their condescending remarks about old growers being stuck in the past because they grow weed not chase the newest lights or spend time reading cannabis specific literature and watching youtube videos. It's a damn plant. It's easy to grow, keep healthy, and harvest quality product. People making things more complicated than they need to be and denigrating those that don't do things the way they do tend to think they're special and get all defensive when others disagree with them. And it doesn't take a $1200 LED or a $300 grow book to grow weed.
I don't defoliate, I don't use LED's, I don't use cannabis specific nutrients, I don't read cannabis books, I don't watch cannabis youtube videos, I just grow weed. And from some of the grows I've seen on this and many other sites I do a better job at it than many that have thousands into their lights, have enough bottles to fill a Uhaul truck, and have been sucked in by all the cannabis marketing, gimmicks, and broscience. $300 for a book on growing cannabis? Good grief. I'll stick to reading literature on plant science written by plant scientists with PhDs. Cannabis is just another plant and grows like other plants. I treat it that way and it thrives.
Cut the leaves, cut the roots off. Do what you want with your plants. Myself, I just let them grow. I don't have the desire to play with them like others do. Cutting this and that at this week or that week. I'll wait until I harvest and then do a complete defoliation.
