Fan Leaf tips for more light?

kostonn760

kostonn760

Active Member
I know it's definitely NOT okay to take fan leaves off for more light to reach the bottom, because they are the plant's main food source... But, is it okay to just trim the very TIPS (leaves pointy part), on maybe just the main blade and the two next to the middle, just about 5 ridges from the top (bottom being at the stem)???

I have a T5 HO 2ft 4 bulb and 2 x 23w CFLs and the CFLs drape over the sides of the T5 and light up the undersides of the plant. If I just barely take the tips of the fan leaves so the side lighting gets to more undergrowth will it harm the plant / effect potency, yield etc...??

I have pictures if anyone needs to see what I'm talking about.

I have 2 plants that are about 8-10 inches tall 4 weeks old from seed, and very bushy. Some of the lower leaves / stems arc and the tips are angling downward a bit, which shades the undergrowth from the sides.

Anyone have experience doing this? I know I've seen a few pics of people doing it. I only did it to about 10-15 leaf blades (total from both plants). Cutting all of the blades would be pointless so I strategized and thought about which blades would be best to cut to be most effective, instead of just chopping stuff down that didn't need it. Pruning fan leaves is a no-no, but does the same apply to only clipping the tips??
 
T

theSinned

Active Member
I doubt it would do too much harm but it seems completely unnecessary. I imagine the small gain is light reaching lower parts would be less than the benifit of having healthy fan leaves. This is completely my own speculation though so it could be good for the plant. Try it out maybe you've found a new technique.

Oh I guess I have done this myself when a plant has had the tips of a lot of fan leaves die for whatever reason.
 
djruiner

djruiner

Well-Known Member
easy thing i do to get the leaves out of the way for more light is to attach a paper clip to the middle of the stem that the fan leaf is on...that will weight it down you should be able to move it around to get more light to the bottom and sides without have to even trim the leaf
 
Werry420

Werry420

Active Member
i trim my tips all the time, and it dosnt ever seem to hurt my plants still get amazing yeilds, no stress or anything like that..

HAPPY GROWING
 
kostonn760

kostonn760

Active Member
Awesome advice guys!! Thanks for the replies. Ya I did trim some of the leaves and they are still growing strong. The plant I topped, right at the 3rd true node where all the undergrowth is, actually OUT GREW the plant I haven't touched yet LOL! She seems to absolutely LOVE the new light distribution. The slower plant is beggining to stretch out a bit finally. That was the plant I trimmed the most because all the undergrowth is like crrrammed together under all the fan leaves because the node spacing is not so good. For some reason the fan leaves never really stretched outward to give the underside some space to grow and get some light. But she's starting to take shape now and is definitely looking like a nice juicy dense Indica.

The 'tucking' of the leaves sounds good on paper, but looking at my plant, it's not even 12" yet so there's really no place to tuck haha...

This is my first grow, about 4 1/2 weeks in from seed, so I wanted to get a basic grow out of the way before I tried LST or something like that.
 
corners

corners

Well-Known Member
kostonn760 said:
I know it's definitely NOT okay to take fan leaves off for more light to reach the bottom, because they are the plant's main food source... But, is it okay to just trim the very TIPS (leaves pointy part), on maybe just the main blade and the two next to the middle, just about 5 ridges from the top (bottom being at the stem)???

I have a T5 HO 2ft 4 bulb and 2 x 23w CFLs and the CFLs drape over the sides of the T5 and light up the undersides of the plant. If I just barely take the tips of the fan leaves so the side lighting gets to more undergrowth will it harm the plant / effect potency, yield etc...??

I have pictures if anyone needs to see what I'm talking about.

I have 2 plants that are about 8-10 inches tall 4 weeks old from seed, and very bushy. Some of the lower leaves / stems arc and the tips are angling downward a bit, which shades the undergrowth from the sides.

Anyone have experience doing this? I know I've seen a few pics of people doing it. I only did it to about 10-15 leaf blades (total from both plants). Cutting all of the blades would be pointless so I strategized and thought about which blades would be best to cut to be most effective, instead of just chopping stuff down that didn't need it. Pruning fan leaves is a no-no, but does the same apply to only clipping the tips??
Click to expand...
Dont cut unless mold or rot, otherwise just tuck them under other stems and leaves.
 
corners

corners

Well-Known Member
kostonn760 said:
Awesome advice guys!! Thanks for the replies. Ya I did trim some of the leaves and they are still growing strong. The plant I topped, right at the 3rd true node where all the undergrowth is, actually OUT GREW the plant I haven't touched yet LOL! She seems to absolutely LOVE the new light distribution. The slower plant is beggining to stretch out a bit finally. That was the plant I trimmed the most because all the undergrowth is like crrrammed together under all the fan leaves because the node spacing is not so good. For some reason the fan leaves never really stretched outward to give the underside some space to grow and get some light. But she's starting to take shape now and is definitely looking like a nice juicy dense Indica.

The 'tucking' of the leaves sounds good on paper, but looking at my plant, it's not even 12" yet so there's really no place to tuck haha...

This is my first grow, about 4 1/2 weeks in from seed, so I wanted to get a basic grow out of the way before I tried LST or something like that.
Click to expand...
If there is no place to tuck them then you really have no need to be cutting tips to try to get light where its already going. Have patience grasshopper.
 
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