Need advice: Short and bushy - should I defoliate as well as top?

It's now been exactly 30 days since I put my very first seed in a glass of water (an Alaskan Purple). She has grown beautifully and is pretty short (less than 5 inches) and rather bushy. She now has 6 nodes so I'm planning on topping her today (just need to get my courage up to actually do it ). I was wondering if she needs to be defoliated a bit as well? I read you should defoliate when/if leaves are touching each other or overlap. That is definitely the case. But is it too early to do that? And is it too stressful for her to top and defoliate at the same time? Do you guys think she needs defoliation at all?

For more pictures of her: https://growdiaries.com/diaries/69207-seedsman-alaskan-purple-grow-journal-by-hazyvonne/week/333277

hazyvonne said:

It's now been exactly 30 days since I put my very first seed in a glass of water (an Alaskan Purple). She has grown beautifully and is pretty short (less than 5 inches) and rather bushy. She now has 6 nodes so I'm planning on topping her today (just need to get my courage up to actually do it ). I was wondering if she needs to be defoliated a bit as well? I read you should defoliate when/if leaves are touching each other or overlap. That is definitely the case. But is it too early to do that? And is it too stressful for her to top and defoliate at the same time? Do you guys think she needs defoliation at all?

For more pictures of her: https://growdiaries.com/diaries/69207-seedsman-alaskan-purple-grow-journal-by-hazyvonne/week/333277

Click to expand...

I would top! Fer sure!
Defoliation at such a young age???? I'd be hesitant!

I had always been a proponent of not removing plant matter, until I did. Then my whole life changed when it comes to growing.

I chopped leaves, I broke stems, I've tried stabbing pins into a plant (do not do that), I've tied plants up like a Japanese bondage god.

Everything does something unique and can be both good or bad.

I started defoliation this year to get light to bud sites because I seen a dude that took a before picture, an after picture and a one week after picture.

The before showed a bushy bush, the after looked like a ragtag emo dandilion that just wanted to die and the one week after picture was incredibly lush. The recovery was amazing, the leaves looked healthier, the plant looked happy and his bud sites were nicely exposed.

I'll never stand in the way of someone defoliating again.

Looks good. Top, but I'd not be removing the leaves just now.

Thanks everybody for your replies! I went ahead and topped her. I'm pretty sure I did it right. Then instead of cutting leaves off to let more light to the new growth, I decided to try my hand at some light LST. Tucked and moved leaves around. Secured some with some plant twisty ties. Kinda hoping to get the best of both worlds that way She's a bit droopy in the picture because she's due a watering this morning.

Much better than cutting your leaves off at such a young age!
I'm all for defoliation and even tried my hand in a little bit of shcwaze tek 3 weeks into flower!
But so early in that girls life, you don't wanna stress her out and she may not recover as fast, or at all if you take to many of her solar panels away!
I definitely approve of the LST though! Very nice!

Ps. You did top correctly!

top then wait a few days then defoliate... the extra leaves help her recover from the top but defoliating helps light reach further down... I started defoliated twice before 5 weeks and she burst with growth both times

.

Hazyvonne I heavily defoliate but not until the first week of flower then again at the end of 3 weeks of flower.

The leaves always grow back, but with each leaf supporting a bud.

.

Just before defoliation:



,

Just after defoliation:



.

A week after defoliation:



.