trimming the bottom 1/3?

[Carlo]

Hello All,

I'm starting on a new batch today. The Attitude had a great sale and I took advantage of it. Anyways, my plants tend to give very little bud on the bottom third. I usually get a big cola and a few smaller colas, but all from the top/middle areas of the plant.

I believe I have pretty good lighting for a 2x8 closet. I have (2) 400 watt hps lamps and everything else needed to grow. My brother stated that he thinks trimming the bottom 1/3 would help the plants have more bud on top and trimming wouldn't hurt because only scarce bud grows down on the bottom anyways.

Any thoughts on this?

By the way, my last batch consisted of vanilla kush, which is very tasty and lsd, which is pretty potent. I'm enjoying both thanks to this site. Not having to worry about having to make arrangements to 'score some more' makes life much less stressful and much more enjoyable.

:icon_smile:

 

[Budders Keeper]

That's how I do it. I trim most of the "third" out at light flip, and then go back and clean it up a little more 2 weeks into flower after the stretch. After that I don't touch them.

How tall are plants at harvest?

 

[umbra]

yes trim the bottom third. light follows the inverse square law. so as you 2x the distance you get 4x less light, 3x distance and you get 9x less light.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You may also want to look into fimming. I fim most of my plants. I believe this gives a better yield than a single top cola.

 

[Locked]

I almost always remove the bottom 1/4-1/3 about a week before I flip. Seems to help with airflow down low and allows the plants to concentrate their energy towards the buds that hve more potential for good growth. I do this in conjunction with topping...usually multiple topping to get as many bud sites up top as I can. When done right I get a sort of candelabra of buds on the plants.
Jmo

 

[Time4Plan-B]

The best way is having the lights as close as poss if this isnt doable them trim the lower 3rd as this makes the buds nearer the light source get bigger and fatter.
T4

 

[Smeg]

ive got about 20 bigblue plants in flower ,6 weeks into a 10 week flower period

i did't trim them this time , because i flowered them early , thats why there not big ( going on holiday so did'tt have time for a long veg)

ive got 10 in buckets which ive trimmed a little , but the other ten in the pot bags have not been touched

pics 1 & 2 are befor trim , pic 3 after trim, pic 4 is trimmed one next to one not trimmed
would you guys trim them so late into flower , or at least pull most of bottom leaves off ?

 

[Hushpuppy]

For me that depends greatly on the health of the plants and how much light is getting down to the lower growth. Your plants are not very tall or real bushy so,,,, if they are setting very close to each other beneath the light, enough that the lowest leaves and/or branches are in constant shade then you could trim those. But if they are not sitting real close together, and the light is getting to most of the lower leaves, then I wouldn't trim them.

I also love to use the FIM technique. I wait until I have about 6-8 nodes then FIM them. If it is done correctly, all of the lower branches will race each other to get to be the top main cola. That will give me anywhere from 4-8 big colas for bud growing. I have to put a "hog fence" screen over them at that point to support the giant buds that form

 

[BlueNose]

6 weeks into a 10 week flower period

would you guys trim them so late into flower , or at least pull most of bottom leaves off ?

6 weeks in, I'd leave everything on the plants and turn any loose buds into hash.

 

[Growdude]

6 weeks in, I'd leave everything on the plants and turn any loose buds into hash.

:yeahthat: Yea to see the benefit you need to do it early on, now its just going to shock the plant.

+1 on the hash idea.

 

[Locked]

Yeah I wldnt go trimming stuff off now...way too late IMO. Shock and stress in flower can lead to a plant throwing nanners in order to self itself and preserve it's genetic line. I like to do all my trimming 7-10 days before the flip. Jmo

 

[WillyGreen28]

Yes it's way too late to prune. Cut all that **** off early. Cut it way back. It will pay off when your cutting down.