My last 2 grows have failed from what I believe was pruning the fan leaves on the main stalk ( the ones that grow under the branches. My plan in the future is A not to trim any of those ( or only the bottom), and instead of totally shaving the lowers of the branches, id only remove the (popcorn) buds, and leave those fan leaves also, Then, use a lightweight 24w T8 / 6 ft lamp i fan lay across the top of the pots to light up those inner fan leaves with some full spectrum light, basically feeding some light upwards. Any thoughts or ideas??? Thanks
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Not an auto guy yet! But from what I read here less is more w an auto… @kaptain3d @ChittyChittyBangin @Pinboy @Capt.Cola and a ton of others here run autos. I have some Grape Walker kush auto beans, but have not germinated yet.
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@MeEasy is really good with autos and how to train them. He has posted tons of diagrams on how and where to trim/cut/train them 
Here’s a link to his current journal
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I let an auto grow without pruning if i can. Dead leaves. If lucky enough to get a super veg then only for airflow. I also wait to defoliate for flower till stretch over. Then I can see what is worthless and remove it. Auto are on a timer so easy to screw them up. They are NOT beginner friendly plants. Photo for learning. Just my thoughts.
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Can removing lower “popcorn” buds harm autos? Im thinking removing the fan leaves is the HST part.
Also Could removing the fan leaves cause branches issues with developing??? my last grow was with Jacks and that was my only compliant ( weak branches), however, the plants all stunted once I defoliated the fan leaves. I noticed they weren’t growing or consuming much, maybe that cause the issue? on the other hand, ive heard folks here say the dont need silica with Jacks. im unsure if I need to order it for my next grow. please advise TY.
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Removing leaves from auto will definitley slow the growth. Key to an auto is get all you can before they flip themselves. You get 1 shot at it. No go backs like photo.
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I am guessing then, that was a question that I was going to post, that lollypopping shouldn’t be done to autoflowers?
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After stretch.
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I top, defoliate, LST, HST and prune my autos.
Both of these were topped, defoliated, LST and the one on the right I have super cropped.
Both Banana Kush Autos
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what do you mean by flip themselfs
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Autoflowers plants will start their flowering phase without any intervention by the grower and regardless of the light schedule. It’s in their genes. They “flip” to flowering as soon as they are ready.
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^^^^. What he said. As a new or newer grower I would focus on photo first. Once you have them down and understand the plant then go auto. Just my belief.
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