Then it’s do able but you got two options. Option one hit it hard all at once will cause some stress, but it’s done. Option 2 start in stages top, middle, bottom will also cause stess but less.
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I had planned on only removing the two large fan leaves at the top to let some light down below. Maybe I’ll try one and see how she responds?
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Just remember take the leaf not the branch.
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@SKORPION oh yeah for sure! The object in removing the fan leaves was to allow more light to that corresponding branch.
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Other option is to tuck it so the new growth gets light. This is what I usually do.
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Check this topic out. Maybe it will help Northern Lights Second Topping Illustrated
As part of my northern lights grow journal I did a separate thread on the training and trimming I did.
I did a second installment titled Northern lights training continued
It simply shows the clean up I did in preparation for flipping to flower. The same plant is in both threads. The just of it is, over the week between the topping and subsequent clean up, how much it recovered and the amount of new growth.
Here is a overview (the condensed version). These are all of NL #2
5/18 before second topping
After she was topped
On 5/21 she received LST - couple recovery days.
This is #2 on 5/26 before any trimming
Lastly after her hair cut
I was not afraid to take upper fan leaves because there were plenty of large ones left. If you saw her today, after only 2 days, you wouldn’t know I touched her. One of the reasons for the significant growth of the lower branches is all of the node site were topped. The growth hormones that would have gone to one flower / colas is redirected to all of the bud sites below the cut.
Hope this helps. Ps this is my first photo grow. Just autos up to this point but I did play around w/ topping and LST. Just not to this extent.
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How big are the plants? Small plants with a handful of leaves vegging wouldn’t really make a lot of sense to be removing fan leaves from. If you have a well established plant, taking a couple leaves isn’t going to hurt it.
if the plant has lots of leaves on it just pinch them off and be done with it. It wont hurt the plant. I pluck huge older fan leaves off every other day on bigger plants! Deer have eaten half a plant right off abd they still did their thing! A couple fan leaves on a mature plant wont hurt anything. However, if you are nowhere near flowering, large fan leaves have a lot of surface area, plants are like solar panels. They process a lot of energy to make food for the plant. So its your call?
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The plants are very young, but they are so big and dense already. The lower giant fan leaves were making it difficult to water properly and the upper two were completely blocking the light from the new growth. I had already removed the single bladed leaves, as they suffered from a terrible calcium deficiency because of ph lockout. I let them be for a while, but they were getting thin and crispy, so I took them off. The plants didn’t even notice.
Leave them in the plant then I thought these were mature. The fan leaves are what is making power for that plant. The branches will grow dont worry about that. Maybe shoot a picture from the side in natural light and it would tell the story better.
These bushy little plants have not been topped or pruned in any way. The top on the right will be taken off for a clone by a friend, so it can stay a while longer.
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@Cannabian I’m out of likes, but I love your’ posts. I wish I could give you the photos you ask for, but alas; it’s too late. I did what I thought was best by removing the the two leaves in question. I just took this post surgery photo. The leaves that I trimmed were as large as the one pictured with my hand under it, (size xxl glove) if that helps you imagine the kind of shade they were throwing.
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They are only 17 days from sprouting today!
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Im sure the plant will be fine, but honestly, I would leave those, as you can see the branches are growing anyway right? The big leaves are converting the food for the plant and aiding in photosynthesis for the rest of the plant. Eventually, those leaves will be at the bottom and be shaded out, its then that the work they once did is not being done as efficiently anymore. At that point its best to remove them to improve ventilation and put the focus elsewhere for new growth. So in the future along the mainstem of those branches more of those large leaves will grow. Only remove those that are in the shaded part of the plant… here let me show you
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Excellent! Thank you so much for the help and education. I’m sure they will recover just fine, but I won’t make this mistake again. I’m over loving them.
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Yes most likely too much over thinking. As you can see my plant is at such a size now that plucking a leaf off it wont even be noticed. What it did was allow for a bit better air flow. Remember that the indoor grower doesnt really want lower bud sites anyway. You will be focusing primarily on tops, as many as you room can fit.
Oh one more thing, if that plant is 17 days old its doing very well! But soon that pot will be too small for it. Better think about more soil and a bigger pot.
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I’m still out of likes. Lol. My thought process was that since they were topped, growth will be slowed at the node where the topping took place until the two new branches emerge. I thought that if I removed those two fan leaves covering the next lower node, then it would increase the rate of growth by allowing more light and allow them to catch up with the two new tops. That way they could all grow together at similar heights. The flaw in my thinking is that those two giant fan leaves were there to feed those lower branches. I’m sure they will continue to thrive, but I won’t do this again on the next cycle.
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no the fan leaves, and all the leaves collectively, contribute to the same goal! The process is kinda 2 fold, transpiration and photosynthesis. Plants draw water food and water from the soil by transpiration. As they sweat it causes water to be drawn up through the root. Its one reason cutting leaves off is sometimes not a great idea as it can slow down transpiration. No point in having large roots if no sweating above ground is happening? Then there photosynthesis, we all remember that process from school so I wont go into detail there. I hope this helps you better? The main focus for you now is the master plan for the plant… scrog net? If so begin training and pruning for as many branches as you can get. This process takes a month or better to get the plant set up. So be patient and enjoy the process
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I had intended to top them at least twice, use some low stress training to help open the canopy and also planned on setting up two nets. The flower room is a 5x5 gorilla tent with an HLG 600 and 9 plants in 10 gallon smart pots. This is my very first indoor grow, and I’m largely clueless. 
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Well you are off to a good start! So here is a good trick. Some folks do multiple topping, not really needed. When you top a plant you stop the flow of a hormone called auxin. That hormone is responsible for leader growth. After you top, fhe auxins will flow to available tops in an attempt to create a new leader. If you have fhe branches from the first topping pulled down horizontal, the plant doesnt know which node is the top hence once the branch is level to the ground top it! All the nodes will try to nominate themselves. Grape growers use this technique all the time. You will have loads of branches!
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