Should I start taking off these huge fan leaves so light can reach the nodes underneath? Beginning of week three now.
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Thinning out leaves to improve airflow is always a good idea. The plant otherwise uses light to manufacture sugars the plant needs. Those sugars are transported throughout the plant via the stem system regardless of which leaf is used to produce the sugars.
That said, you have a compact plant that will likely need to be pruned soon to enable airflow. You might want to reduce your lighting intensity to encourage her to stretch out a bit.
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If it were mine at this height Iād āleaveā 
the upper fans and start down at the bottom where theyāre older and touching the soil. Give the moisture in the pot an easier exit path for evaporation to reduce container humidity
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I try not to remove leaves that are still growing upwards above horizontal. Once leaves grow straight out or downwards a bit, they are the ones I remove.
So like @Fieldofdreams says, leaf those upper ones alone and trim the lower leaves!
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Light reading right now is 640 PAR measured with my Photobio Phantom meter. What should I lower it to?
How many nodes tall is she?
What strain?
What are you going to do training wise?
Sometimes they get stripped down to nothing. It depends what you want to do with it.
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Iād leave them. I donāt take too many leaves at all during veg. I think of them as solar panels fueling the growth. When flowering starts thatās a different ballgame. I defoliate quite a bit then.
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Ok, sheās 7ā tall, itās Gorilla Glue 4 Feminized from ILGM, not autos, week 3 of veg after two weeks of seedling stage, there is 5 sets of nodes under all the leaves, and Iāve been LSTān my plants lately. Iām new at pruning but my last grow I had a hundred small buds and only a few big ones. I was told pruning back would help increase the size of the flowers and I would like to try it. Just donāt want to hurt herā¦ you know?
Possible compromise Trim tips off. Fan leaves are solar producers. some reduction might be stimulative. too much will be painful. If not brown or yellow, why cut good plant solar panels?
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Thanks for all the input! Iām just going to leave well enough alone for now. I decreased light PAR from 640 to 450 though. See if sheāll stretch a little next week.
To avoid a lot of extra small buds the secondary branches need to be removed.
I am still trying to find that balance. I tend to let too much grow. I will be topping and start pruning my new plants after Christmas. You can follow along at Afghan to close 2022
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Sweet, will do! Thanks!
My ladies often do better, if I leave them alone.
Good Growing to you.
I leave them in veg. I want all the photosynthesis the plant can get. Come flower, theyāre getting plucked.
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That seems to be the consensus. The more I read the more Iām seeing, leaving them alone in veg then start defoliating during flower to increase light to the branches. Makes sense. Thanks again!
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