by Nebula Haze
Introductionto Bud-Based Defoliation
Whatis cannabis defoliation, and why/how does removing leaves from a cannabisplant increase yields?
The point of defoliation is to“hack” your plant’s natural processes in the early part of the flowering stage to cause it to growits buds and colas differently. You’ll notice in the pictures below that the plants have focused purely on bud development.Growers achieve thisby removingfan leaves from healthymarijuana plants during early bud development to keep the plant “focused” on growing buds instead of leaves.
Bud-Based Defoliation is the only way to achieve results like this!
In the wild your plant will spend some amount of energy on buds, as well as some amount of energy making and maintaining leaves. However, if you defoliate your cannabis plants early in the flowering stage, you will change the plant’s natural growing patterns.
Without as many leaves atthe moment buds are first forming, your plants puts more energy into making colas, and the colas will be longer, thicker, and go down further into the plant.
Theories Why Bud-Based Marijuana Defoliation Works…
- Cannabis is wind-pollinated, so it doesn’t fatten any buds except the ones that have access to wind. Defoliation exposes the more of the buds to a breeze.
- Cannabis buds seem to get fatter when they’re exposed to strong, direct light and defoliation exposes the buds to light.
- It’s possible the plant focuses on bud sites during the initial part of floweringbecause it simply doesn’t have leaves to put energy into
Did You Know? There are other commercial crops, like cotton, which alsoneed to be defoliated early in the flowering stage to produce the best quality andyields!
Whatever the reason, defoliation works to dramatically increase your cannabis yields when you do it correctly!
Onlybuds that get exposed to direct light ever get a good size. If your plant is very bushy like this one, you are losing out on potential yields because the hidden buds stay small. The buds would have been longer and bigger further down into the plant if ithad been defoliated in the early floweirng stage.
Here’s another example of cannabisplants that would have benefited from defoliation. Notice how short all the buds are. They end where the bushiness begins.If the growerhad exposed the colas, they would have fattenedmuch deeper into the plant!
Many growers write in to tell us how defoliation was the secret sauce they needed to take their growing skills to the next level. In our growing forum we have some growers that are conducting defoliation and have taken the technique to new heights!
Ready to learn how to incorporate defoliation into your own cannabis garden?
pic by Ricky (a first time defoliator!)
It’s pretty well-accepted in thecannabis growing world that defoliation can increaseyields in some situations, but what’s the “best” way to defoliate? That’s a common question without an easy answer.
The truth is that everyone has their own ideas about the best way to defoliate! If you ask 10 different growers, you’ll get 10 different answers! And you’ll probably find at least one person who claims it doesn’t work at all.
Today, I’ll share my own personal defoliation timeline and tactics (which I’ve developed over the last few years)!
Note:Some equatorial Sativa and Haze strains naturallygrow tall and “leggy” with thin leaves and lots of exposed stem. These strains maynever produceenough leaves to get bushy even in the best environment, and may look like they’ve naturally defoliated themselves. When this happens there’s no need to defoliate plantsfurther. However, many (if not most) strains producesome amount of leafiness that needs to be removed for optimal growth indoors.
You may not need to defoliate if you see lots of stem and bud sites are already exposed.Some strains naturally grow leggy enough that they don’t need much, if any, defoliationto expose bud sites or increase air circulation!
I don’t remove leaves in the vegetative stage to the same extent I do in the flowering stage.
Most defoliationinthe vegetative stage is usedto thin out the plant if it starts getting really bushy.Making sure there’s always airflow through the middle and under the bottom of the plant will help plants grow better. Good airflow alsopreventsWhite Powdery Mold(WPM), acommon problem when you have leaves laying on top of each other.
In my opinion, if you can’t see through the plant, and/or there’s no light getting through to the bottom, it’s too bushy for proper airflow!
These vegetative stage plants are too leafy! Notice how the floor is in shadow?They’re ready for a haircut!
When it comes toplant training, the focus in the vegetative stage is on getting the shape of the plant correct (flat and wide like a table), and making sure there’s multiple main stems/colas under the grow light.
When I’m growing my own cannabis plants, I don’t start defoliatingaggressively until I’m in the flowering stage.
Right before the switch to the flowering stage, Iremove any leaves and tiny growth tips on the bottom parts of the plant that aren’t getting light anymore (sometimes called “lollipopping”the plant).
It is important to do right this before the switch to flowering so the plant is putting all its effort into the top bud sites instead of the lower bud sites that will never grow into big buds no matter what you do.
Some growers call the technique“lollipopping” because you’re making the bottom bare like a lollipop stick 🙂 Though some growers also remove bud sites while lollipopping, for you first grow, I recommendremovingall the leaves below the line, butleavingthe bud sites (growth tips at the base of each leaf) alone. This helps ensure you have as many places to make budas possible. I’ve found that leaving extra bud sites doesn’t seem to reduce your yields as long as you’ve defoliated the plant properly, but removing too many bud sites definitely hurts your yields!
This grower stripped all the buds sites fromthe bottom of the plant while lollipopping, resulting in shortened colas. I’ve done this, too! His yield would have been bigger ifhe’d allowed those bud sites to continue further down on each stem!
To prevent the problem with the plant above, avoid removing or damaging future bud sites whenever defoliating.It’s easy to accidentally damage bud sites when they’re just tiny pre-flowers like this one, so be extra careful when removing leaves!
After you’vestripped all the leaves from the bottomyourplant, it’s time toremovemost of the remaining biggest fan leaves (though you’re not going to completely strip the top part as much asbefore). You’ll beleaving any small fan leaves as well as the top few pairs of big fan leaves of each cola completely untouched. After this step,the plant will be almost all “bones” and bud sites, with few big fan leaves except at the top.
Flowering Defoliation #1(Immediately Before Switch to 12/12)
Before Defoliation
After Defoliation
I leave afew extra full size fan leaves at the top of each cola because I believe it helps power the growth of the colas during the flowering stretch so they get as long as possible. Make sure to remove only leaves during defoliation, but not bud sites! I have found after trying it both ways that removing bud sites while lollipopping/defoliatingoften hurts your yields!
Flowering Defoliation #2 (Last Major Defoliation) – Week 3 of Flowering Stage
This is what that plant lookedlike 3 weeks later. I didn’t remove any leaves in that time. The plant has gotten far taller due to the flowering stretch, and is completely covered in leaves again!
Usually by around week 3, a bunch ofbudletshave formed. At this point I remove all of the major fan leaves one last time. You’re forcing the plantto focus on the buds during this crucial phase of their development!
After that, I’m done with the majority of defoliation! From week 3 and on, I only remove leaves if they’re covering a bud site (and I can’t tuck the leafaway) or if the plant starts getting too bushy through the middle and bottom. Each leaf provides energy to the plant, and I cherish them… unless they get in the way! 🙂
Harvest – 7 Weeks Later I Harvested This!
If you want to copy these results for yourself, refer to the following quick summary!
Nebula’s Bud-Based Defoliation Technique (Quick Summary)
So basically, my (personal) cannabis defoliation techniquecould be summed up like this:
Vegetative Stage
- Plant Training– Train plant(s) to grow into a generally flat and wide shape, so theyfillyour grow space like a table. This makes it so you have multiple colaslocated at the top of the plant and close to the light. Or choose a Sea of Green setup (growing many small plants)and skip the training!
- Defoliate the middle and bottom of your plant(s) wheneveryou can’t see light coming through them. Whenthe middle is completely dark it means the plant is too bushy!
Right Before Switch to 12/12
- Do this stepwhen plant is about half the final desired height (since it will about double in size after the switch to 12/12)
- Lollipop the plant (completely strip the lowestleaves onthe plant that will never get light, leaving the bud sites intact)
- Remove big fan leaves on the upper part of the plant(making sure not to damage bud sites) until plant is not leafy. If youcan easily see your plant’s stems it’s a good time to stop.
Week 3 After Switch to 12/12
- One Last Defoliation at Flowering Week 3– Now that you’re three weeks into the flowering stage, do another major removal of just about all the fan leaves. Make sure to especially take any big leaves with long stems, or leaves that are covering bud sites! Again, avoid removing or damaging any developing buds!
After Week 3, I only defoliate huge fan leaves that can’t be tucked away. Otherwise I just wait until harvest and reap the rewards!
Defoliation is a technique, but it is also an art! The above instructions should get you started but cannabis plants are like big bonsai trees and you’ll eventually learn how to defoliate without hesitation. It’s fun to try to alter thegrowth patterns of cannabis plants and I encourage you to experiment with your own plantsand develop your own particular defoliation style and rhythm!
Have you tried defoliation yourself? Send us pictures!
You Might Be Interested in One of the Following Cannabis Plant Training Tutorials…
- Simplest Plant Training Guide Ever!
- Complete Plant Training Guide
- How Can I Train an Auto-Flowering Plant?
- 7 Unfortunate Plant Training Mistakes
Detailed Breakdown of Training Techniques
- Low Stress Training (LST) Tutorial
- Topping vs FIMing Tutorial
- LBH’s Famous ScrOG Tutorial
- Supercropping: Simple Secret to Bigger Yields
- Sea of Green (SoG) Tutorial
- 12-12 from Seed – Flowering Plants Early
- Nebula’s Manifold Tutorial
- How to ManifoldClones
- Alternate Defoliation Tutorial
- What is Re-Vegging / Monstercropping?
Diagnose Your Sick Plant!
Certainly! It appears the article focuses on the practice of cannabis defoliation, particularly in bud-based defoliation techniques. As an enthusiast and expert in cannabis cultivation techniques, especially defoliation, I'll break down the key concepts covered in the article:
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Purpose of Cannabis Defoliation: Cannabis defoliation involves strategically removing fan leaves from healthy marijuana plants during early bud development to redirect the plant's energy towards bud growth instead of leaf development. The goal is to enhance yields and alter natural growth patterns.
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Benefits of Defoliation:
- Increased energy directed towards colas and buds.
- Better airflow and light penetration, which encourages larger and deeper bud growth.
- Enhanced exposure of bud sites to direct light and airflow, promoting bud development.
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Theories Supporting Defoliation:
- Wind pollination: Buds exposed to breezes tend to fatten up more.
- Direct light exposure: Defoliation exposes more buds to strong light, potentially leading to larger bud growth.
- Plant prioritization: With fewer leaves, the plant channels more energy into bud development.
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Commercial Crop Comparison: Defoliation is also practiced in other crops like cotton for quality and yield improvement.
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Defoliation Techniques and Timelines:
- Vegetative Stage: Minimal defoliation for airflow, particularly to prevent issues like White Powdery Mold (WPM).
- Transition to Flowering Stage: Lollipopping (removing lower leaves), sparing bud sites.
- Early Flowering Stage: Removal of major fan leaves to encourage top bud development.
- Mid-Flowering Stage (Week 3): Another significant defoliation to maintain focus on bud growth.
- Post-Week 3: Limited defoliation, primarily removing obstructive leaves.
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Defoliation Tips:
- Careful removal of leaves to avoid damaging developing bud sites.
- Retaining some fan leaves at the top to aid cola growth.
- Individualized approach: Every grower may have their unique defoliation strategy based on plant type and growth patterns.
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Training and Plant Growth in Relation to Defoliation:
- Vegetative stage training to shape plants for optimal light exposure.
- Importance of airflow and space utilization in training methods.
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Specific Defoliation Methods Covered:
- LST (Low Stress Training)
- Topping vs. FIMing
- ScrOG (Screen of Green)
- Supercropping
- Sea of Green (SoG)
- Re-vegging/Monstercropping
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Encouragement for Experimentation:
- Emphasizing the artistic aspect of defoliation and encouraging growers to develop their unique styles.
- Encouragement to share experiences and learn from others within the growing community.
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Further Learning Resources:
- Additional tutorials and guides on cannabis plant training, ailments diagnosis, and specific cultivation techniques.
In conclusion, the article offers a comprehensive guide to defoliation techniques, emphasizing its potential impact on enhancing cannabis yields and growth. It also encourages growers to experiment and develop their approaches while leveraging various training methods for optimal plant growth.
