When is the appropriate time to cut the leaves in ...

Northern Lights automatic from RQS is a very nice and stable Genetic. They Respond very well to LST. Ive grown them too, and topped her, and would do it again. Some automatic strains you can top some not. When she grows nicely and well you can dare to top her. But the best effects ive had with some nice LST. Ive grown a number of automatics that season and handled them most time different. She is a very grateful Plant if you treat her frindly. Ive seen taht you have her in a3 l Pot. is that still that way=? In a 3 l pot you cant afford a big yield. Automatics like space and lovely fluffy soil. I put them after germinaton in their final ( 11l) smartpot/airpot filled with prefertilised soil.

I wouldn't cut the leaves the only time I would do that is if I was to take cuttings and even then I don't think I would do that , not that it would kill your plant or anything like that but it will indeed stress her out and make her focus her energy on healing that leaf instead of growing the way you want her to . There's a few things you can do to gain new bud sites or even assure the one's you have are going to get big ! The first thing you can do is top them . This will encourage the growth of your plants to become more bushy . With that being said you will see that the internodes will shoot right up making more viable bud sites as well as 2 main cola's . If you chose this method you must wait atleast 1 week before you start to flower in order to give time to your plants to heal up properly ! Another thing you can do is when you're getting ready to start flowering you can book the PK of your babies this will encourage new bud sites as well as promote development to the current ones . There's a few good products out there that will do the job for that ( PK boost , Bud ignitor , Bud blood and the list continues) These products are all designed to facilitate the development of bud sites as well as bud formation ! You can also try the lollipop method but I would only do that if your bud sites were already plentiful this way you could even out your canopy to ensure maximum photon absorption and maximum bud growth . All and all I'd say your doing well , I would just add some various nutes to help out your baby's ( start of flower: Bud Igniter , Voodoo Juice , B52 ) (Middle: Big Bud , Bud Candy , B52) (End: Bud Candy , B52 , Overdrive , Flawless Finish) I hope this information helps you ! Keep up the good work ! -Happy Growing!

Most of these guys are pointing you in the right direction. I will disagree with some of them that SOME autos are good with topping. For instance, Critical strains tend to go 12 weeks, and I’ve gotten massive yields by topping multiple times. LSD-25, however, is like an 8-9 week plant. Ive tried a few times, I’m trying again now, but it looks like this strain just hates topping. So it varies regarding topping autos. My best yields with autos were when I topped. But it doesn’t work with every strain. I’ve never heard anything about cutting leaves in half — I don’t think that will do much good. Either defoliate or don’t. Lastly, looking at the single picture you posted for week 4, it appears you’ve got budlets forming already. Topping should take place a week or so before transitioning to bloom to give the plant time to recover. I’d say it’s too late to top or FIM for you.

hey there, cutting leaves in half will harm not help. Very few HST techniques have positive effects on autos yield. Basically by now it's impossible to increase the number of flower nodes, but what you can do is increase the yield by removing lower flower nodes so the upper ones get much bigger. You'll often hear that "it's never too late to lst" well yes and no, you can LST but it will harm your yield if you start it too late. Honestly i would clean up the bud sites, make sure the colas are nice and straight and enjoy the show ! the best thing for you to increase your yield is to get a stronger light. Hope this helps ! 🚀

With your auto plants i think doing your lst now while its young and pliable is important to help have that lower/flat canopy. You can also defoliate and remove any small leaves or buds at the bottom to help the top bigger buds thrive, but you want to wait until flowering is just beginning and then possibly another small one further in if any bud sites are blocked from light. I know some people top their autos but I think that's after they've grown a few and understand the time frames etc very well. There are also certain nutrients that supposedly help create more budsites such as fox farms open sesame which has very low N and very high PK and youd give that once the preflowers are showing up. You can test out any methods you want, but just be mindful that they may not be effective as they would with a photoperiod plant. Happy growing and have fun with the 1st grow. ✌️

Don't stress auto plants, they will not react well to it. LST is ok, but don't cut the leaves in half, it will not help, most likely it will hurt your yield.