HOW SHOULD I GO ABOUT DEFOLIATION? TIPS APPRECIATED

In my opinion, only yellow leaves should ever be removed. Each healthy green leaf is a "solar panel" producing the energy your plant needs to grow. Those bud sites are relying on that "shade" leaf for energy to grow flowers. Removing healthy green leaves only reduces your plants capacity to produce energy, slowing growth and potentially inducing smaller plants/flowers.. The older leaves also provide a valuable "store" of vital growth elements, such as amino acids, sugars, carbs etc that your plant will draw upon during flowering. It is far more efficient for your plant to do this during a high energy requiring activity, such as flowering, than it is to manufacture these elements from new. So, by removing healthy green leaves, you are not only robbing your plant of its potential to produce energy, you are also depriving it of a wonderful amount of stored vital growth elements that the plant needs to grow her biggest and best flowers. Fewer healthy green leaves = less stored growth "food" = less energy produced = slower and inhibited growth. It is that simple! After growing cannabis for 35+ years, I am yet to see any one plant that gets rid of its own healthy green leaves. Try leaving all healthy green leaves on your plant, you may be surprised at how much faster she grows and by how much bigger her flowers may grow. I guarantee it! Removing leaves so that the plant can "channel" energy is one of the dumbest theories out there. Those leaves are THE ONLY source of energy production. Energy that is used throughout the entire plant. There are no energy highways or little policemen directing where the energy should go. Fewer healthy green leaves = less energy produced = slower/smaller growth. Cannabis has evolved over 100s of thousands of years to grow her best flowers. This does not involve getting rid of healthy green leaves. Yellow leaves fall off. This is because by the time they are yellow, they have served their purpose. Do Oak trees drop healthy green leaves for no apparent reason? Of course not. Why should it be any different for cannabis plants? Those "shaded bud sites" that people seem to stress over, actually are relying on those "shade" leaves to provide the energy required to grow flowers. The tiny "bud leaves" can in no way provide anywhere near as much energy as just one large healthy green "shade" leaf. Sorry for my ranting/raving, defoliation hits a raw nerve with me. It is so wrong, I do not know why people think/believe it is a good idea. So, after all this, my advice is to leave all healthy green leaves on your plant to be able to produce maximum energy, to be then able to grow her maximum flowers, and to only remove old yellow leaves. The plant knows what is best for her, this includes keeping all her healthy green leaves. De-leafing is man trying to impose his will over a perfectly designed plant at the pinnacle of its evolutionary height. De-leafing is an archaic old wives' tale that should have been buried 50 years ago. Again, sorry for the rant, but I do feel better now. Might be time for a lie down! Hope this helps you or anyone else reading this.. Organoman. P.S.- remember, fewer healthy green leaves = less energy produced = less food = smaller and slower growth. It is basic science.

Take no more than 1/3 of your plants material off at one time. Large older fans leaves go first and especially anything covering a node site. Just take your time. When you look down on your plant from a birds eye view. You want to just barely be able to see your soil still. 🤘😤