Hermie

Yes, heavy defoliation will cause all sorts of metabolic shock/trauma, not to mention a massive reduction in a plants ability to produce energy, resulting in slower growth and possibly smaller plants/flowers. There is no need to remove any leaves unless they are yellow, for by the time they are yellow, they have served their purpose. De-leafing is the most widely misunderstood "theory" when it comes to cannabis cultivation. Not only does it slow growth by reducing the plants ability to produce energy, it also robs your plant of vital growth elements such as amino acids, carbs, sugars etc that your plant cleverly stores in her leaves, to be called upon during flowering. It is far more efficient for your plant to re-use these vital growth elements that she has stored in her leaves during flowering, than to make these elements from new, while she is also trying to grow her flowers. So, not only does de-leafing reduce the plants ability to produce energy, it also robs her of a vital store of carefully "stashed" growth elements she needs to grow her biggest and best flowers. Plants can not "channel" energy to "bud sites" or anywhere else. All energy is used throughout the entire plant. A plant does not have a brain to decide where energy goes or energy highways with little policemen directing energy flow. Cannabis has evolved to be her most effective and efficient flower producer that she can be. Part of this evolution does not include getting rid of healthy, green, energy producing leaves. "Bud sites" do not need exposure to light to grow, they need those shade leaves to produce the energy they need to be able to grow! There is no way the small "bud leaves" can produce as much energy as just one shade leaf. Besides, if the shade leaf is left where it is supposed to be, in 2-6 days time, that branch/bud site will have grown out from underneath the shade leaf anyhow, making removing the shade leaf pointless. As you said in your diary, your plants "bounced back" quite quickly, have you ever thought how much extra they would have grown if they did not have a need to "bounce back" from the trauma that de-leafing is? Most probably, there would have been an extra 2-7 days of unhindered growth and your plants would be bigger than they are now. I will now step down from my soapbox, I feel better now that I have had my almost daily rant against de-leafing. Just remember; less healthy, green leaves = less energy = less growth. It's plant science 101. About keeping the hermaphrodite, if it is your only plant, you could try and pick the flowers off as you find them, but if you have more than one, you risk seeding them too. Have a look at my diary "Holy Mackerel .. WTF" to see how sneaky hermaphrodite flowers can be, if you are interested. Do not be tempted to use the pollen or seeds for future breeding, they will have the hermaphrodite gene, so the next generations will be predisposed to do the same. Whether you choose to keep it and put up with the odd seeds after harvest or cut it down and start again, is up to you. In my experience, I would be starting again, as a fight with a hermaphrodite is usually lost and the flowers once seeded lose a lot of their potential. Hope this helps, but it is up to you. .. Organoman.