SAKARABUanswered grow question 4 years ago Now is a good time, you want to give them a few days to recover from the shock and refocus their energy before moving into flowering which can be stressful enough for them. Generally a few days is enough time for them to recover.
Kyle Kushman has a great video on youtube about supercropping / Defoaliating, his recommendation is to defoliate 2-3 days before flowering.