The age old question.... To defoliate or not to de...

I'm all for a good topping, i think now would be fine. As for defoliation I'm a big believer in that too but closer to right at the beginning of flowering and then a few weeks after again. And always cleaning up the bottoms to get rid of all the tiny popcorn buds and boost the top bigger buds. ✌️

Stop defoliating at this stage, you'll get slower growth and I'll LST for now and top in a week.

Hey ColdKey IMO you should immediately LST that lady and top her when you feel comfortable, it's not just a question of space, it's also a question of yield, and who doesnt like a shitton of top shelf? once you LST defoliation will become more important as you'll be making a canopy with mains sticking out and you simply need to poke holes in the canopy so some of the bottom parts of your colas rippen. Without LST the plant grows into a "pine tree shape" unless you top. I would do a simple topping then combine it with some lst to get the side shoots pointing out for a bit, but for sure aim to top so you have at least four mains, do that by topping at the 4th or fifth node - hope you get to squeeze out all you can from these gens ! Hope this helps ! 🚀

Hi @Coldkey! Defoliation is awesome when done correctly, but it could be a nightmare if done too much or at the wrong time. Before removing a leaf, I always ask myself: is this leaf really blocking the light? For how many nodes / bud sites? How close are the next leaves? How healthy is this leaf? You should make your own experiments and see how it goes. Keep us up-to-date, happy growing! 👊

I like to top at the 5th node and remove the bottom 2 branches. This brings 8 main branches /arms i to flower. I recommend giving your plant at least 7 days before moving her to flower if you top. Then, if she responded well to the topping, i like to lollipop them right before the 12/12 switch to flower. Be careful not to overly defoliate throughout flower, as you will stress her out and hurt bud production! Happy growing!