I am growing indoors my plant is getting close to ...

I only defoliate the biggest leafs on the main stem and only if the leafs are too big and hanging over the buds. If you wait until the plant is flowering I thing it doesn't affect the bud growth. Don't remove to mush leafs also

Using defoliation, a grower seeks to manipulate plant growth to increase airflow and light penetration. More flowering knots receive direct light, the better they will grow and the more they will produce resin Defoliation in general can be used on non-trellised plants to increase light penetration and airflow, rather than using any specific technique. Leaves that interfere with light penetration are removed during the life of the plant at the choice of the grower. Even during flowering. Cannabis flowers are incredibly effective for photosynthesis and will recover soon after defoliation. When too many leaves are removed and the effectiveness of transpiration is interrupted, nutrients can accumulate in the root zone, causing a burn or blockage of nutrient uptake Good luck May the force be with you 💪

@Anthony420 I'm not a fan of defoliating just for the sake of defoliating if you know what I mean, The only reason IMO to remove any leaves is to allow more Air movement in and around your whole plant which reduces the risk of bud rot removing too much foliation can impact your plants overall vigor

You could probably strip the entire bottom 12 inches at least. It will only produce loose leafy buds down there. Should be a stable genetic from 420, so it should be able to handle it. I've done 2 heavy defoliation on my current autoflower grow and they are just fine. I think these plants are a lot more resilient than people give them credit for. I would still leave a fair bit of the leaves nearer the top of the canopy to harvest the light but that's about it. It is very true what they say about buds directly exposed, closest to the light. They just turn out better.

I would wait at least 1 more week so you don't slow the flowering stretch down. You want to defoliate when you have little budlets formed at top usually around end of week 3. And since this is an auto go light you don't want her stressed. So just pluck a few at a time wait 3 days do another session wait another 3 days do your last defoliation. Basically over a week span and make sure to only remove leaves that are shading a bud. DON'T REMOVE THEM ALL. Fan leaves are basically stored energy to drive big buds and if something where to go wrong.

Hello Anthony420, your girl is looking great. I see u have an autoflower, they can go very quick. As to answer your question. I would recommend to indeed defoliate heavy, just one time. Try to not remove the leaves that are attached to an bud, otherwise you will slow up the grow process of the forming bud. Defoliation is only to give your tops down under more light and more airflow through your whole canopy. So if theres a fan leave blocking something remove it. By defoliating your plants wont be able to make as much sugar as she would do normal, so feed her good after. I hope this answer was helpfull. Keep on growing. Peace 👍