Trim & bloom question

Hey HaanfSolo! 🌱 Pic 1: Yep, a light defoliation or training could definitely help here! Removing a few of those larger fan leaves — especially the ones blocking bud sites or airflow — can improve light penetration and reduce the risk of mold or pests. Just don’t go overboard; keep it balanced so the plant can still photosynthesize properly. A little goes a long way. ✂️ Pics 2 + 3: That second plant is definitely a bit behind! Since it’s from the same seed batch and environment, it might just be a late bloomer — some phenotypes can take longer to flip, especially if you're growing from regular or even feminized seeds. But just to be sure: Check for light leaks during the dark period (they can delay or prevent flowering). Confirm that it's not a reveg situation (e.g., accidental light interruptions). Make sure it's actually a female — in rare cases, a male or sterile plant can look "stuck." If everything else is consistent, give it a bit more time. Some phenos are just slow starters. Keep observing — she might surprise you next week! Happy growing! 🌿✨

Agree with Organoman

Pic #1 - Training would be better than defoliation...........more leaves = more energy production = more and faster growth. Pics #2+3 - excess nitrogen (over feeding, which these plants clearly are) can delay and even in extreme cases, prevent flowering. Hang in there.......dial back the ferts and this other plant will flower soon enough. All seeds are unique individuals that work to their own schedule, no two seeds, even of the same strain and from the same packet, will ever have the exact same life cycle. BTW - "Apical dominance" has nothing to do with genetics, it is all about the height of the growing tips.

Apical dominance in cannabis is waAaAaaaAaaaAAAaayyy more nuanced than that.... any training, any defoliating, any steering, even genetics come into play with apical dominance in cannabis "I think you can bend and shape things to reduce physical touching of leaves. No need to defoliate." was plenty to answer that question. No, sugars do not flow freely throughout the plant. See...the sectoral nature of vascular tissue in cannabis.....or osmotic pull with respect to sink utilization/prioritization, diurnal cycles, and throttling or gating at membranes.... Yes, in a huge sweeping generalization that loses most value, apical dominance does drive allocation....ergo all the cultivation methods we have used for decades like training.....in an effort to leverage apical dominance to build the canopies and allocation we want. Yes, han. increasing the plant material actually getting light will be a good move. You can do this with training or defoliating, it is a matter of choice. Doing nothing is nominally increasing your pathogen risk daily while increasing your inefficiency with respect to input through output analysis.

I think you can bend and shape things to reduce physical touching of leaves. No need to defoliate. Sugar freely flows around the plant and allocation is based on apical dominance, not where the light hits. You should have plent of light penetration simply by not crowding the canopy, which you look fine in that regard. the other plant you have pictures too far away to assess anything that matters relative to the question. Are these autoflowers? they don't all have the same timing. if you get up to ~8 weeks or more and no signs of flower beyond likely preflowers, it's probably a photoperiod at that point. If you see any hairs forming at terminal buds, you know flower's just starting.