Defoliation and lollipopping: what to remove and what to leave

Leaves are the plant’s solar panels. Remove them for a reason, not out of habit.

Lollipopping

Lower branches in deep shade rarely make good buds. Many growers remove weak, shaded growth to make the canopy easier to manage and to improve access and airflow. That doesn’t guarantee its “energy” will be redirected into a bigger harvest.

Selective defoliation

Remove large leaves that sit right on top of bud sites or press against other leaves, since damp, crowded spots invite mold. Rot can be hidden in dense flowers. Opening the canopy reduces some risk factors, but it can’t guarantee prevention.

A common grower schedule, not a requirement

1. A few days before you flip to flowering, clean out the bottom and the crowded center.
2. Around the end of the stretch (about three weeks in), remove new weak shoots and leaves that shade buds.
3. After that, go light. Healthy leaves still supply the plant, and how well it recovers varies with cultivar and stage.

What research suggests

A separate 2021 greenhouse study on large Topaz plants found some defoliation treatments increased cannabinoid concentrations at lower sites and improved spatial uniformity. Defoliation alone didn’t significantly increase total flower or cannabinoid yield. The tested schedule wasn’t the universal day-21 routine above, so don’t present that routine as a research result.