Lollipopping is pruning the lower third or so of a plant, removing small branches, weak bud sites and lower leaves that sit in the shade beneath the canopy. What remains looks like a lollipop: bare stem below, dense foliage and colas on top.
In practice
Most growers lollipop just before or within about the first two to three weeks of flower, when it is clear which shoots will reach the canopy. The aims are fewer small, airy "popcorn" buds, better airflow under the canopy (lower humidity pockets, less risk of mould), and easier watering access. Work in stages on a sensitive plant rather than all at once.
The evidence is grower practice. It removes tissue that receives little light, so yield losses should be small, but light-hungry lower leaves can still contribute.
Don't confuse with
Myth check
House position: "tuck, don't pluck". Remove what is truly shaded and useless; keep productive leaves. See defoliation and lollipopping.
A bud site is a node where flowers form, where leaf meets stem, or a branch tip; training aims to put more of them in strong light.Bag appeal is how good flower looks in the bag or jar, frost, colour, density and trim, which sells cannabis but does not measure its quality.The dense, elongated cluster of flowers that forms at the end of a stem or branch; the main cola tops the leader.Popcorn buds are small, separate buds, usually from lower branches, often sold cheaper as "smalls" though they can be the same quality as the tops.Defoliation is removing fan leaves from a plant to open the canopy to light and air; GenetixBay's house view is to tuck leaves rather than strip them.A large palmate cannabis leaf with several long leaflets on a long petiole; fan leaves do most of the plant's photosynthesis and carry few trichomes.Schwazzing is an aggressive defoliation method that strips almost all fan leaves on day 1 and again around day 21 of flower.The canopy is the top layer of foliage and buds across a grow, the surface that intercepts most of the light and where yield is mostly made.Tucking is moving fan leaves and shoots behind or under others, or beneath a screen, so bud sites get light without removing any leaf area.
