# Tucking

> 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.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/tucking.html
- Also written: tuck, leaf tucking, tucking leaves, tuck don't pluck
- Glossary category: Cultivation and training · Evidence: Grower practice
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Tucking is a training method in which a leaf that is shading a bud site is folded behind a stem, slid under a neighbouring leaf, or pushed beneath a [trellis net](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/trellis.md), instead of being cut off. In [SCROG](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/scrog.md), tucking also means pulling [growing tips](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/apical-meristem.md) back under the screen so they spread sideways.

## In practice

Tuck daily while plants are in late veg and the [stretch](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/stretch.md); leaves are pliable and stay where they are put once they reorient to the light. Large [fan leaves](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fan-leaf.md) can be tucked under the stem of the leaf next to them. The leaf keeps photosynthesising, the bud underneath gets light, and nothing needs to heal.

## Myth check

House position: "tuck, don't pluck" is GenetixBay's standard advice. Maximise leaf surface area, like a solar farm for the buds, and prefer tucking and training over stripping. Whether [heavy defoliation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/schwazzing.md) helps or hurts is an open question for [Bay Trials](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/bay-trials.md); tucking gives the light benefit without the gamble. Evidence: Grower practice, house-endorsed. See [defoliation and lollipopping](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/training/defoliation-lollipopping.md).

## Don't confuse with

- **Defoliation**: removes leaves; tucking only moves them.
- **LST**: bends stems; tucking usually refers to leaves and tips.

## Related terms

[Defoliation](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/defoliation.md), [SCROG](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/scrog.md), [LST](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/lst.md), [Fan leaf](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fan-leaf.md), [Canopy](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/canopy.md)

## Read more

- [Defoliation and lollipopping: what to remove, when, and the evidence](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/training/defoliation-lollipopping.md)
- [SCROG: screen of green](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/training/scrog.md)