identifying suckers

[TarantulaDan]

Feel kind of silly but how do I identify suckers and can "sucker leaves be smoked as a kind of test ?

 

[bonehead]

suckers grow from where a leaf meets the stalk. it will look like another stalk or branch is growing. i snap them off as soon as they are big enough to get a grip on them. they seem to stunt the growth of the main leaf on the stalk. after the plant is almost ready for harvest some people let one sucker grow near the base of the plant so after harvesting the main plant they can try to grow a new plant from the sucker if there is still enough time in the growing season left.

 

[deluxestogie]

Some issues about suckers:

• Usually, though not always, the quality of sucker leaf is not as good as that of the primary leaf. They tend to be thinner, lighter in color, and lower in nicotine and flavor.
• Suckers tend to attract aphids at the peak of the aphid season. Removing suckers promptly reduces the aphid burden on the primary crop.
• Suckers require color-curing at a later point in the season than the primary crop. Depending on your weather at that point in the season, that may present a problem.

By contrast with most of the varieties that I have grown, Prilep produced wonderful, flavorful and aromatic leaf from suckers, and it color-cured beautifully.

So...for your particular climate and choice of varieties, the decision to expend effort on suckers will be a trial and error process.

Bob