Pulling a handful of the biggest fan leaves around day 21 of flower opens up the inner bud sites on a dense indica, which sit in permanent shade. A second lighter pass at day 42 is common, but stripping more than that on a short plant tends to stall it. Photos comparing plants from the same indica seeds with heavy, light, and no defoliation are set side by side on
https://kushindicaseeds.com, and the light approach came out best for most growers. Never do it in the last three weeks.
