DEFOLIATION: when should I do it? I start by remov...

if you are so close to the end, there are no big actions to do... so a clear No to taking away healthy leaves or anything like that. its just like B4RNS told it....take away the old , dead leaves.

@Alpine Goat I would let her finish naturally and only remove anything already dead Good luck

Just keep plugging off the dead leaves and let the others leaves, when buds gets heavy and start to fall over, the plants will use some of these leaves to lay on the closest neighbors and help to support the weight. The purpling stems is Magnesium chlorosis, it’s one of the symptoms of a Magnesium deficiency ! When a genetic is colored it’s only the flowers not the stems !

Reddish means when there is some red color apperaring on stems and leaves veins. Happens often, due to genetics. If no other problems appear, it´s all good. When doing defoliation, you want to get rid of all stuff in the lower third of the plant, leaves and buds for focussizing the energy to the top buds. In your late flower it´s too late to cut popcorn buds, but getting rid of old yellow leaves is always a good idea. You also can cut off bigger healthy leaves at 2 weeks from harvest to lower her nutrition reserves so she can consume her remaining reserves faster.