how to get glossy/shiny leaves, is it good?

[Splinter7]

It was a joke. That would be nitrogen toxicity I'm talking about. You don't want that.

i know...i do like a heavily loaded N going into flower though because i sort of starve them of N after about week 2 of flower.

wish i didn't have these issues. my leaves used to stay so green. not sure what changed.

 

[Kushash]

i know...i do like a heavily loaded N going into flower though because i sort of starve them of N after about week 2 of flower.

wish i didn't have these issues. my leaves used to stay so green. not sure what changed.

What are you growing with? I see perlite on top and it looks like it has a greenish yellow algae growing on it.

 

[Budzbuddha]

J/K …. I wouldn’t put this shit on anything but ornamentals ( maybe ) - might as well use mop n’ glow.

 

[calvin.m16]

I've never seen the shiny leaves unless something was wrong or sprayed on the plants.

 

[Kushash]

I've never seen the shiny leaves unless something was wrong or sprayed on the plants.

Do you mean you haven't seen pics of healthy shiny leaves from other growers, or do you mean you haven't grown plants with a healthy shine?

 

[Tangerine_]

Shiny leaves is usually due to pest pressure.
It can be a genetic trait as well as too much N causing thick leathery leaves.

 

[Kushash]

Shiny leaves is usually due to pest pressure.
It can be a genetic trait as well as too much N causing thick leathery leaves.

Hi Tangerine_
Would you agree or disagree that shiny leaves can also be a sign of a healthy plant with high brix?

 

[obijohn]

I have never had shiny leaves in any of my grows. Shiny leaves don't (IMO) indicate a healthy plant, sounds like you're chasing a cosmetic effect

 

[Kushash]

I never knew this was a debate amongst established growers. There are several growers on riu that I feel grow healthy plants with a healthy shine at times. One of those members is on this thread.
Maybe what I consider a shiny healthy leaf is not considered shiny to others or maybe what I consider shiny and healthy is actually a sick looking leaf.
If anyone wants to show pics of what healthy leaves without shine looks like, I'd be glad to show what my version of healthy is.
Then we can let others decide which ones look healthier.

 

[Hollatchaboy]

I never knew this was a debate amongst established growers. There are several growers on riu that I feel grow healthy plants with a healthy shine at times. One of those members is on this thread.
Maybe what I consider a shiny healthy leaf is not considered shiny to others or maybe what I consider shiny and healthy is actually a sick looking leaf.
If anyone wants to show pics of what healthy leaves without shine looks like, I'd be glad to show what my version of healthy is.
Then we can let others decide which ones look healthier.

This is from my current run. Leaves look healthy to you?

 

[Kushash]

This is from my current run. Leaves look healthy to you?
View attachment 5266335

They look excellent. That to me is an example of high brix. They look like an example I was going to use actually.
I have to go look through my pics to find some with a higher level of shine that I consider healthy. Maybe later with a beer.
Do you consider yours to have a shine? My pic below to me has a low-level shine similar to yours.

 

[Hollatchaboy]

They look excellent. That to me is an example of high brix. They look like an example I was going to use actually.
I have to go look through my pics to find some with a higher level of shine that I consider healthy. Maybe later with a beer.
Do you consider yours to have a shine? My pic below to me has a low-level shine similar to yours.
View attachment 5266442

Newer growth on mine looks a lil shinier, but the older, darker leaves are pretty dull.

What's your average humidity?

 

[Splinter7]

I have never had shiny leaves in any of my grows. Shiny leaves don't (IMO) indicate a healthy plant, sounds like you're chasing a cosmetic effect

i didn't know if it was preferred or not. i had a waxy dutch treat that was special that a friend grew in soil a long time ago. so, i see that online a lot, but perhaps it was just noob luck that it turned out good. it just doesn't happen to me.

 

[Splinter7]

They look excellent. That to me is an example of high brix. They look like an example I was going to use actually.
I have to go look through my pics to find some with a higher level of shine that I consider healthy. Maybe later with a beer.
Do you consider yours to have a shine? My pic below to me has a low-level shine similar to yours.
View attachment 5266442

the algae is nothing. it goes eventually when i keep the rh level down. all perlite hempy, gh nutes. started in a small cup of coco perlite mix. i am fighting some mag deficiencies i think on a few plants...not this one so much. i have this one that has grown crappy the whole time, but it has frilled leaves. i want to kill it, but it seems to be growing.

the one on the right in the set of two may have that glossy look. i am feeding them all the same thing and it isn't as healthy as the rest.

 

[Kushash]

i didn't know if it was preferred or not. i had a waxy dutch treat that was special that a friend grew in soil a long time ago. so, i see that online a lot, but perhaps it was just noob luck that it turned out good. it just doesn't happen to me.

That quote wasn't said by me in your post # 33 above. That was said by obijohn in post 28. Somehow the quote got mixed up.

 

[Kushash]

Newer growth on mine looks a lil shinier, but the older, darker leaves are pretty dull.

What's your average humidity?

I keep my humidity low compared to others. I guess that would cause a shine right? My humidity averages 40 - 45 in veg and I try to keep it under 50 in flower. I live in a dry climate and if anything, need to occasionally run an evaporative cooler when it goes below 40.

 

[Splinter7]

I keep my humidity low compared to others. I guess that would cause a shine right? My humidity averages 40 - 45 in veg and I try to keep it under 50 in flower. I live in a dry climate and if anything, need to occasionally run an evaporative cooler when it goes below 40.

during veg its 60 to 70% most of the time. in the early winter it's a bit drier. ~76F on a temp controller. during winter it can get cold at night. in summer it might get a bit warmer at peak in the day.

 

[MissinThe90’sStrains]

I had a pre-98 white widow from old Dutch genetics with a shine to the leaves. My toddler at the time dumped out a bunch of labeled sprouted seedlings into a pile. I grew out the survivors, and had to re-identify them before flower. I was able to pick out the widows because they all had that same shine. I still have half the pack, and am hoping there’s a keeper buried in there.

 

[Splinter7]

I had a pre-98 white widow from old Dutch genetics with a shine to the leaves. My toddler at the time dumped out a bunch of labeled sprouted seedlings into a pile. I grew out the survivors, and had to re-identify them before flower. I was able to pick out the widows because they all had that same shine. I still have half the pack, and am hoping there’s a keeper buried in there.

the one i saw that was super shiny and killer bud was as Dutch Treat popped in 2000.

 

[Tangerine_]

Hi Tangerine_
Would you agree or disagree that shiny leaves can also be a sign of a healthy plant with high brix?

I would agree that high brix is indicative of a very healthy plant. I cant say that I noticed overly shiny leaves when running a mineral rich system like NFTG or a living soil but its been a few years since I've grown that way.
I will say, that anytime I grew with high calcium levels in my outdoor grows I had extremely healthy plants that were very pest resistant. The leaves were always thick and lush. I love those "bone-grows" but they can be a time suck for me.