Plant Moisture Stress - Symptoms and Solutions

[Jerry Garcia]

If the root system is healthy, I find it next to impossible to overwater. A robust root system will wick away about whatever you give it under normal circumstances, using typical potting soils. MG soil is a good soil. You need to adjust your watering schedule.

Yes, my watering was a little overzealous at first because I could not detect the moisture level around the roots--the top of the soil was quite dry and the pots seemed light, but they were still retaining moisture and not allowing the "dry" part of its wet/dry cycle. I have repotted in Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil and use the moisture meter to tell me when to water.

For starts, I would use taller pots. Seedlings have a pretty long taproot and a taller pot also means less chance of overwatering. Also, when you upcan, sink the plant so that the first node with leafsets is just a hair above the soil line. This will insure root production the entire length of the buried "trunk" and after a week or so, they will take off like a ruptured goose.

I did this with the first upcan (from 16oz cups to the 5.5" square pots) as some had become a little stretched. I probably could have buried more of the stem though, and will do so the next time.

Also, I have 7" square pots that are considerably deeper than the current ones...the problem is limited space. Larger pots = fewer plants so until I sex them I think this is where they will stay.

Probably stress related. Try not to read too much into it.

Easier said than done. I'll keep an eye on them.

You don't need to use distilled water, tap is fine and unless you are absolutely certain that MG has NO nutrient charge, then you should be lightly fertilizing. Does the soil have bluish green pellets, encapsulated food?

As I said, I'm no longer using the MG soil, though it does not have any said nutrient pellets. The analysis does list small percentages of nutrients in the soil. And now I'm using FF.

And as for distilled water, is it detrimental to the plants to use this? Is tap water preferable (other than for cost reasons)?

RH is fine if the root system is doing its job. When you upcanned, were the rootballs intact or did they fall apart?

They fell apart. But more so because I wanted less MG soil and tried to knock it off before transferring to the new soil. I think they are healthy, but maybe not hardy. They are still young.

So much for tents. Again, your focus should be on developing a robust root system. When you have one, you'll get this kind of vigor - https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/9114-spin-out-chemical-root-pruning.html

The tent has shown promise for another struggling lady in my garden. The first set of leaves began to significantly curl under, almost where the tips touched the stem. After two days in the tent, she continues new leaf production and just looks healthier. I'm not quite ready to abandon them yet (except for the one with the recent malady).

What kind of light fixture and how far from the plant tops is it?

I started with a 150w hps. I now have 2 t5 ho fluoro's, 8 26w cfls, and 2 65w cfls. The hps has been moved up about 12" from the plants, and is only used supplementally for a few hours a day. The fluoro's are anywhere from 1-6" from the plant tops (as evident in the photo).

Thanks for the prompt (and detailed) response UB! You are the man!

~JG

 

[Uncle Ben]

And as for distilled water, is it detrimental to the plants to use this? Is tap water preferable (other than for cost reasons)?

Not detrimental, the aggravation is just not needed.

They fell apart.

That's what I was afraid of. You popped them out too early damaging the root system and now they're showing stress. Has nothing to do with MG soil. It's human nature to project blame where it doesn't rightfully belong, it's part of our feelings while not knowing the facts. Best example is how folks quickly blame pH of the medium, solution, water source, etc. Easy way out, not valid 99% of the time.

But more so because I wanted less MG soil and tried to knock it off before transferring to the new soil.

If MG soil was so bad, there wouldn't be tons of it sold and used successfully on an annual basis. By knocking off the soil, you really screwed up the root system especially the sensitive root hairs which are the main engine responsible for the uptake of water and salts (plant food). You want a solid, intact rootball to pop out when upcanning. Again I have to refer you to my thread regarding the Spin-out stuff.

The tent has shown promise for another struggling lady in my garden.

Well, since the root system has been compromised, I can see where it might be helpful now.

The first set of leaves began to significantly curl under, almost where the tips touched the stem. After two days in the tent, she continues new leaf production and just looks healthier. I'm not quite ready to abandon them yet (except for the one with the recent malady).

Don't abandon them. Give them plenty of light without bleaching out the chlorophyll and learn how to balance all factors of plant culture. There is no one deciding factor, it is the sum of the parts.

I started with a 150w hps. I now have 2 t5 ho fluoro's, 8 26w cfls, and 2 65w cfls. The hps has been moved up about 12" from the plants, and is only used supplementally for a few hours a day. The fluoro's are anywhere from 1-6" from the plant tops (as evident in the photo).

As an aside, a light meter that registers to 10,000 f.c. is a great investment. Not cheap, but worth it.

Thanks for the prompt (and detailed) response UB! You are the man!

~JG

Thanks. Aint my first rodeo hombre.

Good luck,
Tio

 

[OneHit]

UB, Heres a pic of the plant. I watered yesterday about 12 hrs ago. It looks a bit better, but I cant be too sure. What can I do to fix this problem? Im 7 weeks into flowering

 

[Jerry Garcia]

Gracias amigo. If I need further advice I know where to turn.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Gracias amigo. If I need further advice I know where to turn.

De nada ~

UB, Heres a pic of the plant. I watered yesterday about 12 hrs ago. It looks a bit better, but I cant be too sure. What can I do to fix this problem? Im 7 weeks into flowering

Beats the hell outta me. Without knowing what you've been doing from day one, I can only guess. You been naughty and using too much Bloom food?

UB

 

[OneHit]

Heh, I dont think Ive been using too much nutes. I've only used nutes with every other watering, and trying to pay attention to the shade of the lower leaves.

Atleast the buds still look nice, nice and heavy too. Ive been treating all my plants the same too, only this one has the problem

 

[widow87]

uncle ben i was wondering if u recommend that spin out product because i was thinking of giving it a try after seeing u in action i was also wondering where to find that product thanks for spreading ur knowledge of with everyone its greatly appreciated ......widow87

 

[Chettybear]

to your plant moisture stress list. thank you for that, chettybear is on vacation and im doing my best to find out what is wrong and fix it. pretty sure at this point that is is a combination of two tings. over fertilizing and possibly even over watering,but mostly the ferts. as they say. it will be a sad day if chetty is too late. but again thank you for all of your knowledge you impart to everyone. i have been studying and copying notes from you for the past two days and have alrady learned so much, i feel dumb for not listening before. but i'm learning as i go which i guess is all anyone can do. thank you so much again.
chettybear's other girl.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Heh, I dont think Ive been using too much nutes.

I didn't say "nutes" my friend, I said "Bloom food". It's the ratio of NPK that you need to focus on. Bookmark this, it's what everyone needs to understand but few do - nutrient antagonism - http://www.totalgro.com/concepts.htm

uncle ben i was wondering if u recommend that spin out product because i was thinking of giving it a try after seeing u in action i was also wondering where to find that product thanks for spreading ur knowledge of with everyone its greatly appreciated ......widow87

It is probably only available to commercial ag growers now. It works great with pot and other plant material. Do a Google.

.....i have been studying and copying notes from you for the past two days and have alrady learned so much, i feel dumb for not listening before. but i'm learning as i go which i guess is all anyone can do. thank you so much again.
chettybear's other girl.

Wow! Flattery will get you nowhere hehe. My approach is very basic, a botanical approach. If you can learn what makes a plant tick, treat cannabis like the weed it is rather than destroying its health/vigor with trendy trickery, rocket fuels and snake oils.....you'll do fine. One of my best gardens regarding growing super healthy and productive pot was my first. Plants were large, full of healthy green foliage up to the end and produced chunky big ass colas. I didn't have forum paradigms and hype to mess me up then.

Make it a great day,
UB

 

[OneHit]

UB, Ive never heardu mention foliar feeding, do you?

Just read about elemential mobility. Very useful, deserves a read. The only leaves that die off for me are the older leaves, so that means Im missing one of the 3, NPK right?

 

[Uncle Ben]

UB, Ive never heardu mention foliar feeding, do you?

Being that it is so short lived, only if there is a deficiency.

Just read about elemential mobility. Very useful, deserves a read. The only leaves that die off for me are the older leaves, so that means Im missing one of the 3, NPK right?

The N in lower leaves will be sacrificed by the plant to newer growth. Very low light levels will also induce leaf drop - your call.

I guarantee if you're using one of the typical Bloom foods, exclusively, you'll lose lower leaves and more as the symptom/result moves up the plant. What these manufacturer's are conveniently forgetting to tell you (and manufacturers of "cannabis specific" foods are the worst) is that it's leaves that produce flowers/fruit, not their plant food. You can use all the Bloom food you want, but you progressively start losing the very unit that produces bud and you're in deep shit.

 

[OneHit]

UB, if thats the case, whats the point of using bloom foods? In that case, it seems like the opposite of what you actually want is happening.

 

[Uncle Ben]

UB, if thats the case, whats the point of using bloom foods?

Nothing bad really, it can help the transition from veg to flowering mode.... but labels sell and that's what counts in the real world, profits. Here's my take on the industry - if P supports good flower production, then lot's of P produces lots of flowers. (There's a term for this kind of logic, someone help me out). A 10-62-10 may be OK outdoors in native soil where P tends to get bound (locked up) by Ca, but in regular indoor soils or hydro, you've got to be careful to not overdo it.

In that case, it seems like the opposite of what you actually want is happening.

If often does. As I said in a previous post, when is P enough? Is a food that is a 10-62-10 better for flower production or is a food that is a 10-8-10 have enough P for good flower production while maintaining leaf health? I go with the latter premise. The question for the grower should be, "when do I reach a point where too much of one macro becomes antagonistic to the uptake of other elements?" That's where folks go wrong, by applying too much or too little of a certain NPK ratio. http://www.totalgro.com/concepts.htm

Just because the label or chart tells you to use such and such doesn't mean it's best for your plant. If you see a plant that is yellowing from the bottom up, and you've been using a bloom food low in N for the past 3 weeks of 12/12, then it should be a red flag that something's wrong. I raised an outdoor plant a couple of years ago that was exclusively fed a slow release (polymer encapsulated) 10 month high N food mixed into my custom potting soil before planting. It was a 18-4-9 with micros, and every time I would switch to a bloom food, it balked. Leaves turned yellowish, etc. Even though it automatically flowered on the 6th node (it obviously had some rudy in it) it produced 25 oz of some really cerebral sativa type bud. BTW, it was topped as a seedling in an effort to get 4 main colas, which happened.

Funny how this is pinging back and forth, but here's a ditty I did long ago on the issue of P abuse. https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/158144-never-ending-abuse-phosphorous-bloom.html#post2160356

Tio

 

[xxxgno]

I have white spots on the leaves of my plants in both my growroom and flowering room.Anyone have an idea what the friek this could be?

 

[dream2003]

1st time growing 3 weeks flowering - ram horns 4 1 week ???

 

[Kriegs]

Regarding pH and overnute issues. They're a little yellow-y from the HID -- if you think you see spots, you do. A couple are quite clear, along with their crispy necrotic tips (more like 1/2 up the leaf than tips, actually). Damn death march is eating my trichs, as you can see.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Regarding pH and overnute issues. They're a little yellow-y from the HID -- if you think you see spots, you do. A couple are quite clear, along with their crispy necrotic tips (more like 1/2 up the leaf than tips, actually). Damn death march is eating my trichs, as you can see.

You can't blame the HID for that, you need to consider the food you're using, assuming you were using the HID long before those stress symptoms showed up.

UB

 

[Kriegs]

You can't blame the HID for that, you need to consider the food you're using, assuming you were using the HID long before those stress symptoms showed up.

UB

No, no.. you misunderstood me. I was just talking about the yellowish cast that HID throws on a photo.. It obscures the intensity of the spotting a little, but you can still see it well.

 

[dream2003]

ramhorn or claw leafs she need help anyone. claw leafs for 7days so I flushed with 1 gallon of water then trance planted from 1gallon to 3 gallon pot very root bound. water ph 6.4 temp lights on 82-84 time release ferts water every 3-4 days.growing in box lids open using 2-42 cfls 1-27watt cfl humid 55

 

[Kriegs]

ramhorn or claw leafs she need help anyone. claw leafs for 7days so I flushed with 1 gallon of water then trance planted from 1gallon to 3 gallon pot very root bound. water ph 6.4 temp lights on 82-84 time release ferts water every 3-4 days.growing in box lids open using 2-42 cfls 1-27watt cfl humid 55

What's your soil runoff pH? I tried to PM you so as to not hijack UB's theme here. Perhaps start another thread.

Your plants look EXACTLY like mine did at that stage. I turned out to have serious low pH.