Why are the pistils falling off?

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
All of the sudden, the pistils are falling off one of my plants. It has been much hotter than normal, so I am sure that is part of the cause. My question is, has the heat caused this plant to stress to point where it has hermed? Any input is valued, it seems to be only affecting one plant, so if by chance it is hermed, I want to pull it asap. I know the pics aren't the best, so if they are not good enough to make an educated guess, let me know and I will try to take better ones.

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Garybhoy11

Well-Known Member
i wouldnt say its hermie its just been stressed from the sudden increase in heat, it should hopefully recover or at least not get any worse as long as the temps stay down around normal
 

mrCRC420

Well-Known Member
I don't believe pistils fall of when a plant herms (or so I've never heard of that) - Hermaphrodites have both sexual organs so I would assume (in most cases) the pistils and pollen sacs would be present on a healthy herm. Your situation sounds more stress related (which can lead to herm plants but can also lead to no change). GL!
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys, I have never seen a plant do that, so I was a bit nervous. I assumed it had to do with the spike in heat, it has been mild in So Cal this summer, but the last few days the temperature has gone from mid 80's to low 100's. My other plants seem to be taking the change in stride, but this one for whatever reason, isn't too happy about it.
 

GOD HERE

Well-Known Member
Do you see balls? I don't in the pictures you posted so it just looks like most of these people have no idea what they're talking about. The plant is not going to herm from a one time increase in heat, it's part of being alive. Fuck with the light cycle a lot and you might end up with one.
 

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Agreed, I don't think it's herm either. The foliage looks real healthy, it probably is the heat unless it's something you neglected to tell us. I would throw up some PVC and cover that thing with shade cloth.
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
I noticed the pistils are still intact on all the lower flowers of the plant. This is the top cola that is losing the pistils, which would be the one exposed to the most heat and light. So, I am thinking this plant may just need a shade cloth as stated above. Thanks for the advice!

BTW, this is outdoor, so I don't really have a way to mess with light cycles, I leave that up to mother nature...lol
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
I guess this is where my concern comes from, these are two different plants of the same strain(Wildberry) in the same location and they do not seem to be affected by the heat, whatsoever. Granted, hey are much larger plants, probably triple in size, so maybe that is why they are able to handle the heat much better? Am I just being overly paranoid?

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HeartlandHank

Well-Known Member
Curious.. did the pistils turn brown before they fell off or did they remain white up to the point of falling off?

If brown I wonder if they got pollinated? Are they RIGHT next to the other healthy plants?

strange..
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
They are right next to other healthy plants. I don't recall them turning brown, seems like I just went out to check on them in the morning and notice most of the pistils gone. Thought maybe some type of pest at first, but what pest would just focus on removing pistils and no other damage, never heard of such a thing.
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
Well, I think I found the culprit this morning. I found a green worm/caterpillar on my plant. I didn't see him before because he blended in so well. He basically looked like a stem or leaf. I should have taken a picture for identification purposes, but knee jerk reaction was to rip him off and stomp him. Looks like I will have to refer to the pest chart for identification.
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
Now the big question is, are there more? I haven't been able to identify with 100% certainty, but it seems the overall treatment for anything worm/caterpillar related is BT(Bacillus thuringiensis). Does anyone have any experience with this stuff? Does it harm a flowering plant in anyway? I would like to spray all my plants just in case, but certainly would think twice if it will have possible adverse affects on the plants.
 

bpboothb

Well-Known Member
Ok, so I sprayed my plans with spinosad and a little worm was dangling off on a web. The spinosad did not kill him, just stunned him I guess, because when I took him off and put him on the ground, he sat there for a minute doing nothing, then he tried to take off. Anyways, can someone please help me identify and possibly give me a course of action I can take to eradicate. So far, I only see on one plant that is affected, so I am hoping I can contain it to just that plant. Here are the pics of the little s**t:
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pghdave420

Well-Known Member
just a inch worm.if it was just one i wouldnt worrie.they prob chew on leafs tho.always see them in trees
 

hexthat

Well-Known Member
unless your growing seeds why do you give a fuck about the pistils? shouldnt you be more concerned about the trichomes?
 
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