The facts: Soil: store bought at Leroy Merlin, Compo Sana Universal Soil, with perlite Indoor, in a tent (60cm x 60cm) Strain: impossible to tell, it was a 'female mix' offering from a seed bank Age: they both sprouted 10 days ago Lights: 250 watt gro&flo from Agrolite, with a cooltube Distance from lights: about 1 foot I water them every 3 days until there's a bit of run off the bottom Using tap, sometimes bottled water. Tap water sits in open container to evaporate chlorine (I'll water in 2 days and I'll start monitoring the ph, didn't have the measurement kit) NO nutrients as of yet. Temp: lights on - 22 to 28C depending if exhausting, lights off it falls to 17C Humidity: between 40% e 65% Pots: 1,5 gallon pots No bugs The first 3 pictures are the sick looking plant, the other 3 are of the better looking one, for comparison..they both sprouted within hours of one another so I'm very worried at the differences...can anyone point me in the right direction? Been reading up a lot but I can't figure it out..
You're watering too much. At this point when plants are still young/small, you should wait until the pot feels light before watering. There is plenty of moisture left in those pots after three days, especially if you're watering to drain. The top may feel/look dry, but a lot of water remains in the pot below surface level. Right now the root system is immature and underdeveloped, just like the rest of the plant. It's taking up water very slowly. Oxygen is very important for proper nutrient cycling and adsorption. When you overwater soils that have small plants with underdeveloped root systems growing in them, fresh oxygen is driven out of the soil. Then you start to see weird "nutrient deficiencies" where they should not exist. Curling leaf blades with erect stems is usually an indication of overwatering. Let your soil dry out more in between waterings. When I have seeds sprouted in solo cups (smaller than your pots), I can sometimes go a whole week before they need watering. If that doesn't help to improve things, then I'm going to say that the soil you're using is too "hot" for seedlings. And until health improves, I'd back that light up quite a bit.
Over watering was my first thought, thanks. On that subject I watered them 24h before the pictures were taken, Monday afternoon, and was planning on watering again Thursday. I have two seedlings in two smaller pots, and to water all 4 plants, every 3 days I use slightly less than 0.5 liters. So you're saying I should probably not water for at least a couple more days? I'll also pull the light up another foot or 2. Edit: wont it make my plants stretch too much?
At this point I would be watering based on the weight of the pot. Grab the top edge of the pot with one hand (a couple of fingers) and tip it up on its bottom edge. Feel the weight, how heavy it is. You want to water when the pot feels light. Like really light. If your light distance is currently a foot from the top of the plants, I'd back it up another 6"-9". I'm not familiar with the brand of soil that you're using. What's in it? It looks a lot like coir...
Will do. Moved the lights also. I dont have the package of the soil anymore, but it said it was general purpose soil...should I change the soil? The 2 smaller ones are in cups so I'm gonna transplant them later, maybe to so guano soil.. Link to soil http://www.leroymerlin.es/fp/258930/sustrato-compo-sana-universal-50l#ficha-tecnica What worries me most is that there's such a big difference between the two plants, same age same conditions (including watering)...one looks sick and shriveled and the other is almost twice its size.
I've seen people saying the soil I used is too hot for seedlings... Guess that's the problem there! Weird that its only affecting one of them.. I'll give her a couple more days, and if it does not improve I guess I'll flush?
Like you said your soil might be a bit hot. IDK anything about that soil so I can't say. But definitely been watering too much. Listen to waktoo on that one. Let them dry out then water. Your roots will stretch looking for that water and soon should be root bound. They probably aren't ready for a transplant so I would wait till you see signs of them root bound. IF letting them dry out before watering doesn't correct your issue then your probably right on flushing. Let them dry, add pH adjusted water, let them dry again, water again and look to transplant once they get close to dry. If you don't see roots poking out the bottom holes of the pot then wait a bit longer and this would be your time to flush if the problem isn't showing signs of recovery. If you have a pH and/or ppm meter your should test your runoff when you flush or your next water.
I unfortunately am not well versed with the Spanish language. Could you translate what it says under composicio<sup>,</sup>n, under the ficha te<sup>,</sup>cnica section? Those are not the same kind of cultivar. You can tell by looking at the leaves. You can expect them to grow differently. I would not flush until we determine WHAT is in that soil. Flushing most likely will only compound your problems at this point.
The only information on the site is: Balanced mixture of peat, perlite, and fertilizer NPK Agrosil I'll have to go to the store and look the ingredients in the packaging lol Steps taken: - from 3 day watering cycle to 5 or more (depending on weight) - light taken from 1 foot to 1,5 feet - pray (lol) Future: - Just wait, if in about a week it shows signs of worsening I'll flush - Try and find exact contents of soil Will keep you guys posted, much obliged for all the help, you guys rock!
10 Days after and no signs of recovery :/ Been watering very sparingly, once q week..the leaves are burned and feel "crispy"..my best bet is still the soil, but after 3 weeks shouldn't it be depleted by now? Should I flush, transplant, prune dead leaves, do nothing?
No one cares to venture some advice? I'm worried because the small one isn't improving and the biggest one has new leaves already burned and is starting to droop a lot..
So did you find out WHAT exactly was in the soil? At this point, I'm going to venture that what you're experiencing now is nutrient deficiency. Magnesium and zinc, perhaps? Plants cannot live on NPK alone, and that's all that was in your soil to begin with... I don't know if that little one is even worth trying to save. I'm going to leave the fix to someone else who has more experience using chemical fertilizers. I wouldn't even try to give a recommendation on what you should use, given the part of the world you live in.
Yes I found out: mg/l: N = 200 –450; P2O5 = 200 – 500 ; K2O = 300 – 550. I went ahead and flushed, until runoff was clear and pH was 6.5. Should I add some nutes and when? I have npk 3-1-3
Can you source real soil in your area? I'm not sure what the stuff that you're using is actually made for, but it sure isn't suited for growing canna'. It's essentially a soilless/inert mix. There's NOTHING in it, other than the NPK. You need a soil mix/fertilizing program that includes not only NPK, but calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, boron, and a slew of other trace minerals that are only needed in very small amounts but are no less important to healthy plant growth than the rest of the nutrient list. These things are available in any decently built bagged soil. What you have is 100% designed to be used with soluble chemical fertilizers, probably for a wide range of ornamental plants that do not have a natural need for a full nutrient spectrum. You're either going to have to source a proper secondary/micronutrient/trace fertilizer (or two) in order to provide the nutrients needed to healthy canna' growth, or find a properly mixed soil that will allow you to feed with just NPK and possibly Cal/Mag. Once again, I hope some of the nute' guys show up and chime in on this topic. I know a lot about building living soil systems. Chemical gardening, not as much... And to be honest, you might want to start a thread in the indoor gardening forum. You might get some ideas about what chem' fert's you can use and possibly order or source in your area. Your plants aren't sick. They need nutrients. I do think that you WERE overwatering there at the beginning though. Seedlings don't need any fertilizer until they develop a few leaf sets.
Should I worry? Cut the leaf? One of the bigger fan leaves, on the bottom, is yellowing alot and has some kind of black smudges..the picture isn't very good because the light is on but is just discovered this.