So I'm totally new to this. I have a plant that's struggling. Seems to have started with the older leaves, but now it looks like some of the younger ones are started to be affected. The tips are turning brown, then the rest of the leave starts to get brown spot. Leaves curl up and become very brittle. Also, I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture but it's also a lighter green then the plant next to it. I have been looking around trying to figure out what might be going on, but haven't found anything conclusive. If you have any input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Yah, bigger pots will help make the plants bigger, but to get past these issues here you need to look at your soil's Ph and Nutrients. A transplant will help though if you've got them in shit soil right now. Have you checked the Ph of the water you give her? What about the runoff? Both should be around 6.5 Given any nutes? She could be starving - check Ph, then give nutes We need some more, specific info before we can give some serious help. The second plant in pic3 looks good...what did you do differently with her (even minor things can be of importance)? Good luck
So I checked the Ph of the water which was 6.4. Then I checked the runoff and it was much lower 5.5. I was thinking about flushing it with a hydrated lime solution until the the runoff got to about where it needs to be. I also need to repot it, the one it's in does not drain well which I think could be contributing to the problem. Any thoughts?
My runoff tends to be around 5.5 as well...so the water I put in is around 7, it works out I suppose because I have not had any Ph issues. Maybe it will work out for you. But If you do the lime solution, use very little because too much can really mess up the soil. A pot that drains better would definitely be a good idea. Adequate drainage is key to healthy soil.
Hey, really appreciate the super quick response. I was planning on using about a teaspoon of hydrated lime in a half gallon of water, then see where the pH is in a day or two. I'm worried though, becuase my other plant which has been doing really well is now having some issues now. The tips and the edges of the leaves are turning brown brown and curling down and there's little yellow spots between the veins. I checked it's runoff as well and it looks about the same, 5.5 maybe a tad higher. Do these sound like symptoms of a low pH. I'll post some pics of it later, my camera is being borrowed at the moment. I thought this might be worth adding as well. The stems of some of the leaves and parts of the stalk have taken on a dark purple color... is this normal at all? I don't know the strain as these plants were given to me by a friend, but I don't think they're a purple one. Also, what are the symptoms of a root bound plant? I've looked around but haven't found any examples. Thanks!!
Plants that are rootbound don't grow much. Given sufficient food and water they can survive okay and experience growth, but it's not much compared to a plant that has plenty of root space. Purple or red stems can be genetic or signs of nutrient deficiencies. Could be a problem with your Ph, meaning a nutrient lockout issue. Have you fed the plant that is just now showing symptoms?
It's probably been about a week since I fed it. The friend I got them from said about one, every two weeks was good... so that's what I've been doing. But I haven't noticed any improvement since I last fed them. From what I've been reading, it really sounds like it's probably a pH problem. Especially since the runoff was so low. But I treated it with the lime, and it went up a little, but I think it will probably take one or two more to get it where it needs to be.
Its not a pH issue 5.5 is on the low side of the spectrum but very acceptable you issue is that your not giving it enough nutrients, every 2 weeks is way to long. I give mine nutrients every time I water which is every 3-5days, but i use cocoa fiber which has 0 nutrients in the soil. If your using prefertilized soil Im not sure how often you should nute but def more than every 2 weeks. Those containers are prob a bit to small but I used 2 gallons all the way through but that is not making your plant do that, for better drainage just punch more holes in the bottom, you definately have nutrient deficientcies because of the stretch of time you have between them. Also GROWWER stop giving advice to people all you ever have is problems with your grow, small pots are in no way connected to these defs. I hate the fact you run around here giving random advice you have NO clue about!!! Stop trying to help people until you learn what YOUR doing. I've seen your threads and no offense bro cuz i realize that your pretty new to this but why do you feel the need to help people when you have more problems than most people on here have ever had.
^^ agreed Feeding should be done at least every other watering when the plant is ready for food (that is if the soil is free of nutes) Feed her a bit and see how she turns out. You already added some lime, so don't worry about adding more for now (that stuff can stick around). If the nutes don't help after the next feeding (at least 1/4 dose) then you can mess around with Ph more
So I have a new idea for what could be causing this problem. I was running a fan on the plants, but it's not an oscilating fan so I think it was stressing them out. That, and some nutrient defiencies from a low pH and not giving them enough nutes. What do you think?
As long as the breeze wasn't knocking them over or making the branches flail about violently, they should be fine in that regard. They enjoy, and need, a lil wind.
That's what I thought, but I'm gonna just put it on them for an hour or two for the next few days and see how they look... Cuz before I put it on them I wasn't experiencing any issues. So, we'll see. Oh, and I was thinking, if they're experiencing nutrient deficiencies from either pH lockout or too little nutes, would foliar feeding be a good idea?
Don't know if you've realized this but you've double posted the last two times. May want to delete those to clear up the board... I suggest feeding through soil first, see how that goes...I, personally, have never had great luck with foliar feeds when it comes to straight nutes. CalMag or Epsom Salt works well for a magnesium/calcium deficiency though, they're pretty mild. But if you really want to go that route, mix up a very mild dose of your nutes (less than 1/4 dose) in a spray bottle and spray the leaves once a day, and keep a very close eye on them. To determine whether or not to bother with a foliar feed, you first need to figure out if the Ph/nute lockout is the problem. That's why we've suggested giving them some nutes, to see how they react and determine if the Ph is really an issue here. If they are just starving, there is no need to do a foliar feed as they can just get the nutes straight from the soil.
I went ahead and gave them a spray with some schultz plant food, as I wasn't sure about using the miracle grow. So we'll see how they like that. And I've got some updated pics. The first two are of the healthier plant. Tips curling, have that claw like look to them, and little yellow spots. The second two are of the sicklier plant. The first one is the earlier stages, and the second one of the later stages. Is it just me or is this site going really slow right now?
I've had good results with foliar feeding when i had problems. The key is to mix it very lightly and not spray too often. I think i was spraying a max of two times a day and backed it off within two days. It will not fix the leaves currently affected but will stop it from spreading. The real problem will be finding the cause of the issue because its not effective to foliar feed through budding.
Well, good news! The plants seem to be doing better. Whatever was going on with the leaves has stopped. But I'll definitely be keepin my eye on the pH from now on. I will post some pictures in a day two, let you see how the ladies are doing. And I appreciate all the help! Ultra mega thank you!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH never ever foliage feed with nutrients at any strength. If you want to add something to the water let it be superthrive, soda water, or straight water. You may of gotten lucky but nutrients on the leaves with burn them bro, i would never do that you need to add nutrients to your soil thats probably wut helped not the foliage feeding with nutrients.
soda water has carbon dioxide in it, you know the carbonation, i dont think it really helps but those are what i would use over nutrients anyday