Hello all. Having some issue with my baby. She is approx 10 days into flowering. The issue is I am having at least a dozen fan leaves fall off daily. There are also a number of smaller leaves towards the main stem of the plant which are drying up and falling off. The third picture shows an example of the leaves that are falling off daily. I am concerned that I had a PH issue with potential salt build up which may be causing this issue, I did a test and got results @ 5-5.5. Or if not is it possible she is root bound, or has a potential N deficiency? Appreciate any "budsdom" people can give. Thanks. --Soil - Kellogs Brand Organic Soil --Indoors --Strain - Kens OG --Approx 37" tall --Age - 10 days into flowering --Lights - CFLs, 2700k, 13w x 4, 26w x 3 Lights are very close, adjusted daily for plant growth --Water - tap water, water when soil gets dried out and plant feels light --Feeding - Was using Miracle Grow liquid ( I know bad stuff ). But am going to switch to FF - Tiger Bloom --PH - Run off was 5-5.5, and I adjusted it several times to get within 6, 6-5. --Temp ranges from 60s-70s during day, 60s during night. Humidity ranges from 45-70% --Container size is approx 2 gallons. --Pests: Had an issue with spider mites, which I believe I eliminated (crossing fingers). Had to extend my veg cycle in order to make sure they were gone. Used neem oil/organic soap for awhile with mixed results. Finally used Mighty Wash which seemed to eliminate the problem. Use tap water with a pressure pump sprayer to mist the plants now.
Anyone have insight on this issue? Did a re-check on PH, came out to @ 6.5. Took another picture today of all of the leaves I collected. Any insight? Rootbound? Lack of N? Salt Buildup?
nitrogen would eat at the bottom fan leaves turning them yellow then falling off. id say flush then start on low feed with higher cal mag.
Friend, Stumpie is right. If you were two weeks from chop, root bound can be a good thing, it's called "forcing" the plants and will provide larger and tighter nugs, but your girl should be re-potted or you'll begin to face other issues.
Damn ok I was afraid of it being root bound. I always thought transplanting while flowering was a bad idea and could cause potential hermies. (Maybe someone knows more about this) But I guess if I don't I will lose all my fan leaves and yield will diminish. I know the rule is 1 gal per foot I just didn't expect it to stretch so much. Thanks for the input though.
So I found this in another thread. Which states root development stop after 3 weeks. So I'm a little confused. " Re: Will a plant stop growing buds during flowering if rootbound? im gonna pretend you havent recieved a reply yet, and answer the original question.... Rootbound is more an issue for continuing vegetative growth, not so much for flowering. In fact, if you keep up with the frequent waterings (youll water a ton if rootbound), there's no ill effects within the flowering period new roots = new growth. Growth that already exists is already "rooted" so to speak. Flowering is not considered new growth, in that it requires no additional root mass...it uses what is developed during the vegetative state. to that extent, root development halts anywhere from 1-3 weeks after the onset of flowering, meaning that a transplant beyond this point is not only useless, but probably harmful (stress the plant for no benefit). having said all of that, a plant wont stop producing buds as a result of being rootbound, but there could be some complications (too frequently watering can be a hassle, "
This person is absolutely right, but your only 10 days in. You can continue if you know what you're doing and properly monitor the PH and nutes, and are able to recognize any issue that the plants color and appearance might present. I work with root bound plants all the time.
Thanks a lot for your input. But yeah, sounds like a lot more babysitting is required to maintain a root bound plant. Guessing the yield will be diminished as well. I'm fairly confident in my transplanting ability, just afraid I will lose some roots at the bottom of the pot since they've been condensed at the bottom of the pot for awhile now. 5 gal should be sufficient right? Also do I want to wait to feed for a week or two after transplant? Or resume feeding right away. Just switched to FF tiger bloom Thanks again for the help.
All true but I would still transplant since I believe that the roots can only support so much plant so anymore growth (flowering) will directly take away from the plant itself (weaker stalk and dying leaves) to support the bud growth (which is the plants goal). Just remember for next grow Edit: 5 gal will be fine and I would cut my nutes back to like 3/4 of what I was using just for the first feeding and watch how she reacts.
Do as Stumpie suggest and set your girl, bucket and all into a large container full of water and let it soak for a hour or two, then transfer.
Hey guys just an update. So, I transplanted her five days ago into a 7 gallon container (Couldn't find a 5 gal container that was long and narrow, only wide.) Bud development is coming along nicely (just under three weeks of flowering). Kinda impressed so far. However the problem with my leaves has continued, especially on the lower and middle part of the plant. Worried the nutrients are somehow getting locked out. I gave her a good dose of Tiger Bloom yesterday (hadn't fed in over a week), so hopefully that will perk her up. Should I be worried? Seems disconcerting to daily seeing dried/crunchy leaves hanging from the plant. PS: Gonna reorganize my lighting system this weekend. Getting a little cluttered with the boxes to adjust for height.
She looks good bud, 5 days is a little too early to tell since the roots need to grow to really make a difference. As long as you're seeing healthy new growth she should be ok.
I'm seeing bud growth, but seems like the leaves are falling off at a high rate. Worried in a couple weeks I won't have many fan leaves left. If I lose too many won't the bud development be affected? Or as long as the top fan leaves remain I should be ok? But I will wait and see what happens. I guess there isn't alot I can do at this point. Thanks for the input.
Yea man good thing you transplanted that pot was WAY to small for a bush that size. Id also recommend not growing your girl/girls that big next time with CFLs because all those lower limbs are being virtually wasted. Might want to add some(or move some) lights to the sides of it so you can have better side development along with growth. CFL's barley light anything further than 12' away and that's a pretty big over statement. Frankly im surprised you got it that tall and bushy just using a few CFL's. Just my .02 but CFLs work ALOT better when used to grow a SOG or SCOG setup. Youll get more in most cases because the top Cola produces the most herd so instead of 1 large plant with 6 small and one large cola you can have 4 plants growing on the same amount of light in turn receiving more bud in a shorter amount of time. You don't really state your level of experience so I will assume you are new to this. Through out flowering your plant will begin to die from the bottom up as it is completing its life cycle(flowering cycle) now in most cases you don't want a lot of yellowing in the beginning of flowering but towards the end it is completely natural. Just keep coming back with questions man your doing a great job.
Thanks for the input I am an amateur when it comes to growing marijuana, however, this is my 4th grow in 10 years, (and the most successful so far). Long time between grows. I have many other plants in my house/deck; succulents, orchids, savory herbs, ect. So I have some experience overall. Previous grows were from bag seed, this is from a clone. In terms of my veg growth. I had numerous problems with my plants when I first got the clones from the club. They were overwatered, under fed and had spider mites. I didn't realize the latter until I had the nutrient levels under control and discovered the spider mites. After close to a two month battle, I was able to eliminate the mites from my sativa (Kens OG), and isolated the indica outside (Purple Kush). Despite all the stress, the Kens as thrived. As a result the plant got huge. It is placed so it gets natural light as well as the CFLS. The bulbs are approx 3-4" away from the plant. This is why I have gotten the results you find surprising. I'm going to re-arrange my light setup soon, or just might add one more set of lights on the lower branches. Anyway here are some bud shots. Trichomes are forming nicely.
Well it wasn't a Nitrogen issue. The leaves were not falling off in a systematic way that would show N deficiency (bottom up yellowing) Instead it was green fan leaves falling off. Regardless, the plant has improved and leaves are no longer falling off at a high rate. So yeah I would say the advice others gave me regarding transplanting was correct. Not sure why this is amusing to you? Do you have something constructive to add or just trolling?