Browning Pistils

Plants are 2 weeks into flowering and on some of the tips the pistils are shriviling and browning, I also just found 2 male flowers on a plant that was living next to it. Pictures of male flowers also. I have read something about browning pistils being related to being pollenated. Is that what has happened here?

Healthy Cola tip


this picture looks the most accurate for an overall description of the problem


begining stages and other effected tips





Male flower found next door

more than likely your plants have been pollinated. 2 weeks in is way early for browning no matter what the strain. plus if you found one pollen sac it's almost certain there are more. i'm not sure what your grow goals are but if it were me i would grow that bitch out anyway. i don't mind a few seeds in my weed as long as it's still good shit. assuming this is an indoor grow you will want to scrub the shit out of the whole area or that pollen will harrass your next 5 crops.

brown pistles are normal mate.. thats gonna happen alot well to most of em as she gets further throu the flowering cycle..
And as to finding a lady boy i'd get that outta of your flower room just to be safe..
you can always pinch em off and hope for the best..

good luck
Thc604

Total Head said:

more than likely your plants have been pollinated. 2 weeks in is way early for browning no matter what the strain. plus if you found one pollen sac it's almost certain there are more. i'm not sure what your grow goals are but if it were me i would grow that bitch out anyway. i don't mind a few seeds in my weed as long as it's still good shit. assuming this is an indoor grow you will want to scrub the shit out of the whole area or that pollen will harrass your next 5 crops.

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or use hot water and wipe it down with a papertowel.

In all my experiance, if a plant is showing brown hairs this early into a grow then there is a problem some where,i would concur that the plants more than likely have been pollanated.But before going with that 100% check the male's to make sure that the male flowers had opened if not then it is more likely to be a salt or nutrient build up both come hand in hand,if this is the case then a simple flush with water should sort it out............................tyke.

I removed the hermie as soon as I noticed the male flower. You all agree that is a male flower, correct? Here is the hermie plant, it looked female for the first 2 weeks of flowering, and didn't start showing any signs of sex for almost 10 days.


I thoroughly combed the plant after removing it and only found 2 male flowers, the one shown above was the most developed of the two. I put a trash bag over my good plant while I removed the hermie and was as carefull as possible removing it from the area.

Here is the plant that may have been pollenated


Since this is my first go round I'm def going to let it go and see what happens. I have 5 freshly rooted clones that were taken before the hermie showed that are just started in veg. I plan to veg them till this is done flowering, clean the area, and move the clones to flowering.

Let me know if your pistols grew back. I'm having the same issue. Pistols turn brown and died.

Any other opinions? Is it likely that the hermie was able to pollinate the other plants? It only had two male flowers that were only a few days old.

What are other signs of pollination to watch for?

It could be nuit burn but your leaves look healthy. Try flushing plants for 3 straight watering's and give them a little more then you normally would the start nuit schedule again. If it was pollenated it would have white pollen all over the leafs and flowers of your other plants.

Total Head said:

more than likely your plants have been pollinated. 2 weeks in is way early for browning no matter what the strain. plus if you found one pollen sac it's almost certain there are more. i'm not sure what your grow goals are but if it were me i would grow that bitch out anyway. i don't mind a few seeds in my weed as long as it's still good shit. assuming this is an indoor grow you will want to scrub the shit out of the whole area or that pollen will harrass your next 5 crops.

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I agree, it's too early for them to be browning. And yes, water neutralizes pollen, so just spray and wipe down the area, and don't for get the fans!

92redyj said:

Any other opinions? Is it likely that the hermie was able to pollinate the other plants? It only had two male flowers that were only a few days old.

What are other signs of pollination to watch for?

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It really depends on the stage of the male flower, if it hadn't opened fully yet then you should have no problem. The first sign is pistils "dying", or receeding into the calyx and you will then see bud production slow down greatly until it's mainly producing seed, not nug.

I use a product called Reverse made by Dutch Master as a preventative aid with herms, this could be somehitng to look into for the future, especially if you use feminized seeds.

php134 said:

It could be nuit burn but your leaves look healthy. Try flushing plants for 3 straight watering's and give them a little more then you normally would the start nuit schedule again. If it was pollenated it would have white pollen all over the leafs and flowers of your other plants.

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Wow, this is really bad advice, all of it.

Nute burn is nute burn, and leafs aren't healthy when they are burnt. Also, why would the leafs be covered in pollen? A tiny bit of stray pollen could be caught by the pistils, and boom, pollination.

I don't think there should be any nute burn....

Unfortunately I was anxious to get started and started this in 2 gallons of Miracle Gro Potting Soil. I transplanted to this big 6+ gallon container and filled with a mix of perlite, peat moss, and moisture control mix. I have only added a small amount of nutrient with one watering. I am watering about once a week right now.

I have learned a lot from this site since I started and hopefully will get something worthwhile out of this first go round. Like I said I have a veg tent set up with 5 clones from both of these plants. Should I ditch the clone that came from the hermie plant?

This is in regards to the browning pistils. This can happen very easily overnight if something is resting on the hairs (like a leaf) Is your plant bushy and compact? I LST most of my plants and see it all the time when they bush out and there is no problem with it at all. If you suspect pollination look closely to see if that pod is swelling much faster than one with a white hair, this would indicate a seed being grown inside. Otherwise don't worry about it...

oops old tread... lol

Calvin Cobb said:

oops old tread... lol

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I am as stoned as you, bro...peace!

Hello everyone,


This is my second year growing and i do outdoor grow. Well anyways my plants are in about the 4th or 5th week of flowering and the pistils are starting to turn brown on some nugs more then others but they are no were near the size of the buds i grew last year. The past week or two it has been very hot but the plants are very healthy and a dark green color. i feed them just a homeade mulch with superthirve weekly. Are my buds still going to get bigger?

Congrats...seeds! sweet!

I have noticed this in case of extreme heat 100 degrees and over.