Decline of a 3 week year old...

bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
Well, I'm still kind of stumped on this one, but I just watered yesterday and now I'm starting to think it might be a case of overwatering. I potted this plant from seed three weeks ago in a 50/50 perlite/miracle grow potting soil mix. After introducing the plant to to a 400w I was watering every other day, when the soil was dry. I switched back to CFLs to try to doctor the plant back to health (in case the heat was an issue). Now the drooping has continued and I'm thinking it might be moisture stress...

You can see throught the progression of droop, it started near the base and now the whole plant is in bad shape and real droopy... any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated at this point.
 

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Da420Monkey

Da420Monkey

Active Member
let the soil dry out that looks like to much water. the plant will usually tell you if she needs a drink. so let the soil dry out she should perk up. then after that she should show you when she needs a drink.
 
bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
Not so good... this is the second full day of not being watered and it seems like its not improving. Should I switch back to the 400w to try to dry things up or is that too much stress for a plant in this condition? Also was considering pulling the plant out of the pot to inspect the soil/rooting. Is that a bad idea?
 

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bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
helllllp please!

EDIT: I'm still hoping drying out the soil will help, but at this point its seems irreversible
 
bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
Seems like the soil is drying out quite a bit... and the stems are getting purplish. Also some of the leaves are getting yellow splotchy spots... maybe a few days more of no water to see if the plant bounces back.

DSC05221.jpg
 
below0

below0

Active Member
still looks damp in that pic, and those type of pots retain water hella good, so might be part of the reason, have you checked your PH and temp btw also?
 
Antigen

Antigen

Well-Known Member
To me, that looks more like underwatering than overwatering. Whenver my plant's leaves start drooping like that, it is telling me that it wants water! Overwatering will also make leaves a little wilty but it usually makes them start turning yellow and feel waterlogged, and yours don't look yellow to me at all in that most recent picture.

Which leads me to ask how you are watering it. When you water you should put in enough so that you can see it start to come out the drainage holes in the bottom of your pot. If you are only putting in a little bit of water on the top you could be causing just the top layer of soil to stay wet while underneath things are drying out.

Try digging down an inch or so into the soil, away from the stem of the plant so you don't hurt the roots as much, and see if the soil is wet farther down or just on the top. If it is really dry an inch or so down then it definitely needs some water!

Edit - I just read you mixed half perlite with potting soil, that should promote good water drainage, and with the pot being so small, now I am really thinking it needs water.

If you wanted to test, you can pour a small amount of correctly pH'd water around the stem of the plant and let it soak down. Try not to let it run to the edge of your pot, where it might just run down the side next to the dirt and out your drainage hole without really getting the soil wet. After you let some water soak in down by the stem, come back a few hours later to see if the leaves have perked up yet. If they start perking up, you'll know that you need to fully water it.
 
bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
Antigen said:
To me, that looks more like underwatering than overwatering. Whenver my plant's leaves start drooping like that, it is telling me that it wants water! Overwatering will also make leaves a little wilty but it usually makes them start turning yellow and feel waterlogged, and yours don't look yellow to me at all in that most recent picture.

Which leads me to ask how you are watering it. When you water you should put in enough so that you can see it start to come out the drainage holes in the bottom of your pot. If you are only putting in a little bit of water on the top you could be causing just the top layer of soil to stay wet while underneath things are drying out.

Try digging down an inch or so into the soil, away from the stem of the plant so you don't hurt the roots as much, and see if the soil is wet farther down or just on the top. If it is really dry an inch or so down then it definitely needs some water!

Edit - I just read you mixed half perlite with potting soil, that should promote good water drainage, and with the pot being so small, now I am really thinking it needs water.

If you wanted to test, you can pour a small amount of correctly pH'd water around the stem of the plant and let it soak down. Try not to let it run to the edge of your pot, where it might just run down the side next to the dirt and out your drainage hole without really getting the soil wet. After you let some water soak in down by the stem, come back a few hours later to see if the leaves have perked up yet. If they start perking up, you'll know that you need to fully water it.
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Thanks for help... after a good amount of testing this past week (letting the soil dry for a few days) and previously watering every other day, I came to the conclusion that it might indeed be my watering technique that has been failing me and my plant. I think what happened was I never quite watered with enough water, so that it would drain out the bottom... the result: nutrients stuck in the soil and improper drainage. I also used dr schultz plant food quite a few times and I believe that all the nutes were stuck in the soil and overloaded the roots causing a lockout. Yesterday I gave it a heavy watering and let it leak out the bottom... the good news: today the top leaves are starting to lift up and it looks like its on it way back to health (hopefully). Will try to post pics in a bit.

Also, I tried a little foliar feeding with epsom salt (1/2 teaspoon per quart). Anyone know how often I should spray the leaves? I read something about only foliar feeding in the morning and night, but does this apply to only using epsom salt as well?
 
Antigen

Antigen

Well-Known Member
bonuslazer said:
Thanks for help... after a good amount of testing this past week (letting the soil dry for a few days) and previously watering every other day, I came to the conclusion that it might indeed be my watering technique that has been failing me and my plant. I think what happened was I never quite watered with enough water, so that it would drain out the bottom... the result: nutrients stuck in the soil and improper drainage. I also used dr schultz plant food quite a few times and I believe that all the nutes were stuck in the soil and overloaded the roots causing a lockout. Yesterday I gave it a heavy watering and let it leak out the bottom... the good news: today the top leaves are starting to lift up and it looks like its on it way back to health (hopefully). Will try to post pics in a bit.

Also, I tried a little foliar feeding with epsom salt (1/2 teaspoon per quart). Anyone know how often I should spray the leaves? I read something about only foliar feeding in the morning and night, but does this apply to only using epsom salt as well?
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Be careful about giving the plant too much fertilizer. Other than it being droopy, it looks really nice and green like it doesn't need any more fertilizer. I also wouldn't spray the leaves with anything if I were you, there isn't really a reason for it unless you are trying to treat a problem. If you're going to spray them, however, make sure you do it when the plants can be in the dark. The liquid can have a magnifying glass effect and cause your plants to get white spots on them where the lights burned them through the water droplets. This applies to all liquids you spray on it, make sure it is in the dark afterward at least long enough for the liquid to evaporate.
 
bwatte

bwatte

Active Member
The purple in the stem is from a phosphorus deficiency, usually resulting in a nute lockout which you seemed to figure out why that happened in the first place. As soon as this thing perks back up, I would hit it with some form of phosphorus like blood food. Remember the 3 numbers on ferts stands for Nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. So you want something with a higher number of phosphorus, which would be the second number of the three
 
bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
bwatte said:
The purple in the stem is from a phosphorus deficiency, usually resulting in a nute lockout which you seemed to figure out why that happened in the first place. As soon as this thing perks back up, I would hit it with some form of phosphorus like blood food. Remember the 3 numbers on ferts stands for Nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. So you want something with a higher number of phosphorus, which would be the second number of the three
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I was kind of thinking it might be magnesium (some similar symtopms like bottom leaves getting yellow and splotchy)... hence why I was foliar feeding with epsom salt. Having said that, it sounds like you know what you're talking about so I'm gonna take your advice once the plant becomes more stable.
 
bonuslazer

bonuslazer

Active Member
I think she's bouncing back slowly but surely... I trimmed some of the lower yellowing fans, and put her back under the 400w. I think she'll be fine now (fingers crossed).
Sorry about the bad exposure on the second shot (its not that yellow really)
 
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