Plant Survival Without Leaves

[egger]

Hello all,

I have a general question that was brought about by my Gorilla Glue auto from Fastbuds. This plant is now 15 weeks old (from germination). About three weeks ago, the fan leaves started to turn yellow and they more or less fell off over a four or five day period. I've been growing for a couple of years, so expected yellowing, but i did not expect the trichomes to be glassy. Unfortunately, they still are.

My general question is...... Can a plant survive without leaves (or very few leaves), and if so, will the buds mature without the plant having leaves?

I have attached a couple of photographs. You will see that there is a little foxtailing going on, but not much. I have been careful to scope buds all over the plant to make sure i'm not just looking at new growth / foxtails.

Any advice as to how to bring this plant to maturity is really welcome. I would guess that the trichomes are about 20% milky (maximum) with almost zero amber.

I'm not sure how relevant the following info is...
- 5G smartpot with FFOF
- Generally fed with teas, but also have used some General Organics Bloom during flower
- Under 450W of COB and Quantum LED's
- Temps in the low to mid 70's
- Have had no issues with the plant at all. No stunting.
- I also use Agromax UVB (sparingly) during the last two weeks of flower (now been used for the last four or five weeks).
- The Gorilla Glue buds are not quite as dense as the other strains i have grown alongside it. However, the GG buds are also meatier
- There are just a few green sugar leaves left around the plant.

Normally, i would think that i'm being impatient, but 15 weeks is an age.

Many thanks in advance.
Egger

 

[Chris Scorpio]

From that bud pic I'd say she is ready to harvest

I don't see any hairs on it at all, does all of her look like that

 

[egger]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for taking a look at this.

I agree, she looks just about done. I have attached some more bud photo's from different areas of the plant, and a picture of the upper cola under just shop lighting so the colors come out properly. Its just the clear trichs that confuse me. They are all over the plant - apologies i cannot seem to collect trich images.

I'm thinking of splitting the stem and giving it another week or so. I'm not really sure what to do. I will take a trial bud later today and test at the weekend for sure.

What are your thoughts on plant survival without leaves? If she truly needs more time, will she make it a couple of weeks extra? It may be a silly question, but how does she get by if photosynthesis is out of the question?

Egger

 

[Chris Scorpio]

She looks ready,but yer call

Lack of leaves can be normal this late in flower