Help needed: what's wrong with these plants?

[vivianna]

To summarise:
1. I have pest problem. Little yellow/green pests walking on my leafs and leaving eggs. (Aphids i assume)
- I am using spider mite control smc spray 1-2/3 times per week. Starting now. It was once per week before now but now adding second spray per week.

2. I have potassium defiency.
- I water 3x per week. Every time adding all 3 of tripart nutrients (boom, micro and grow). No matter what the EC is. (Started last monday). I usually put the amount recommended in the bottle for 10L & I usually give them 20-30 litras of water. The extra water is for lowering the EC number. if i give them more nutrients the EC goes even more up and i need more water to bring it down but there is no space for a lot of more water consistently as it only uses about 10L water per day so I am currently doing this. Have any better idea?
- I use water to correct my EC back to 1.5-1.6. As we are in late flowering i will mainly have my ec at 1.6. The EC has tendency to increase between watering times so if it gets to 1.5 its ok i guess because it will increase to 1.6 in matter of hours
- i have been cutting leafs that are dead or dying now w scissors. The ones that are showing a lot of potassium defiency.
- its probably okay to cut off low-mid branches if they are dead? Not just leafs but whole branches that dont go all the way up to the light?

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hi Vivianna,

To summarise:
1. I have pest problem. Little yellow/green pests walking on my leafs and leaving eggs.
- I am using spider mite control smc spray 1-2/3 times per week. Starting now. It was once per week before now but now adding second spray per week.

I looked up SMC Spidermite Control... they don't have an ingredient list, only "Made from specially blended plant extracts". And, "Avoid spraying flowers." Since your plants are already in flower, I recommend not using this product.

Instead, try this: 6 drops of pure orange essential oil, a half tsp to 1 tsp of natural liquid soap (Bronner's if you can find it, peppermint), in 1/2 gallon of water. Shake very well. If there's no foam produced, you can add a bit more soap. If there's way too much foam, start over and use 1/4 tsp soap or less. If you use Bronner's, 3/4 tsp should be perfect. I use a pump sprayer like this one:

Orange oil is a potent insecticide – bugs should be gone in 1 or 2 days. Spray the plants down well, all over including the buds. You probably only need one application. After the bugs are dead, spray your plants down well with pure water. If you see bugs again later, it could be because of eggs hatching – just repeat the process.

Make sure to run your fan for air flow to help dry the plants, after the spray has done its trick and you've done a rinse.

- i have been cutting leafs that are dead or dying now w scissors. The ones that are showing a lot of potassium defiency.

- its probably okay to cut off low-mid branches if they are dead? Not just leafs but whole branches that dont go all the way up to the light?

You can prune away any lower branches (low, mid, or even upper) that don't culminate in a good bud or cola that you want to keep. Internal branches that culminate in (very) small buds that are blocked from the light by big buds can be removed, too. It's up to you. I do this kind of pruning in early flower, to open up the plant to better air flow.

 

[Mountainman80]

Hi Vivianna,

I looked up SMC Spidermite Control... they don't have an ingredient list, only "Made from specially blended plant extracts". And, "Avoid spraying flowers." Since your plants are already in flower, I recommend not using this product.

Instead, try this: 6 drops of pure orange essential oil, a half tsp to 1 tsp of natural liquid soap (Bronner's if you can find it, peppermint), in 1/2 gallon of water. Shake very well. If there's no foam produced, you can add a bit more soap. If there's way too much foam, start over and use 1/4 tsp soap or less. If you use Bronner's, 3/4 tsp should be perfect. I use a pump sprayer like this one:

Orange oil is a potent insecticide – bugs should be gone in 1 or 2 days. Spray the plants down well, all over including the buds. You probably only need one application. After the bugs are dead, spray your plants down well with pure water. If you see bugs again later, it could be because of eggs hatching – just repeat the process.

Make sure to run your fan for air flow to help dry the plants, after the spray has done its trick and you've done a rinse.




You can prune away any lower branches (low, mid, or even upper) that don't culminate in a good bud or cola that you want to keep. Internal branches that culminate in (very) small buds that are blocked from the light by big buds can be removed, too. It's up to you. I do this kind of pruning in early flower, to open up the plant to better air flow.

Why not lady bugs just order them spray your plants down with water at night let them go in ur grow they will take care of all pest

 

[Makeminefullgrown]

I think it may be important to remind our grower that at this stage of the grow, determining the success of the changes should be based on the developing flowers.
The tainted leaves are never going to return to a healthy green state. We want to judge the remedy by what the plant is producing at this stage, which is bud development.
The infestation issue needs to be cleared up sooner than later. For what it’s worth, I had several different guests (red mites, aphids, and fungus knats) show up on one my grows. It was about halfway through flower and I sprayed Dr. Zymes on the entire plant, buds and all and wetted the top of my soil with it. Make sure to hit the bottom of the leaves.
I can’t really say much else about the product except it worked after one application and those buds turned out excellent.
So good luck, and I guess what I am trying to say is sometimes it’s hard to determine when something is actually working. If your buds are developing properly and shooting off healthy green sugar leaves then things are likely headed in the right direction. All those sickly fans are gonna be snipped anyway.
Cheers and be well.

 

[vivianna]

I went and got myself:
- 100% Pure Orange Essential Oil
- natural liquid soap: Dr Bronner's peppermint.
- Pump Sprayer
Will spray them with these next time.

The buds look good so far. They start to fall from the weight / weak stems. Not all of them have the strength to be straight anymore. Maybe I injured them when cutting leaves with my scissors idk. Will see. The buds look fine. Some of the leaves on them look like potassium deficiency. Leafs make me worried. The buds look fine. It won't be great harvest. The potassium deficiency has created violet stems and pests. I will be happy if I get a ok harvest at least.


Will look into ladybugs. Don't know anything about them yet.

Thank you for all the advice.

 

[SmokingWings]

The buds look good so far. They start to fall from the weight / weak stems. Not all of them have the strength to be straight anymore.

It is something many of the group has experienced. Prop them up somehow and it should be OK. Next grow consider adding some silica. I have noticed that calcium helps.

Each grow is part of the learning. What we learn from one we can apply to the next one before some problems show. As we stay ahead of the problems the harvests will increase in quality and quantity.

 

[Sueet]

If it is aphids. you should probably understand that those lil buggers are born pregnant, if even one is left alive, boom here they come again. 2x a week may not be frequent enough, and/or it might be prudent to find a product that specifically works for aphids.

 

[cbdhemp808]

The orange oil + Bronner's should work on aphids. I usually use neem as well in the mixture, but not during flower.

 

[AgedMaster]

UPDATE
- The pest infestion continues. Seems like once a week is not enough. I will increase spraying frequency 2x per week until the infestion is under control.
- More leafs are getting yellow and brown. Why?
- My EC is now at 1.5-1.6 after watering. Even that late in the flowering. The EC goes up after watering and my plants are sick so i am putting it 1.5 and in 12h it increases to 1.6 automatically.
- ph is now 5.8-5.9 and static.
- i am giving them little bit tripart nutrients (all 3 of em) everytime i water them now while getting ec and ph to 1.5-1.6 and 5.8-5.9

QUESTIONS
- water is almost static too. Rocks have a lot of white in them. How can i get my plant drinking again?

Do i remove the dead leafs w sciscors even when the dead leaf is still in the plant? Or do i wait for it to be naturally removable?

I will check my water EC soon.

you say theres white stuff on your rocks im assuming the hydroton/clay pebble have u flushed with 1/4 strength nutes thats salt build up that will raise youre ec hydroton holds on to excess nutes.

 

[vivianna]

Agedmaster i dont understand what you mean about the white rocks. What does it mean? What should i do about it?

Here is a picture of the pests that i am fighting against. Are these aphids?

What is this in the trunk of the plant?? Something to be worried?

 

[Joshualuck]

Welcome aboard my friend. You have a few past problems I see. I hope you got it all worked out.

 

[vivianna]

Thank you.

Here are some more pictures.
The buds are little bit droopy. Some stems are purple and branch has purple color little bit too here and there.
The leafs look like something is wrong.

Also the trunk/branches dont look so big and strong. They look slim and thin

Currently:
- going to try the orange essential oil mix and spray from trunk, branches, stems, under and top of the leafs. Hopefully that helps.
- ec 1.5-1.6. Increases to about 1.8 in 48 hours.
- ph 5.8 & stays the same.
- water is decreasing so they drinking.
- using all 3 of the tripart nutrients, silica and ph down. Watering 20-30 litras each time i water.

 

[SmokingWings]

The little mark on the stem just above what we can call the 'soil line' looks like a scar left over from where the cotyledon leaf was.

The insect kind of looks like a thrip and not an aphid. I am not sure on that since I have not had thrips on my plants and have only had aphids on outdoor flowers and vegetables.

Here are some more pictures.
The buds are little bit droopy. Some stems are purple and branch has purple color little bit too here and there.
The leafs look like something is wrong.

Also the trunk/branches dont look so big and strong. They look slim and thin

My thoughts are that the leaves look like something is wrong because you are still playing catch-up with the nutrients. Remember that it will be almost impossible to make the problems with the leaves go away. The idea of using the complete nutrient program at this point is to keep the damage from getting worse.

Yes, the branches do look slim and thin. That can be caused by not having enough light on the plants earlier. The plant was trying to grow up towards the light. Another thing that can cause this is when there are too many plants for the amount of space. Over crowding is something I also have had problems with. I would get the same sort of problem with the leaves wilting, turning brown and hanging down without falling off like what I see in the two bottom photos in your msg just above this one.

What I have found that really helps with that leaf problem is to keep up with the proper fertilizing program which promotes healthy leaves. Also helpful is spreading the plants around so that there is a bit of space between them for air and light penetration. I turn my plants every couple of days while trying to keep a bit of distance between earch of them. Your space is a bit cramped and because of your growing method it is harder to move the plants around.

You will get a harvest out of these plants. What you learn this time will be helpful the next. Each growing will be better.

 

[AgedMaster]

Thank you.

Here are some more pictures.
The buds are little bit droopy. Some stems are purple and branch has purple color little bit too here and there.
The leafs look like something is wrong.

Also the trunk/branches dont look so big and strong. They look slim and thin

Currently:
- going to try the orange essential oil mix and spray from trunk, branches, stems, under and top of the leafs. Hopefully that helps.
- ec 1.5-1.6. Increases to about 1.8 in 48 hours.
- ph 5.8 & stays the same.
- water is decreasing so they drinking.
- using all 3 of the tripart nutrients, silica and ph down. Watering 20-30 litras each time i water.

are u spraying them with lights off if u do with lights on it will burn your leaves also i hear alot that u shouldnt spray in flower it will leave a nasty taste on buds. people say to shake the hell out of your plants with sticky traps lying around so it catches them. your growing pretty much the same was as i did in clay pebble i was advised that the clay pebble holds on to nutrients so u could still be under feeding as when u feed whatever stagnant feed is left will raise your ec what i would do is fill your tank with quarter strength nutes then use a jug to take some out and slowly pour over clay pebbles 3gal per 1gal of medium. also i advise that u remove dead leaves from clay pebbles your roots are there they will rot. did u treat your clay pebbles as well as they are full of crap if you have hydrogen peroxide i would use that if i ever done wilma again it keeps your tank sterile

 

[vivianna]

I spray it lights off. The way my plants are done its very difficult to be able to spray everywhere so I am just going to spray 2 per week until harvest.

Btw. @cbdhemp808 are you talking about american or united kingdom gallon size?

Now.
1. The above soil line trunk is yellow. Up is still green. Is the plant dying or is this normal? Picture 1 attached
2. The buds are drooping big time. Will try to figure out a way to keep em standing.

I am to week 6 in flowering. Currently trying to survive to week 8 when i put ripen. But if its dying i can do harvest sooner before its too late.

Also the leafs are still turning yellow and dying. Not sure what i should try next. I use all 3 nutrients and i add em each time i water which is 3 times per week.

Will try to incorporate more of the tips i have received from you.

 

[cbdhemp808]

I spray it lights off. The way my plants are done its very difficult to be able to spray everywhere so I am just going to spray 2 per week until harvest.

Btw. @cbdhemp808 are you talking about american or united kingdom gallon size?

U.S. gallon

Now.
1. The above soil line trunk is yellow. Up is still green. Is the plant dying or is this normal? Picture 1 attached
2. The buds are drooping big time. Will try to figure out a way to keep em standing.

It's possible your plants may be suffering from some kind of stem rot. This happened to me with one of my plants not long ago, and that plant died. The lower stem had a irregular surface and pale color, while the upper stem was still green. (see Godzilla plant, HERE.)

I am to week 6 in flowering. Currently trying to survive to week 8 when i put ripen. But if its dying i can do harvest sooner before its too late.

How are the trichomes looking now? If you have a lot of milky ones, and a few amber, you could harvest now.

Also the leafs are still turning yellow and dying. Not sure what i should try next. I use all 3 nutrients and i add em each time i water which is 3 times per week.

Will try to incorporate more of the tips i have received from you.

It seems you've done everything you can do. If it's stem rot, there may be nothing to cure that, at this point.

 

[vivianna]

Yes. I have few brown trichomes, but most are white. Its 6 week in the flowering. Normally at 8 week I would do ripen.

The upper part is green, but the buds are big and droopy. Few big buds are still standing strong tho. The stems and trunks are slim. The green stems can be bend.

The trunk, above soil line is yellow and strong, cant be bend.

Here is pictures under the soil line which looks white/very pale. so this is root/stem rot?
- Should I harvest now?
- If I dont harvest now can this kill my plants in 2-3weeks?
- What else could this be then rot? This isnt normal I assume.

Here is also few pictures of the buds and stems.

Edit.
As i am reading it seems like white roots is normal in hydroponics and thats how it should be in. They are called water roots. If it would be brown in colour i should be worried.

Did i understand that right?

 

[cbdhemp808]

Yes. I have few brown trichomes, but most are white. Its 6 week in the flowering. Normally at 8 week I would do ripen.

The upper part is green, but the buds are big and droopy. Few big buds are still standing strong tho. The stems and trunks are slim. The green stems can be bend.

It's your choice... you could harvest now... it all depends on how badly the buds are affected. As long as the buds are not showing much dead material (necrosis), then you could wait. Necrosis invites fungus to take hold, which could lead to bud rot. (I just posted some info about bud rot, here.)

The trunk, above soil line is yellow and strong, cant be bend.

Here is pictures under the soil line which looks white/very pale. so this is root/stem rot?

Your main stems are looking OK. I don't see signs of stem rot. I am, however, not familiar with hydroponic grows.

- Should I harvest now?
- If I dont harvest now can this kill my plants in 2-3weeks?
- What else could this be then rot? This isnt normal I assume.

It's up to you as I said above. As long as there's no necrosis and mold/fungus starting, then you should be OK waiting. Note that bud rot can move in suddenly and it's hard to notice until too late. You could clip a couple small buds and put under a microscope, if you are suspicious of fungus.

As i am reading it seems like white roots is normal in hydroponics and thats how it should be in. They are called water roots. If it would be brown in colour i should be worried.

Did i understand that right?

That sounds right to me, but again, I am not familiar with hydroponic grows.

 

[vivianna]

Thanks a lot.

- Few of my buds have grown very tall. They are not growing taller anymore tho.
- My lights burned few buds and leafs. So there is this dead buds and leafs now. I am removing the dead buds and leafs next.
- I also moved the lights around so they woundt burn more buds or leafs.

The whole branch of buds under the lights are very dry. Not just the burned ones.

I guess there is nothing else to do?
The burned buds shouldnt create me any problems?

The only buds that are completely brown and dead are the ones under the lights. Everywhere else all good. So it must be burned. Nothing to do w the plant dying.

So I am just cutting out w sciscors any dead buds and leafs

Can someone confirm this? Thanks

 

[Sueet]

That is pretty much all you can do. Watch the areas where you cut closely, to be sure they don't get fungus - a dusting of cinnamon can help.