Purple stems

[King Gula Gula]

What does it mean when the base and top of your plants stems are purplish? I have been told that it is caused by a nitrogen deficiency, if so what would be some ideal remedies to my problem? If that is not the cause, or there are multiple causes what may I do to solve this delima. Thanks in advance for any helpful responses.

 

[King Gula Gula]

Oh, just in case any other details are needed I have two plants both of which in Miracle Grow with slow release nutes in the soil (I really need to transplant them into plain potting soil, or even perlite soon), a bedside fan for air movement, and a 4ft dual bulb fluorescent light. For the lighting cycle I use 16-8, and water with filtered water every few days, or when the soil is noticeably dryer.

Any constructional criticism is again very welcome as this is my first grow and I could more then likely use the advice. Skimming the forums does a lot, but there are always such specific answers needed.

 

[PhishyPhil]

hey buddy, what kinda nutes are you using to feed with? also, whats the temps in your grow area? oh, and how far along into the grow are you?

i've noticed not nitrogen, but phosphorous def is what causes purple stems/branches. however, extreme temps can also cause purply stems/branches as well. and lastly, some strains just develop purply stems/branches.

 

[King Gula Gula]

Well the nutes included in the soil are as listed: Ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, phosphate (P2O5), soluble potash (K2O), and iron. I could have sworn when I bought it there was phosphorous, I have a tendency to misread things from time to time though. As for the temps I do not have a thermometer, but I would roughly say about 80 degrees give or take a few for the time of day. They are in my laundry room so they stay pretty warm. I am also embarresed to say, I cannot remember how old they are at all, but roughly two weeks. The one with the purple stems is a day younger. I could upload some pics if that would help. As for phosphorous what is an ideal way to supply it?

 

[PhishyPhil]

thats the problem with miracle grow; we dont know how much of what is being released when.

go to walmart or kmart, or anymart, and buy a thermometer for like $2 and set it or hang it next to your lady. im willing to bet that the temps are dropping ~10degrees during lights out.

also, get a notebook, or a pad of paper, and keep track of the days

you may also want to consider investing in actual fertilizer/nutrients for plants. i personally started with the Fox Farms line, and then moved on to the Earth Juice products when i switched to organics. FF is good for beginners in my opinion, and their FoxFarmOceanForrest soil is always fun.

anything worth doing is worth doing right

 

[King Gula Gula]

Yeah, why I was wanting to switch over from slow release nutes sooner rather than later, I have just had a problem with budgeting. My roomate just moved out screwing me on rent this month so I am a little tight at the moment. Would you suggest transplanting to perlite, or just plain potting soil. As far as dropping 10 degrees during light out do you really think it would be that high? My flourescent bulb is barely warm to touch, and has a fan on it whenever it is on.

As for nutes is it not to early for them? I would hate to lose these plants due to how incredibly lucky I was with acquiring the seeds from an amazing sack of dank. When I transplant them what size pot would you recommend using from now until they are done? I want to have optimal root space, but have not yet taken the time to study root structure. Finally where may I obtain these nutes, just like Home Dept., and about how much will they run me?

Thanks for the input I really appreciate it as I have no one else to discuss these matters with. Secrecy is one thing not nearly enough people practice with their grows.

 

[DocMD]

i think thats normal on plants at that age, some of mine do it and some don't. i'm no expert but at this point i wouldn't worry about it. they usually green up after getting more established. good luck

 

[PhishyPhil]

hi again. i would suggest getting a bag of fox farm ocean forrest soil, or at worst, something without time releasing nutes. if you get plain potting soil, you may have to add 1/3 perlite to the soil mix. 10 degrees ain't much, while CFLs are cool to the touch, they make a difference in small areas like yours. how far are your CFLs from the tops of your plants? they almost look like they are stretching. i'd probably add a few inches of soil to cover up a bit of the main stem below the little baby water leafs.

i'd wait 10-14 more days for nutes based on the size of them in your pics. if your aren't using organics, start small, maybe 1/4 recommended strength, and go from there.

i would transplant to 5gal buckets. 3gal if the 5gal wont fit in your area. remember that the roots will always try to grow down, is taller is better than wider in terms of container. you can get the nutes at a hydro store, i doubt home depot will have them. HD will probably have all the hardware youd need except soil, nutes. the soil shouldnt be more than $20 for a big bag, i've seen the nutes ranging from 12.99 - 19.99 per item. i suggest buying the nutes as you need them if your on a budget, but if you really care about preserving the genetics, you will want to have them.

and yea, this site is great for that, it's a wonderful place of knowledgeable people

 

[King Gula Gula]

I did have issues with stretching before I put in my new lights. I was just using two shitty lights I rigged up, and the sun when available. After I put in the 4ft fluorescent they improved drastically. The lights are probably 6 or so inches from them.

 

[PhishyPhil]

good to hear!

 

[shmicky]

I did have issues with stretching before I put in my new lights. I was just using two shitty lights I rigged up, and the sun when available. After I put in the 4ft fluorescent they improved drastically. The lights are probably 6 or so inches from them.

hi dude and welcome to nice young one's there, i would go with adding a bit medium to make up for the stretch, thr would be no need for transplant at this stage.
would w8 on a few node's and some good true leafs appear before doing the transplant to reduce the chance of to much stress witch could lead you to a lose of your bby's. (would dofo rule out theMG gro!! go with FoxFarm,coco or biogrow all-mix is what i have started to use got sick of the hastle with coco as it is more for hydro kind of use.
for me i used plastic white cups 6" tall for the seedlings

mt 1st grow was with clones and used a 300w 6400K bulb

after 2 weeks under the 300w cfl!

just wondering what your plans were for your bbys when they start to bush out ? not sure your 4ft fluorescent will be enough light coverage! remembering the rule of the with fluorescent + CFL's is to keep them within 6-10" from the tops of the plant.(this is there optimum distance for the light spectrum and for best grow result's)
a few weeks you may need additional lighting to cover side for under canopy (under the right circumstances with these light your growth will be vigorous)
the purple stems i would not worry to much about, some strains do this and other not,
all my white Russian plants have had deep purple stems since seedling stage 2 of my bag-seeds are all green stalked (guess its genetics a suppose ?)
if its healthy and growing healthy i would not worry bot the colour of the stems.
a bag seed plant healthy green stem!

W.russian healthy purple stem!

what kind of 4ft fluorescent u using (e.g T5 or other?) oh! and how many watt's??
on my current grow i was using a 125w CFL to start them off, with good results of all 10 going strong now under 400w hps.have had a few probs with nitrogen lockout! hence the change of there medium.

hope this will be of help dude.
happy growing oh will you be doing a journal on this grow ?

 

[PhishyPhil]

not to get off topic, but i cant help to mention the purply stems picture reminds me of a less compact GDP lady i had.

anyways, that dark violet is normal for strains that normally turn purple. but that more reddish color (almost like a red violet) is usually caused by heat stress or a P def.

if you don't give your green stemmed plant any bloom ferts, im sure you'll see it

 

[Jesstar]

So what does it mean when your stems on your seedlings change colour from purple to green? I just noticed this today, I'm not sure if it's because the soil is drying out(close for water time) or if it's an age related thing. I also gave them their first 5 hours of dark last night so I maybe that has something to do with it?
Any advice greatly appreciated. I don't seem to get much through my journal.

Thanks 420'ers.

-J.

 

[Cottonballs]

I have been reading a lot about purple main line stems. Most posts have been relating to genetics, but I am having issues with two different strains that have never had purple mainline stems. I am not sure, but I think mine could have been caused by using too much cal mag. I read on another post that if it's used to heavily it would turn the branches purple. My new growth up top is nice and green and I haven't used cal mag in about a month. Now some leaves are yellow at the bottom so I know this is nitrogen deficiency. I'll be adding cal mag once every week or two to take it slow, but also adding more nutrients in flower for the nitrogen issue.

 

[Jesstar]

Hey Cottonballs, I'm not sure about your problem. I have had purple stems in older plants in the past but everything else with the plant seemed healthy so I took little notice. You should start a journal and get some feedback from others who may have had the same..
I have noticed today that again, the stems were completely purple when the lights came on initially and now, a few hours later the Purple's stem is slowly turning green. Curious. It must be a photosynthesis based thing i spose. Light-nute deficiency?