not growing and pine smelling

[michaelpeg]

my last 5 or so plants have all died from the same thing. they reach a height of 2-4 inches and they start to smell of pine and the leaves turn yellow and die. i have used many different soils (promix organic, dutch treat, schults tropical mix) all with the same result. the ph of the water going into the soil is around 7 but the promix organic should bring it within decent ph levels, and yes i know you should transplant out of promix every 5 weeks or so. plant is under 3 42watt warm cfl and 3 26watt cool. no nutes. does anyone have a clue what is going on?

[stinkyattic]

Do you keep a humidity dome on them?
How many nodes do they attain before death?
Are the yellow leaves just plain ol yellow, or do they also have dead tips or purple veins?
Is your water out of the tap or from a bottle? If it is bottled, what is the brand and type?
What is the air temperature right at the soil surface?
Tell me about your pots, their drainage, and the watering schedule. How do you decide when to water?

[michaelpeg]

hey stinky, no i dont have a humidity dome over em, water from the tap, not sure exactly what the temp but i can tell you that the soil is barely warm, seems fine to me, no purple on the leaves, as for the yellowing, its older leaves first oh yeah they got some small rust colored spots before going completely yellow and i know the next step from yellow will be dead dried up leaves, on some previous plants some of the leaves got dried up and crunchy while they were still green oh and also the leaves seem to have a tiny bit of red on the tips when they are brand new problems start after about 3rd set of leaves, and drainage, i added quite a bit of perlite to the promix organic but i dont think it is enough because when i water, it sits on top of the soil for a couple seconds before being soaked up, i water according to the weight of the pot and also according to how long it has been since last watering (usually around 3 days in small 3 inch pot) which is another reason i dont think i put enough perlite,

[michaelpeg]

(continued) because it seems like promix organic holds a ton of water. stinky if you solve this problem that has been plagueing me since my 2nd plant then i am eternally in your debt.

[michaelpeg]

bump

[daihashi]

How old are these plants when they are 4 inches tall and what size pot are you using (I suspect Rootbound if they are all consistently dying at the same age/height).

You said you don't use enough perlite. Promix is a peat based mix. It retains water very well. Too well. When using promix I mix at least 33% perlite.

Do you have pictures of the problem and can you fill out the troubleshooting form.

Those two things combined could have your problem solved much sooner. :thumbsup:

Also does it really smell like pine? Or more like Ammonia?

[michaelpeg]

they are not rootbound i have tried 6 inch pots and this time 3 inch because i was afraid that the soil wouldn't dry quick enough and they die at about 2.5 to 3 weeks. i transplanted my current plant into a 9 inch pot with about 45-50% perlite and i dont think i am seeing to much of an improvement. and yeah i guess the smell is more like amonia, reminds me of when i would leave my cats litter box for a week, but not as strong, sorry no camera so no pics

[stinkyattic]

How many nodes do they get before death?
If they reach 5 nodes, do you then fertilize?
Have you tested your tap water? Is it very 'soft' water by any chance? Where does it come from?
How do you decide when to water them?
Do you use anything at all, like superthrive, on them?
Aaaaaand..... can ya get pics? We <3 pictures.

[michaelpeg]

3-4 nodes and i water according to weight and how long since last watering, the only things i can tell you about my water is that the ph is around 7 and it comes from the tap. i have not added anything to the water. sorry i cant get pics but i will describe my current plant best as possible, leaves are somewhat wide, first 2 sets of leaves yellow next leaves still green but feel very crappy like paper almost and they dont smell good (amonia). i know it is possible to grow a plant though flowering with this water but i was only able to accomplish this using a crap brand of seedling soil called CIL which of course i can no longer find

[daihashi]

3-4 nodes and i water according to weight and how long since last watering, the only things i can tell you about my water is that the ph is around 7 and it comes from the tap. i have not added anything to the water. sorry i cant get pics but i will describe my current plant best as possible, leaves are somewhat wide, first 2 sets of leaves yellow next leaves still green but feel very crappy like paper almost and they dont smell good (amonia). i know it is possible to grow a plant though flowering with this water but i was only able to accomplish this using a crap brand of seedling soil called CIL which of course i can no longer find

Don't be upset if no one is able to provide you with an adequate answer due to lack of pictures and troubleshooting form.

I know Ammonia can be a sign of mold, root rot or bud rot... etc etc, but honestly I have no expierence with this. I asked you about the smell initially because I remember reading some threads regarding the smell of ammonia (not the good ammonia smell that marijuana smells like sometimes) and mold etc etc.

The smell could be nothing at all or it could be something.

Good luck

[michaelpeg]

it seems to have started growing again slowly since the transplant so i think the problem was lack of air around the roots. now they got loads of perlite. thanks

[daihashi]

Also to help aeration you can drill holes on he sides of your pot.

I'm also making a simple but useful device to further help aeration in soil grows. I have not seen it done here so I thought I'd give it a test.

Stay tuned this coming weekend for a very very easy diy thread :D

[michaelpeg]

alrighty sounds good, and i want to confirm my plant is just fine now