Please help, plants falling over

I have a room full of Rhinos on 5th week of budding under 400 HPS that are falling over. The plants were always a little weird with 3 leafed leaves but look healthy otherwise. I have a room full of White Russians that were treated the same as the Rhinos with proper nutes and watering and light and circulation and they aren't falling over at the base. I don't see much in the way of fungus, some very small amount of white powdery look but hardly any. They've been sprayed with Bordeaux mix to prevent gray mold about 2 weeks ago. What causes them to fall over and besides staking them, what can we do to strengthen them?

Let me guess, you didn't have a fan gently blowing on them from the start. Well, now is the time. Have a fan GENTLY blow on your plants, this will increcase the strength of the stem when the flowering comes around, the weight of the buds won't make it droop

I tied coat hangers to the outside of the pot and used plastic tie-wraps to hold my rhinos up. Any kind of stake should work. (always use fans) a room full? lucky dog, you are headed for the promised land!

hee dutch pimp is that thrichome creator's old avatar?

Yeah, a gentle fan breeze works wonders for strengthening stems. Also helps air circulation. Best to do that from the beginning though, so you may have to resort to tying them up now.

try getting ya hands on some yo yo plant supports they work for me when i have probs
cheers all :)

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Originally Posted by chisme

hee dutch pimp is that thrichome creator's old avatar?

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No. His avatar was a Star Wars thingy...two glowing eyes in a hood. I can't remember what they were called. (and I have seen that movie 60 times) Help!

what I do is use tomato cages. The work great you are too far along now to use them but next time give it a try. The bamboo stakes suck and tie from the ceiling suck if you ever have to move them for any reason.

I use a combination of bamboo stakes and baling wire. You know how bamboo is hollow... I push a 2" pice of baling wire into the end of the stake and form it into a little loop to push the plant stem into. Much easier that messing around with string all the time, tying, untying, moving, tying again...

Posted this in my grow log but wanted to bump this up to see what people do. Stinky, I like your idea, put the stakes in the dirt and tie the top of the plant to the stake... what the hell is baling wire though? LOL My colas are getting a bit chunky and I want to make sure this ladies dont fall down!! I've learned to address the problem before it happens from this first grow!!! :rastasmoke:

My one plant is huge and the colas were falling over, like they were laying sideways instead of upright. The plant was like this for about a week or so, so the buds probably fattened up a lot cause of the extra light they were getting. Anyways, the colas are supported now- i taped a 2x4 onto the pot and then strung the colas onto it. String is a pain in the ass, i agree, but I just used what was on hand at the time.

well if you have weaker stems wouldnt that energy that would have been used for the stem be in making bigger buds. id rather have to mess with keepin the plant up and have big buds then having strong stems? just my .02

don't think its exactly like that but im not positive...

strong stems = can hold alot of weight = lots of herb

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Originally Posted by aonymity

well if you have weaker stems wouldnt that energy that would have been used for the stem be in making bigger buds. id rather have to mess with keepin the plant up and have big buds then having strong stems? just my .02

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that's all well and good but a fatter stem can move more water and nutrients faster than skinny stems can hence fatter stems = fatter buds

yea i didnt think of the stem in that way good point

currently my 3 day old plants are falling over... how should i counteract this?

(too small for a fan really, as they are only have the initial 4 leafs)

i've only read a little, but you may try burying them a little bit deeper under the surface, errr cover the stalk some

wish i could, its a hydro setup :/

i guess ill have to get some toothpicks and floss :)

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Originally Posted by zero0ne

currently my 3 day old plants are falling over... how should i counteract this?

(too small for a fan really, as they are only have the initial 4 leafs)

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Move your lights closer....they are stretching because the light is: a) too far away or b) you don't have enough light

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Originally Posted by Dutch Pimp

No. His avatar was a Star Wars thingy...two glowing eyes in a hood. I can't remember what they were called. (and I have seen that movie 60 times) Help!

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sand people? or the little dudes that ransom off robots they find in the desert? :wtf:

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Originally Posted by klondike_bar

sand people? or the little dudes that ransom off robots they find in the desert? :wtf:

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wow...old thread...and old question...:D

the little dudes that ranson off robots?...still can't remember their name...:stoned:

trichome creator had one for his avatar...I had something similar...July 2006...I called it HAL 9000....:stoned:

whats a good distance to have the HPS away from?

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Originally Posted by zero0ne

whats a good distance to have the HPS away from?

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At three days old? ...about a mile-and-a-half.

Seriously, aside from the fact that an hps is better suited for flowering, it's way too much light for a tender young plant, not to mention a complete waste of electricity at this point.

You would be better off with a couple cfls until your plants get a little bigger. You can start a fan right now, just let it blow gently on the plants.

PC :smokin:

Out of necessity, I had to finish vegging a couple plants under my HPS before I switched over to 12/12. Its something I will never do again (I'll make sure I time it so my plants come out of flowering just as other ones are ready to go in) because it made them much lankier than I've ever had, even with the fans blowing on them. My yield doesn't seem to be decreased so far, but the plant height is about a foot taller than I normally grow.

After germination, when the seedlings get to about 3-4 inches tall, I spray the stems with water, lightly sprinkle with rooting hormone, and then bury them almost to the lowest set of leaves. (leave some room for watering) When done, plant is approx 3/4" tall, out of the soil, ready for any breeze your fan can throw at it. By the time the plant reaches 4 inches tall again, stem is much stronger and needs no support.

I use this simple technique every grow, with every seedling. Has never failed.

I don't have to stake my plants, unless it's to train a branch, or start a clone.

i think the starwars thing your are thinking about is a jawa.

one of my plants is falling over too.

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Originally Posted by wesley willis

i think the starwars thing your are thinking about is a jawa.

one of my plants is falling over too.

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Thanks for that....:thumbsup:

Like has been said...add more soil around base of seedling to prop it up. And use fan to strenghten it. I wouldn't try transplanting a seedling under 2 weeks old...they don't like it.

careful about putting soil around the stem, you could cause stemrot if your not.