Plant in Flower Dying

[DaDuck]

I have four white widow plants in week 5 of flowering. Yesterday night one of my plants encountered a serious problem. The leaves on the top foot and a half or so of the plant started rapidly dying. They would turn darker green, curl up and die. It was a pretty quick process. Probably about half of the leaves on the top 18 inces of the plant died or are dying. I trimmed off most of them, but there are still some on there so I took a couple pictures.
I water and feed them every other day, but I doubt I gave it too much because the other three plants look great. The only other thing that I think it could be is that the other day I was adjusting the light and it came down and was touching the top part of that plant for five or ten seconds. It was hot at the time. I don't think that makes much sense though because leaves are dying too far down the plant for that to be the case. So far the leaves on the bottom three or four feet of the plant look fine.
Does anybody have any idea what could be going on here? I'm going to go ahead and flush that plant tonight just in case it was overfeeding, but I'm still pretty stumped on this one.

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DaDuck Reviewed by DaDuck on 03-26-2010. Plant in Flower Dying I have four white widow plants in week 5 of flowering. Yesterday night one of my plants encountered a serious problem. The leaves on the top foot and a half or so of the plant started rapidly dying. They would turn darker green, curl up and die. It was a pretty quick process. Probably about half of the leaves on the top 18 inces of the plant died or are dying. I trimmed off most of them, but there are still some on there so I took a couple pictures. I water and feed them every other day, but I Rating: 5

[martyrprojekt]

Please fill out the troubleshooting forum...so that we can help you better.

Honestly...never seen a leaf that crispy...are we sure she is getting fed? :wtf:

[DaDuck]

Yeah I feed them every other day. I am actually a little concerned about over feeding them. Lack of food can't be the problem. The other three plants look great too which wouldn't make sense if it had anything to do with the feeding since I give them all the same dose.
I'll fill that deal out. I didn't know there was something like that.

[Vancefish]

Did you check the main stem for any damage? Maybe something happened when the lights were on it like a nasty kink or a rip? I could see this happening easily if the stem broke and nothing could reach the top of the plant anymore.

Good luck!

[busybee]

"I WATER AND FEED THEM EVERY OTHER DAY" surely thats severe nute burn,are you sure it happened so quickly?

[Faddenator]

"I WATER AND FEED THEM EVERY OTHER DAY" surely thats severe nute burn,are you sure it happened so quickly?

Doesn't seem to be the case since the others are fine... though I'm very surprised the other three still look healthy. It's definitely too much feeding.

Vancefish idea seems pretty viable, that would make a lot of sense. are there any differences in the soils of this plant and the others? could some nutrient have accidentally spilled into the soil? has that plant been in its current pot longer than the others? how long? How is your ingoing/runoff ph?

You should probably just fill out the troubleshooting form like martyrprojekt said, a lot of info is necessary for this one...

[DaDuck]

Here is the Q and A form. Hopefully the additional information will help somebody to diagnose my problem. I had to chope down the one plant that was dying. Now after a few days one of my reaming three plants is beginning to show symptoms of something going wrong. I don't know if it's the same problem. I will attach pictures.

What is your experience level? (first timer, novice, experienced...)
this is my first grow

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. (MH, HPS, CFL's, tube fluorescents, LED's)
I have one 150w HPS and one 400w MH

.2) Distance from tops?
The MH is angled and kind of aiming in on the plants from above and in front of them. I put it there to get light farther down the plants. The 150w HPS is directly above them about a foot from the top of the plants (maybe a little less).

.3) Reflector type? (cool tube set-up, bat wing, enclosed reflector, bare bulb...)
The 400w MH has a bat wing and the HPS has an enclosed reflector

.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply?
they are in a closet, but I open the door when the lights are on and there is always a fan going in there

.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan?
I have one fan on the floor in front of the plants aiming up towards their tops. It keeps the plants fluttering a fair bit. I did this to make sure the tops of the plants didn't get hot from being too close to the light.


Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, (coco, peat based soilless...) and anything you've added to it. (vermiculite, perlite, worm castings...)
I am using the fox farms ocean soil stuff. Can't remember the name. It's in the light blue bag with fish on it and it says something about ocean crap.

.8) Size of container.
the plants are in one gallon pots

.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings?
no, I planted seedlings in miracle grow seed starter in jiffy cups and then moved them into the soil pots. The soil consists of vermiculite (whatever that shits called), seed starter mix and the soil I mentioned above. The blend is about 50% soil and 25% of each of the other too to help the plants breath and the soil to hold water.

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting?
I am giving them tap water. I fill a big bowl and let it sit for at least a day though

11) Method of checking water ph. (ph pen, test strips, aquarium test kit...)
I'm going to catch holy hell over this. I haven't actually checked the ph yet. I have a ph meter at work I can bring home to check it though. I plan on bringing it home tomorrow.

12) Method of adjusting water ph. (phosphoric acid, white vinegar, hydrated lime, PH Up...)
I haven't ever adjusted the ph

13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule.
I am feeding them with Open Sesame. It is distributed by foxfarms. The NPK ratio is 5-45-19. I feed the plants every other day. Recently I started adding in a tad bit of my veg fertilizer as well. It should be a pretty insignificant amount though. Like a spoon full in a gallon in a half of water. With the open sesame I am putting in one to two table spoons with a gallon and a half of water.

14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering?
I only water when I feed them

15) Any additives or tea's? (Superthrive, CalMag, molasses, Mother's Earth...)
no

16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate?
don't know

17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph?
don't know

18) Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray?
no

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors?
indoors in my closet

20) What size of closet, room or hut?
It is a walk in closet. Probably 5ft by 6ft

21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off?
lights on its about 80 with 50% humidity. lights off its around 65-70 with the same humidity

22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom?
nope

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? (Indica dominate or Sativa dom?)
white widow

24) From seeds or clones?
seeds

25) Is this an autoflower strain?
no

[DaDuck]

here are pictures of the plant that I'm having problems with now

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[stra8outtaWeed]

look under the leaves
you may have spider mites

[Rusty Trichome]

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, (coco, peat based soilless...) and anything you've added to it. (vermiculite, perlite, worm castings...)
I am using the fox farms ocean soil stuff. Can't remember the name. It's in the light blue bag with fish on it and it says something about ocean crap.

13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule.
I am feeding them with Open Sesame. It is distributed by foxfarms. The NPK ratio is 5-45-19. I feed the plants every other day. Recently I started adding in a tad bit of my veg fertilizer as well. It should be a pretty insignificant amount though. Like a spoon full in a gallon in a half of water. With the open sesame I am putting in one to two table spoons with a gallon and a half of water.

Ocean Forest: (from the Fox Farms website)
Garden tip: Perfect for containers and ready to use right out of the bag. Ocean Forest® is pH adjusted at 6.3 to 6.8 to allow for optimum fertilizer uptake. Thereâ??s no need for nitrogen fertilizers at first; instead try an organic blend like FoxFarm Big Bloomâ?¢ Liquid Plant Food to encourage strong branching and a sturdy, healthy growth habit.
It's akin to Miracle Grow Organic...sort of. No nutes for the first few weeks minimum. Likely you've burned them but a good flush with properly ph'd water would be the first step in recovery. (asap)

Open Sesame is a late-stage additive in veg to force earlier flowering, I believe. Not intended for cannabis as a stand-alone nutrient. I'm not sure it has the micronutrients that Grow Big or Tiger bloom provide, either.

14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering?
I only water when I feed them

...

16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate?
don't know

17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph?
don't know

Cannabis prefers a wet/dry cycle, so only water on non-feeding days if necessary, but don't let the ladies droop too much from lack of water, either.

Ph is a very important factor. Freshwater aquarium ph test kits, or a botanical ph test kit, or best case...a ph pen and calibrating solution are a must.