my plant is half dead

[midnighttoker24]

i thought i could only use distilled water on the plant, thats what i have been using? what will the water flush do to my plant, i think my probelm might also be related to where my plant is growing, it is under a sun lamp which re-creates the UV rays that the sun produces to create almost tropical temperatures, and my plant is also growing in a closet.

also i read your guide and it was great, it gave me a lot of info on how to take better care of my plant so thanks!!

midnighttoker24 Reviewed by midnighttoker24 on 12-21-2006. my plant is half dead so i went away for 3 days and i have come back and my month old plants leaves are all droopy. the one around the bottom have died but the 7 pronged leaves at the top are drooping downwards. before i left i watered and fretilized it, any suggestions on how i can save it? it was on 24 hours light but i switched to 12/12 today Rating: 5

[MisterE]

I think a flush in soil means that for example, if you have your plant in a 3 gallon pot, water it with a total of 6 gallons. And doing it over a sink might be nice because it's sure going to drain a lot out of the holes, which is what you want.

I'm not a soil grower though, so I'm just repeating what I've read a dozen times on here.

I think the point is, that if your runoff is measuring a lot lower than what is optimal (and lower than what you water with), it means your soil contains something that is taking your water PH down more than you want. But again, wait for more experienced soil growers advice and clarification.

[madeline]

A sun lamp as in a heat lamp? If so, NO, NO, NO! What size pots are you using? Going away for 3 days should not have drained the pot of moisture, I water mine every 3 days and it's rare that the soil is fully dry after the 3rd day and good for the plants if it is. You don't want soil-grown plants constantly wet anyway. My guess is, if you watered heavily before leaving then came back and gave them another good dose of water so they're waterlogged and need a break for several days to dry out. But then again if you're using a sun/heat lamp they could be baking. We need more info to be of any real help or else we'll just be pulling answers out of our butts and you'll have dead plants, before their time. What size pots? What kind and wattage are your lights? How often do you fert and what brand and dosage?

But whatever you do I'm sure it doesn't need more water, as in flushing. You ONLY flush when too much of an additive gets into the soil and for no other reason. Too much water is always worse than not enough and much harder to fix the damage.

[midnighttoker24]

madeline, the plant was given to me with all the fertilizer ready made, one bottle for during its 24 hr light cycle and another for during the 12/12 cycle. the pot im using is about 6 inches in diameter and it is growing inside a closet. my bulb wattage is not high though and the closet isnt hot at all. the plant has been growing for about 6 weeks and is about 1ft tall, the bottom leaves died and dropped off and right now all i have are fan leaves at the top (4 of them), with 2 more sprouting. there are tiny tiny buds on the sides also. i have no idea what im doing with it, a friend gave it to me because he had nowhere to put it so i offered to take it and he made it sound very easy to take care of. the leaves also have a lot of yellow spots all over them and look as if they are dying. i really dont know what im looking for as far as flowering and when to put it on the 12/12 cycle. the plants have perked up a lot though since i got back and watered and fertilized them. how often should i be doing this?

[midnighttoker24]

i watered the plants earlier on today and the soil feels very dry again and there is no run-off in the dish under my pot