Diagnose Sick Marijuana Plant
So you are a marijuana grower who is at a loss as to how to know what your sick marijuana plants are experiencing and how to remedy them. Here we tackle several issues that your marijuana plants could be experiencing and also find out how to remedy them in the easiest way possible.
But first things first, how can you diagnose sick marijuana plant are indeed dying? Well it could be pretty obvious when you see some discoloration where your leaves start to yellow and look dry and curled up. Other leaves could be wilted and falling off the stems at a rate quicker than what could be normal.
You do not however need to worry too much about the amount of leaves that are beginning to die but focus on the bigger picture instead. Dying leaves are always just a symptom of a bigger problem. There are three main causes for your marijuana plants getting sick and we are going to tackle them one by one here.
pH fluctuations
When you are experiencing yellowing leaves, the first thing you have to do is to check the pH levels on your plants as this could be the most likely issue for leaf death. The levels of pH on your roots and the water that you use should be well balanced so that your plants will be able to absorb the required nutrients properly.
When leaves start to die, people almost always blame it on nutrient deficiency, which technically is correct. Your plants are deficient in the nutrients it requires to grow due to the imbalance of pH on the roots. Therefore solve the pH problems first and see from there if there are any improvements which would mean that your plants are absorbing the proper nutrients already.
The pH levels that you need to maintain should be around 6 to 7. You’d think that this is quite a large range when it comes to pH. You would be correct. Small fluctuations in pH are healthy for your plants because it enables the roots to absorb different nutrients at different appropriate rates. This range is only applicable however to soil. But if you are growing marijuana using a hydroponic system, pH levels should be at a range of 5.5 to 6.5.
Too much or too little water
Believe it or not, watering your plants as much as you can is detrimental to them. There should also be a balance in plant watering so as not to harm your marijuana plants. Root rot often results from overwatering. You’d know that your marijuana plants are experiencing root rot when the roots look brown, soppy and they smell weird or rotten. And when you are underwatering your plants or are providing them with lesser amount of water than what they actually need, they could look wilted, thin and dry.
The only way to prevent overwatering and underwatering is to figure out a balance and the right amount of water that you should provide your marijuana plants. Some growers practice and rule of thumb when it comes to watering which is that one fifth of the water that you pour on your plant should come out at the bottom. And you should only water them again when the top layer of soil is already dry.
Nutrient deficiencies
Now nutrient deficiencies in marijuana plants could be whole league all on its own. There so many macronutrients and micronutrients that your marijuana plants need to absorb everyday that they could exhibit all different kinds of symptoms depending on the deficiency. Here we are going to talk about the common ones which could be the problems you are experiencing at the very moment.
If you have already addressed the pH problem properly, then the nutrient deficiency is not coming from the fact that the roots are not properly absorbing nutrients due to pH imbalance. Also if you have managed to water your plants properly and you are still experiencing the same problem, it could very well be some form of nutrient deficiency indeed.
Below are some symptoms for common nutrient deficiencies:
Calcium: You will know that your plants are experiencing calcium deficiency when you see dead brown spots, leaves are crinkled and curled on newer leaves and the growth is stunted. Calcium deficiency often come together with magnesium and iron deficiencies.
Copper: Marijuana plants are experiencing copper deficiency when you see that the leaves have turned a dark blue or purple color and the leaf edges turn yellow or whitish. Leaves could be stiffer than they should and buds are stunted.
Iron: A deficiency in iron on cannabis plants is blatant when the leaves have turned bright yellow. Iron deficiency often comes with other nutrient deficiencies and pH imbalance as well.
Nitrogen: You will know when your marijuana plants are experiencing some kind of nitrogen deficiency when the lower leaves turn yellow and start to fall off.
Phosphorus: Lower leaves turn dark green and you can see some brown, bronze or purple spots. Leaves may also thicken and dry up. Phosphorus deficiency could also sometimes be seen when the stem have turned red or purple.
Aside from the five kinds of nutrients deficiencies mentioned above, there are a whole bunch of others that are not tackled here. However their signs and symptoms could be more or less the same with the others. To remedy any nutrient deficiencies, there is an overabundance of nutrient supplements you can find in growing stores or online depending on the kind of nutrient deficiency that you observe. But you must take care not to overdo nutrient supplementation as this could also lead to nutrient burn.
Nutrient burn: Just like anything else, you should not overdo nutrient supplementation to marijuana. When experiencing nutrient burn, cannabis lose leaf mass and wilt and eventually die. You must take care to prevent this from happening especially in the flowering stage since it will affect the buds. But if it has already happened, flush the excess out little by little without overwatering or employ a different watering system.
