Root problems in flowering stage - need advice ASAP!

[MissyB]

Hi y'all! Pretty sure I've run into some root problems with one of my girls, currently in week 5 (I'm guessing) of the flowering stage. Killawatt strain, got her as a clone, trnsplanted into 5 gallon bucket with rocks at the bottom & lots of drainage holes; Fox Farm soil &-nutrients. Outdoor grow, although we had concerns about an untrustworthy neighbor, so we started bring the girls inside at night about a month ago & they're on a 12/12 light schedule. Earlier this week I noticed a distinct musty smell when I opened up the space they're in at night, very different from how the smelled previously. Seemed to be coming off just one plant (we have 2), but I wasn't sure if that's just the way this bud smells & didn't want to be paranoid, lol, so kept an eye on her... Throughout the week some of her lower leaves started turning light neon green & yellow, & I noticed maybe 5 or 6 of the newer leaves around the colas starting to curl. I'm thinking I may have overwatered her a time or 2 over the previous week in a an effort to combat the extreme heat we've been experiencing, but I always checked the top 2 inches to make sure they were dry before watering, so IDK? I'm afraid transplanting her to new soil and/or a bigger pot will shock her & cause more damage at this point, since she's so far along in flowering. Took a few pictures on Friday, which I've attached... Since then we went out of town for the weekend & I'm sad to say the person we left in charge of their care didn't seem to do the best job :/ & she looks way worse than she did before, like on.the veege of dying. It's worth mentioning, as of tonight it looks like the pistils on the top buds have all started to darken & curl in, so they look like they might be closer to being done? Or it could just be cause she's dying? Idk, this is my first grow & I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at this point. My question is, should I just pull her & harvest her now? I planned to wait out the weekend & see how she was doing, but she seems to be going downhill fast, I'm afraid she might be too far gone to save. I should also mention, my boyfriend is kinda reluctant to put any more money into this, lol, like for Hydroguard... this started off as something we were experimenting with & has taken on a life of its own, between the nutrients, PH pen &-battery, Ph Up &-Down, & pesticide for leaf miners, we're kind of in over our heads, lol... I know this is a long post, so thank you to those who have taken the time to read this much, lol... Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[TheDude777]

Don't harvest... It's just not ready. At least by the pics. Don't go by the hairs go by the tricomes. Where the leaves are dying, take a look where it meets the stock/buds and see if there is any brownish color on the bud. You may have to open the bud a little as bud rot starts from the inside and works its way out. If you don't have fans going do it ASAP. You need some air circulation.

[MissyB]

Thank you for your response! So you're saying if root rot is my problem, it can lead to bud rot? That would make sense... I was checking out the buds for mold this past week when I noticed the smell & didn't see anything... I'll take a better look at the leaves & stock in the morning. The room we've been putting them in at night is right where the air conditioner pulls it's air from & blows it back out, so it seems like there's a good amount of air circulation, but I'll definitely add a fan. Hopefully that helps. I'm also planning to add some updated pics to this post first thing in the morning. She looks a lot worse from the pics I posted, in such a short amount of time.

[TheDude777]

I'm not sure if root rot can lead to bud rot but from what you were saying it just seemed like a good possibility that it was bud rot. Extreme heat and low/no circulation during flower can make it easy for bud rot.. How's the humidity in your part of the world ?? That's a big factor as well during flower. If you truly think it's root rot though you need to fix ASAP or they will die and fast.

[MissyB]

I live in the Central Valley of California, It's been in the 100's pretty steadily here for the past couple months... We've had maybe a few humid days, but nothing crazy. Mostly just hot & kinda dry, actually. I'm afraid it really is root rot, the more I read about it, I'm pretty much convinced. She's going downhill fast, so I gotta do something quick. Not sure if she's too far gone to save, but if that's the case & she's gonna die anyway, might as well try to harvest & see what I can get, right?? Lol, that's my thinking anyway. Of course, if there's a chance of saving her, I'd rather do that... she was looking so good before all of this too, dang it.

[carblevel]

Hey Missy Ya sounds like root rot...... Hydroguard asap .......$22 on Amazon might be a couple bucks more locally , worth the investment to save your plant IMO. Good Luck

[MissyB]

Yup, I totally agree with you, carblevel... sounds like Hydroguard is our best chance at saving her & we've already come this far, it would be silly not to spend the 20 something bucks, lol... We'll be picking some up today. Thanks for your response!

[GenghisGreen]

The yellowing of the leaves at the bottom is natural as the plant pulls nitrogen from the lower leaves to supply them to bud production. Expect this to get worse. At harvest, you'll have almost nothing but buds and sugar leaves left. Do not give more nitrogen with this being said. This is just a natural process of the flowering window in cannabis.

Do not harvest your plants as those buds don't look anywhere near ready. You'll be highly dissatisfied with the end result.

I don't know what is causing your tips to burn like that. But I don't see it much so I think you're alright. Overall the plant looks healthy. It's normal to get anxious when the plant starts losing the lush greeness and perfect leaves it had during vegetation. But as I mentioned before, the leaves will start to look all funky the closer and closer you get to harvest. Best advice anyone here ever gave me was, 'worst thing you can do now is over react'.

Good luck with your grow!

[MissyB]

Thank you GenghisGreen! I needed to hear that right now. I've been known to over react a bit, lol... My last post about "hermies" is proof of that smh... I'm trying to keep it in check. With that said, I just went & checked her out real good & I honestly don't know what to think... maybe what I'm seeing is just part of the natural flowering process & I'm panicking over nothing?? But to me, she looks so unhealthy compared to a week ago, Idk if that's normal... & then there was that unmistakable musty smell. I did take some better pictures that Im getting ready to add to this post, if you have a chance to check them out, I'd love to hear what you think... Over reacting or real issue?? Lol, hopefully it's nothing... Thanks again for replying, I needed some reassurance.

[oldskinflint]

My first two grows were completely root rotted. Still made some product, smelled like decaying plant material (go figure), and PH would drop by the hour. This is a diagram of a really cheap root cooler that solved all of my problems and made my plants flourish. Make sure the drain hole is about 3/4 inch so that there will be ample drain. Pumps about 8.00 on ebay and the temperature controller is less than 15.00 on Amazon. Inkbird is best. Varous size tubing and I used a part of a garden hose for my drain back into the cooler bucket. I use extension cords from the big box store as the power source and the work extension to the pump cord . Just cut off at the box end. I upgraded to putting the 5 gallon buckets in 17 gallon rope-handled-tubs from the big box store, about 7.00 dollar each. I then lined the tubs with aluminum foil and fashioned a two part top for the tub. I also set the grow bucket on a 3/4 inch piece of styrofoam which resulted in the top of the grow bucket and the top of the tub being even. This setup resulted in about one degree loss of heat per hour in a 77 degree room.
I would try this now to address your root problem, although it may be too much of a shock at this time. Good luck!!

[MissyB]

Wow, that's awesome! Thank you for taking the time to break that all down for me! I will pass it along to my boyfriend, he's definitely way more handy than me & that's just his kind of thing! I appreciate it oldskinflint!

[oldskinflint]

I thought you were doing DWC. You should try it, you will like it. I can do automatics and harvest in 70 days from sprouting. This is the best site for that. You might want to check the ph of your water and soil to make sure they are between 6 and 7. Good luck and hang in there!!!

[MissyB]

I'm sorry, what is DWC again? Lol, I'm new to all this, learning as I go. We ordered a PH pen.online &-it came without batteries :/ trying to track some down since I've realized just how important PH is with these plants. On that note, any idea how to adjust the PH without uding chemicals? So far we've been able to keep.these girls organic, hoping we can stick to that. Thank you for all your help &-suggestions oldskinflint.

[MissyB]

Here are some more recent pics, as of this morning... The pistils are changing & the buds still seem to be in good shape, although they aren't really getting bigger anymore... Cut wayyyy back on watering middle of last week, hoping to dry out any posdible rot, dug 2-3 inches down in the soil to expose some roots for these pics & didnt see or feel any moisture.... What do y'all think? I'd appreciate any feedback, I feel like I'm at a stand still. TIA

[D.A.A.S.69]

I don't see nothing but a few yellow leaves, my last plant the leaves and stalk all turned yellow and she is some smooth smoking weed. Just make sure you got holes in that bucket an you do not over water her and you ought to be able to make 3-4 weeks or whenever she gets ready. Good Luck missyb

[MissyB]

Awesome, good to hear! I guess I could be over reacting, lol... But I think I'll go ahead & treat her with some Hydroguard anyway, just to be safe, lol... Thanks for your response!