What's wrong? Droop or Wilt, or something else?

[MrHappy4Life]

This is my first post, so I don't know if this goes somewhere else. I bought 2 clones 3 weeks ago and one wilted/drooped and never recovered and died. Yesterday I bought 3 more, and today all 3 wilted again. What's wrong with them?

I am growing outside, so I have a mixture of 1/2-Super Soil (coir), 1/4-Kellogg Potting Soil, and 1/4- MG Organic soil. I put it into 1/2 gallon pot, dug a hole, and put the cube inside and covered it up. It was dry so I added 1/2 cup of water to each. First picture was this morning, second was 5 hours later. Temp was 60 to now 83. Moisture on the gauge says 6/10. Let me know it you need any other info.

They were at the shop under lights and I had them outside - could be too hot

Looks like over-watering when I see the pictures, but the leaves are not puffy.

Could be under-watering since the soil was still a bit dry on the sides.

I have a cheap LED plant light from Amazon I can use.

I'd really like to not lose any more. (I just brought them in to cool them off)




Thanks for any help.

[Canuck147]

My guess - and i don't use clones - is that the roots aren't developed enough.

[Korn]

Keep them under lights until more established roots in pots, then gradually acclimate them to full sunlight over time.

[crucialbunny]

I have grown a number of clones and hardened them to live outdoors. What has been working for me after killing many of them is to transition them gradually. Nearly every commercial grower keeps them under lights for at least 18 hrs a day. On comfortable days I put them outside for indirect sun and bring them in if it gets windy or hot. The other thing to remember is that they are started in an almost non-nutrient environment so when those roots hit fertilized soil they stop reaching out. I now start them in solo cups with a very mild compost mix and pearlite rather than going to forever homes immediately. When you bring them in each day give them some widow sunshine and then under artificial light at sunset starting with about 17 hours light then about 20 minutes less each night. As they toughen up you can leave them out longer, give more sun and transplant them into a final container. . This process usually takes me about 3 weeks. Hope this helps. P.S. Kellogg's contains lots of animal feces making it a very hot medium for delicate roots

[MrHappy4Life]

Thanks so much. This is what I tried with my first 2 and one died, but I'll try it again.

I must have burnt them. Just overnight one of them started to droop, then the rest later in the day. I think I had a bit of manure in one of the bags. That makes sense. Thanks so much.

[MrHappy4Life]

Thanks again, this really fixed my issue and pointed me to why it's happening. I found today that the edges of my leaves are starting to burn, another sign that it's nutrient burn. I took one out of the dirt and washed them off in rain water last night and it came back fine except for the burnt spots. I took out the other 2 this morning and hope I didn't leave them in there too long. I'll do like you suggested and have crappy soil that doesn't have much nutrient in it to get them used to it. Thanks so much, you saved me losing 3 more.

[crucialbunny]

The learning curve can be brutal and disappointing but in time you do learn and that learning becomes a philosophy. I never had a forum like this to share ideas and tips so my education came unfortunately by the death of many many plants. When I say a philosophy I'm not trying to be mystical or anything like that. I just mean you begin to develop an understanding of what works and more importantly what doesn't. A few years ago I had my epiphany moment when I realized my problems were the result of my lack of understanding of soil and how it needed to be a living organism as much as the plants I was growing in it. Anyway, good luck with your grow and try to stay away from steer manure feeds.