Flower development stalled at 4 weeks. Why can't I do this?

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CannaDana

CannaDana

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My plants burst out in buds like gangbusters, and I was optimistic for big colas. All of a sudden, bud development has stalled. I haven't seen any development in the last 5 days or so, at a time when buds should be growing and fattening up like crazy. Info below photos.

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They are in FF soil. I'm using FF nutes (Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom) + CalMag, watering daily and feeding every other day about 2/3 the recommended amounts. 1000 ppfd in the center, 600 in the corners. Temps 78F daytime, 70F at night. Relative humidity between 40-55%, averaging 48%. Plants are about 5 feet tall.

Now, one thing is that I probably didn't defoliate enough. I took off more than 1/3 of the leaves and lower branches, which was so much that the plants were going into shock from it, so I stopped. And it seems like it has all grown back...twice...but now that I'm 4 weeks into flower I don't want to defoliate again. Still, it's super dense down below. Look...

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I have side lights that I removed for the photos, so the lower parts do get light.

But the only thing I can think of for why my buds have stalled is the density of the foliage that I assume is taking energy otherwise used for bud growth.

Any thoughts on this and what to do? At this point, I'm so deep into flower that I don't want to change things up too radically for fear of stressing the plants too much, and one of the strains I'm growing (the one on the left) is known for herming out due to stress during flower.

Will it pick up? Should I bomb it with phosphorous (and by "bomb" I just mean give them a heavy dose, I don't mean going crazy)? This is only my second grow. Am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks for this therapy session. I feel better already. 😎
 
Last edited:
TSD

TSD

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You probably just need a bit of patience. They look a little bogged down, maybe slightly over watered? Do you give the soil a chance to dry out in between waterings? Leaves don't "take energy from the buds" they make food from the light and the buds use that energy to grow. Not saying don't defoliate, because there are definitely benefits to light defoliation, but if you already took a third off, I'd let it be... I see people on here take off almost every leaf and wonder why the plant is in shock and not growing... and it makes me want to scream lol.
 
CannaDana

CannaDana

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You probably just need a bit of patience. They look a little bogged down, maybe slightly over watered? Do you give the soil a chance to dry out in between waterings?

I used to let them dry out between waterings. Lately, I've been convinced that plants do better on a system that's light watering often rather than heavier watering followed by drought conditions. I mean, I could switch back...
 
E9noxis

E9noxis

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Mine stalled because I defoliated. That's my theory. I dont know what happened to you
 
Pushrod Monkey

Pushrod Monkey

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I used to let them dry out between waterings. Lately, I've been convinced that plants do better on a system that's light watering often rather than heavier watering followed by drought conditions. I mean, I could switch back...
Switch back. Learn to water by weight. You should be able to put 25% of your containers volume in liquid without most of running out. Frequent light watering = shallow roots.
 
TSD

TSD

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I used to let them dry out between waterings. Lately, I've been convinced that plants do better on a system that's light watering often rather than heavier watering followed by drought conditions. I mean, I could switch back...
Yeah they really need a dry period to develop robust roots... not like bone dry, but close, they will tell you if they are bone dry cause they will start to wilt, you want to water just before that point... light frequent watering is still over watering, and that can lead to root rot over time, which you definitely do not want.
 
CannaDana

CannaDana

201
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Switch back. Learn to water by weight. You should be able to put 25% of your containers volume in liquid without most of running out. Frequent light watering = shallow roots.

Yeah they really need a dry period to develop robust roots... not like bone dry, but close, they will tell you if they are bone dry cause they will start to wilt, you want to water just before that point... light frequent watering is still over watering, and that can lead to root rot over time, which you definitely do not want.

These plants have deep, fully developed roots.

The idea with frequent watering is to keep them moist at all times, without ever being drenched or dry. But I get what you’re saying.
 
TSD

TSD

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These plants have deep, fully developed roots.

The idea with frequent watering is to keep them moist at all times, without ever being drenched or dry. But I get what you’re saying.
Well I would hope so in flower lol... I'm not trying to argue best practices, but unless it's in coco, I've never met a grower that didn't say letting them have a dry period was a good idea in soil. Not bone dry obviously, but they need to have some drying to function at their best. But it's your grow, so you can do what you think your ladies like best. 🙂
 
Pushrod Monkey

Pushrod Monkey

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Well I would hope so in flower lol... I'm not trying to argue best practices, but unless it's in coco, I've never met a grower that didn't say letting them have a dry period was a good idea in soil. Not bone dry obviously, but they need to have some drying to function at their best. But it's your grow, so you can do what you think your ladies like best. 🙂
Agreed. Once used to watering by weight you get comfortable with the medium being very dry on the top while knowing roots still have adequate moisture.
 
growsince79

growsince79

9,065
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My plants burst out in buds like gangbusters, and I was optimistic for big colas. All of a sudden, bud development has stalled. I haven't seen any development in the last 5 days or so, at a time when buds should be growing and fattening up like crazy. Info below photos.

View attachment 1228521View attachment 1228522View attachment 1228523

They are in FF soil. I'm using FF nutes (Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom) + CalMag, watering daily and feeding every other day about 2/3 the recommended amounts. 1000 ppfd in the center, 600 in the corners. Temps 78F daytime, 70F at night. Relative humidity between 40-55%, averaging 48%. Plants are about 5 feet tall.

Now, one thing is that I probably didn't defoliate enough. I took off more than 1/3 of the leaves and lower branches, which was so much that the plants were going into shock from it, so I stopped. And it seems like it has all grown back...twice...but now that I'm 4 weeks into flower I don't want to defoliate again. Still, it's super dense down below. Look...

View attachment 1228519View attachment 1228520

I have side lights that I removed for the photos, so the lower parts do get light.

But the only thing I can think of for why my buds have stalled is the density of the foliage that I assume is taking energy otherwise used for bud growth.

Any thoughts on this and what to do? At this point, I'm so deep into flower that I don't want to change things up too radically for fear of stressing the plants too much, and one of the strains I'm growing (the one on the left) is known for herming out due to stress during flower.

Will it pick up? Should I bomb it with phosphorous (and by "bomb" I just mean give them a heavy dose, I don't mean going crazy)? This is only my second grow. Am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks for this therapy session. I feel better already. 😎
They look good. Maybe cutting back on the grow big and big bloom would help. Too much N slows flowering.
 
TSD

TSD

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263
Agreed. Once used to watering by weight you get comfortable with the medium being very dry on the top while knowing roots still have adequate moisture.
Yes... this is why plants of all kinds develop deep roots, to use water stored beneath the surface in times of no precipitation... does it rain every single day in nature? Not unless you're in the rainforest... as far as I know, even the tropical strains enjoy drying out some... who wants to be waterlogged all the time?
 
phxazcraig

phxazcraig

542
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Overall, they seem very healthy. I suspect nothing to worry about. Then too, I have only one more grow to my experience than you.

I also favor a bushy crop. My feeling is that all that biomass stabilizes the plant in the event of issues, plus it makes maximum use of the light available. Still, I would have lollipopped a bit more. Don't feel bad strategically removing big fan leaves.

I think what is going on here is that the buds are growing internally, and the ones lower down are also growing, and you're just not noticing the differences. Easy to do when you look at your plants 10x/day. Might take a carefully-positioned picture of the same bud each day at the same time and compare over time. When buds are simply getting fatter, it can be hard to see day-to-day changes.

My plants are at about the same point as yours. Finishing the 5th week of flower tomorrow. Buds getting bigger, stickier, smellier. But they don't look much different from a few days ago unless I look closely. After the explosive growth I had in the veg stage (in coco), it's quite the change to sit back and not have much to do at this point in flower.
 
LivingBlackSoil

LivingBlackSoil

83
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A lot of talk about dryback, no mention of life. What happens to the life in the soil during this dryback? I water often at a low volume. Keeps the microclimate directly under mulch happy.
I don't use liquid nutes.

I would be concerned with the dense lower foliage. Breeding ground for pathogens.

I don't mean to be contrary, just sharing my thoughts.
 
TSD

TSD

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263
^ This is true, the only time I've ever noticed big changes seemingly overnight is the stretch before flower and right towards the end of flower, when the nights are getting colder, they fatten up like crazy and really push those trichomes... I imagine watching them flower indoors is kind of like watching paint dry lol.
 
LivingBlackSoil

LivingBlackSoil

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33
Love to b the bearer of good news:



YOU ARE DOING THIS!!! AND YOUR PLANTS LOOK GREAT!!! BIG UPS!!
 
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