Leaves droop, come back, then droop again...

[RKint]

Hello everyone, I am growing 3 Blue Triangle plants outdoors from F1 cuttings. One of them at 9' (3 stalks after topping) lost a stalk leaving 2, one of which was damaged (near snap at base) but seemed to recover for several days (no drooping leaves). Within the span of 4 hours the day before yesterday the leaves went from normal to drooping on the damaged stalk. Watered the plants normally yesterday and leaves recovered 90% by this AM only to droop again! The other plants are all fine so over watering doesn't seem to be the culprit. The base of the drooping stalk has an open wound being treated with a fabric plug soaked with HOCL (200 ppm) as an anti-fungal. Other than a fungus/rot/mold what else could cause this daily drooping?

Other notes- drooping stalk is the tallest at 9' but it's nodes are considerably farther apart than its siblings (very noticable now they are flowering) - insects in the stalk maybe?
-Plants all are topped and lollipopped
-No external signs of mold or serious insect damage
-original soil was coco/perilite and an organic 5-4-3 bio grow fert
-Plants are treated with Neem weekly during flowering
-Plants are treated with HOCL as needed for white powder mold

Thank you for any help!

 

[Deadstill]

Hello everyone, I am growing 3 Blue Triangle plants outdoors from F1 cuttings. One of them at 9' (3 stalks after topping) lost a stalk leaving 2, one of which was damaged (near snap at base) but seemed to recover for several days (no drooping leaves). Within the span of 4 hours the day before yesterday the leaves went from normal to drooping on the damaged stalk. Watered the plants normally yesterday and leaves recovered 90% by this AM only to droop again! The other plants are all fine so over watering doesn't seem to be the culprit. The base of the drooping stalk has an open wound being treated with a fabric plug soaked with HOCL (200 ppm) as an anti-fungal. Other than a fungus/rot/mold what else could cause this daily drooping?

Other notes- drooping stalk is the tallest at 9' but it's nodes are considerably farther apart than its siblings (very noticable now they are flowering) - insects in the stalk maybe?
-Plants all are topped and lollipopped
-No external signs of mold or serious insect damage
-original soil was coco/perilite and an organic 5-4-3 bio grow fert
-Plants are treated with Neem weekly during flowering
-Plants are treated with HOCL as needed for white powder mold

Thank you for any help!

Howdy and welcome to the Farm!

Pics would be much appreciated and would help us better serve you.

Also I highly recommend against using Neem for much longer in Flower - especially if it contains azadirachtin which may very well end up in your end product. Instead use this during flower - https://www.amazon.com/Bio-Pesticid...&sprefix=grow+safe+biopesticid,aps,707&sr=8-1

 

[PK1]

Welcome to THC, im with @Deadstill on not using neem oil during flower. Also, you don't need to threat it weekly if there are no pest problems.
With the branch that is snapped, It's a good thing you bandaged it with a fabric. As long as the branch is against each other tighten up than you are fine. Don't worry about the leaves right now. The plant is going to put its focus on repairing that branch and if its not repairable then the leaves will turn yellow and slowly die.

 

[RKint]

Thank you for the advice about Neem oil, I planned to stop 3 weeks before harvest to avoid any residue on the flower. It is the base of the stalk that is damaged, just makes me nervous since this is my first year growing legit in my state. Many smaller branches and stalks had less extensive damage due to wind but all recoverd. Thank you!

 

[RKint]

Howdy and welcome to the Farm!

Pics would be much appreciated and would help us better serve you.

Also I highly recommend against using Neem for much longer in Flower - especially if it contains azadirachtin which may very well end up in your end product. Instead use this during flower - https://www.amazon.com/Bio-Pesticide-All-Natural-Insecticide-Pesticide-Better-Insects-Non-Phytotoxic/dp/B07PH46H8K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1BKHQAK3XFDSH&keywords=grow+safe+biopesticide&qid=1661727054&sprefix=grow+safe+biopesticid,aps,707&sr=8-1

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

First off, like the others have said, Neem oil during flowering will alter the taste of your buds. It probably won't harm you, but it doesn't taste real good. Neem oil is best used as a preventative prior to flowering. I would consider Southern Ag Garden Friendly Fungicide or similar microbial based product. In this case, you're using microbes to fight potential fungal issues as opposed the taste altering (natural) chemicals in neem.

Second, the droop sounds like its being caused by environmental conditions and possibly over-watering. Pictures would tell us for sure. I've got 8 plants outside in my greenhouse. The plants themselves are in 7 gallon fabric pots which have been placed in the ground. (Yes, eventually the roots grow through and can go where they want in the ground.) Outside plants in the ground during normal conditions will not need watered as much as a plant in a pot. Each of my plants have been getting about 1.5 gallons of water/nutrient mix once a week. I didn't change this even during the hot spells we had with daily temperatures above 90F. So yes, while harder to do outside ... you can certainly over-water outside plants and many people do that without realizing it.

We'll be waiting for the pictures. Leaf droop has a different appearance when over-watered compared to under-watered. The pictures will help point you in the right direction. Please take both side view and if able ... a top view picture of each plant. We'll want to see the whole plant and how its growing as well as the pictures of the problems.

 

[PK1]

Thank you for the advice about Neem oil, I planned to stop 3 weeks before harvest to avoid any residue on the flower. It is the base of the stalk that is damaged, just makes me nervous since this is my first year growing legit in my state. Many smaller branches and stalks had less extensive damage due to wind but all recoverd. Thank you!

no, byy then you've already alterd the trichomes and the weed is going to taste shity. Lets see the plant and the damaged stalk

 

[RKint]

Pics, tops and bottoms - the damaged stalk is the left one front of cinderblock. Since they are the same plant I didn't think over watering was possible. The other plants' nodes are close and have 2-3 times more flower at this point.

 

[PK1]

i see the stalk behind the cinderblock that is wraped but that doesn't show us the issue. Are you sure animals didn't bite on the main branch? also, to me it seems that the plant is hungery. You also have the plants way to close to each other. You don't want them this close to each other as the roots will fight for food.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Those leaves are drooping straight down ... looks dehydrated to me. Certainly not over-watering.

 

[RKint]

i see the stalk behind the cinderblock that is wraped but that doesn't show us the issue. Are you sure animals didn't bite on the main branch? also, to me it seems that the plant is hungery. You also have the plants way to close to each other. You don't want them this close to each other as the roots will fight for food.

The wrapped ones you see in the back are different plants with duct tape for support from earlier damage. Lower branches were pruned, no bites. Yes they are way too close but I didn't realize how big they'd get...

 

[PK1]

The wrapped ones you see in the back are different plants with duct tape for support from earlier damage. Lower branches were pruned, no bites. Yes they are way too close but I didn't realize how big they'd get...

ya, next time have like three feet away from each other. i see three seperate stalk and one of them being duct tape. If the duct tapes are for something else then where is the damaged stalk? I don't see anythhing wrong with the stalk.
When was the last time you feed them?

 

[RKint]

ya, next time have like three feet away from each other. i see three seperate stalk and one of them being duct tape. If the duct tapes are for something else then where is the damaged stalk? I don't see anythhing wrong with the stalk.
When was the last time you feed them?

They were watered yesterday - the pic doesn'tshow the damaged sideof the stalk - my bad

 

[Homesteader]

I think you will end up cutting that branch. Once they go wilted like that they dont recover imo.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I think you will end up cutting that branch. Once they go wilted like that they dont recover imo.

I missed the part of it being one branch on this particular plant ... That far wilted due to an injury to the branch probably means it won't recover. My experience is much the same as @Homesteader

 

[RKint]

 

[RKint]

Thats what I figured I'll cut it tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone for the help!

 

[PK1]

if you are planning on having a big tree than i would advise for next time to tie it to a branch as a additional support

 

[Homesteader]

Thats what I figured I'll cut it tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone for the help!

Is this crown rot? Soil looks awfully heavy. Perhaps more sand in your mix next year to get better drainage

 

[PK1]

Is this crown rot? Soil looks awfully heavy. Perhaps more sand in your mix next year to get better drainage

true, i think thats a big reason for the leaves to be like that. Sand, stones or even perlite would help for roots to have better air in the ground.