Purple Punch: Red/Purple Stems vs Green Stems

PurplePunch · Apr 5, 2023

Calling on the experts to educate me, please...

This is two examples of Purple Punch from the same mother plant growing simultaneously. One in the dirt, one in hydroponics. Some people claim red stems are the result of genetics, but this test shows me that is likely incorrect. It was something to do with nutrient uptake.

Dirt (my own living soil recipe; fairly hot): The stems started turning red/purple long before the plant was even in flower. Stem growth and hardness are inferior. (11 wks into flowering)

Hydro (General Hydroponics Fora Series; very basic nutes): The stems stayed green throughout. Plant stems and leaves grew much faster. (6 wks into flowering)

Homesteader · Apr 5, 2023

Same light over both plants? LEDs on the green one? Red LEDs? Stripped branches could do that under LEDs but I would think it would be on both and you would think your hydro plant would be showing purple as well though, not like the other but. Interesting but yeah Phos levels could do that if you had a soil devoid. Did the mother? You also would most likely will get small flowers but those look fairly swollen. What kind of phos amendment was in your living soil?

PurplePunch · Apr 5, 2023

Homesteader said:
Same light over both plants? LEDs on the green one? Red LEDs? Stripped branches could do that under LEDs but I would think it would be on both and you would think your hydro plant would be showing purple as well though, not like the other but. Interesting but yeah Phos levels could do that if you had a soil devoid. Did the mother? You also would most likely will get small flowers but those look fairly swollen. What kind of phos amendment was in your living soil?

Same light. Mars Hydro LED system.

The mother (in dirt) turned red like nearly all of my dirt-based plants.

A pic of the flower size attached. Yes, this plant did pretty well!

Dirt: reused Fox Farm depleted soil. Reamended with biochar, earthworm castings, NFTG Oneshot, and bokashi. I let it ferment for 30+ days before using. Top dress w/ Root Organics Terp Tea Bloom weekly.

Homesteader · Apr 5, 2023

Odd. I would think the other plant would show some purple. That is a lot of purple on the stems for buds that didnt show much that color.

PurplePunch · Apr 5, 2023

Homesteader said:
Odd. I would think the other plant would show some purple. That is a lot of purple on the stems for buds that didnt show much that color.

Imagine my confusion - I see posts about red stems but no real scientific reason. Nearly ALL of my plants end up with red stems sooner or later. One day I decided to try hydroponics, and wtf, no red stems. Nutrients? Oxygen? Healthier roots? I have no clue.

Homesteader · Apr 5, 2023

Reammending is difficult to get right. If I had to guess I would think too much of a micronutrient and it locked out Phos to some extent. Mulders chart helps but its hard to know exactly how much a plant consumes in a grow.