Browning/Redding Stems?

Hi guys, I need some help with this
A bit of back story, A few weeks ago we got the bright idea to put a flood lamp (stupid yes) next to the plant to encourage some lower foliage, all this did was basically melt the stem and I checked on it a bit later to see it flopped over. We removed the lamp, and propped the stem up and kept an eye on it. All seemed fine, the top with still growing and new leaves were growing just fine. The bottom did send out some "shoot" that seem to be growing out and up on the outside of the plant.

Now, I recently switched my plant from 18/6 to 12/12 I just waited till the light was off, and then made it stay off for the remaining time to make it 12 hours (so instead of being off from 7 pm - 1 am It was off from 7pm - 7 am) Just yesterday after being on this 12/12 schedule the plant seems to getting brownish-red kind of a brick-like color on it's stems, I've been watering with normal water that I filter out of my tap, and I haven't been adding any nutes besides what was in the soil to being with. Is this normal? Is it Dying? What's going on?

Here are some pictures
-Browning/redding stem

Same as above, different stem

Off Shoots

close up of damaged Stalk

Base of Plant

not being funny but this plant looks bad

Oh no, I know it's beyond help I was rather embarrassed about posting pictures of it at all actually. we were debating cutting the top off or just trashing it, but we figured we'd see how it turned out (see talk of flood light) really I just want to know if the discoloration is the plant dying, or if it's part of the flowering process (so I know when I go about planting the "real" ones).

Personaly if it was me i would start again but thats just me, also what light are you using? are you giving it nutes? and what are your temps?

No we haven't nuted it since we don't except a small/if it all yield the soil itself said it had 5-5-5 nutes in it (we planned to feed it until It got mutilated) It's about 76-77 in the room. The light is a 300 watt Standard light and then a 15 watt fluorescent light that are above the plant.

It's defiantly been a learning experience to say the least. Thankfully it was only a bag seed. We're just trying to get our chicks in a row before we try to grow anything we spent money on ya know?

Your plant will live but you need better lighting and nutes to get buds worth growing.

What brand of nutes do you recommend? I've seen people say all kinds of different things, but i'd prefer something that I can just mix with the water when I water it. If those are worth while.

That is damping off. It is a fungus. It is very contagious. You cannot take clones from that plant as they will contain the same disease.

Snow, the color changes started only after the 12/12 switch. The plant was fine with the damaged stem before the light switch as far as I can tell (which we caused. Not a sick-ness)

if it is damping, what would cause it, and how can we prevent it in other plants in the future? Can we still bud the plant, or is it curable? if we do bud would the bud be smoke-able (provided we even get any?)

You did that to your own plant?

Google is your friend man.

I already answered what causes it. 12/12 has nothing to do with this issue.

start over with a proper light. Your using incadescents right? You could be using less wattage and be getting way better results with an HID.

Yeah I had the same problem, and it is a product of damping off. Also check for thrips/fungus gnats. And there is absolutely no use to use incandescent bulbs when growing MJ.

Invest in a HID or an LED, and it will easily pay for itself in 1-2 harvests.

YoungMoola, Snow, would you mind sharing some more information?

My first two plants have very red stems. New growth is green but eventually turns darker. Otherwise they seem fairly healthy.

Also, noteworthy, I had a fungus gnat problem initially that I nipped by transplanting a unhealthy looking 4 leafed plant into the hydro, growth was stunted for about 4 weeks on that one until it rooted while it was being extremely over-watered. The other one I used sand over the soil and potato slices to get rid of them slowly.

92redyj said:

YoungMoola, Snow, would you mind sharing some more information?

My first two plants have very red stems. New growth is green but eventually turns darker. Otherwise they seem fairly healthy.

Also, noteworthy, I had a fungus gnat problem initially that I nipped by transplanting a unhealthy looking 4 leafed plant into the hydro, growth was stunted for about 4 weeks on that one until it rooted while it was being extremely over-watered. The other one I used sand over the soil and potato slices to get rid of them slowly.

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Your plants are okay. You could probably use more phosphorus, maybe a little less nitrogen.

Thanks guys,
I'm still not sure what CAUSES damping off?

i think your plant is trying to kill its self. That light is the bane of that things miserable life. You need a Hight pressure sodium light. If youre doing 1 plant go pick up a 150W HPS light kit. Dont buy a LED or anything else anyone recommends to the contrary. LED's are still in their infancy and cant penetrate the canopy past a foot.you cant flower under flouros and CFL's produce inferior (lite) buds although people will argue over that until they are blue in the face. Just switch to the botanicare line and get a 150W light.

Kill that poor bastard and start over.

Snow Crash said:

That is damping off. It is a fungus. It is very contagious. You cannot take clones from that plant as they will contain the same disease.

Click to expand...

Yea, could you elaborate a little more on this? Does this 'damping off' mean the plant is no good and should be destroyed?

This plant is not reciveing enougth light that is why they are streching keep the lights that you are useing closer to the tops.Also they look a little light in coulour and could do with the nutes uping.The redish coulour on the stem's is a sign that the plant is not reciveing the right ammount of nutes,once you up the dose the redish coulour will change to green.But if the light is not either uped to a higher intence light or is not put closer to the top's then it will produce very little because of the streching through lack of light or the light been too far away from top's........................................................................................................................................tyke

JFC...

Really guys. Really?

You know what it is called. You have access to the Internet. Google, Yahoo, Bing... fuck. Take the time it took you to ask me to do your homework for you and apply it to a search engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damping_off

Seriously. Took me 5 seconds.

You guys are capable enough to do a little research right?