Rot? Fungus? Mold? WHAT IS THIS? (pics)

About 3 days ago I noticed a small black spot surrounded by what looked like brown, and dry wood about 1/3[SUP]rd[/SUP] of the way up a stalk. The next day everything above that was limp and hanging feebly, even the stalk itself was doubled over at the top.
Its been 2 days since then¸and its looking worse, but as limp and pitiful they look the leaves are still wet, so I was hoping against hope it would heal itself
Whatever this is has now spread to an adjacent stalk and IMO this new spot looks worse than the first, and for the life of me (and my babies) I cant figure out what this is
Stem rot? Fungus? Mold?
Is there anything I can do before this second stalk goes limp? Is there anything I can do for the first? How do I keep it from continuing to spread?
so far its only moved to a second stalk on the same plant, not making its way to my others would be nice.
Ive come to the realization after using a triple action neem oil solution spray (for mites) and it having NO effect whatsoever, if not being the cause of the spread, I will probably have to chop those stalks

Please help me save the rest of my beginner bush

full stalk

the problem up close

the spreading problem (Second Stalk)

looks like some sort of a pest to me with the tips of your leaves eaten like that

the eaten leaves are from wandering cats, they chow on the tips of the lower leaves but have never caused a problem other than that in previous years.
i thought of that too, but i doubt thats it.
nobody knows what it could be that only affects one stalk at a time, and hasnt outright killed it yet, but its working on it, and id like to save some of my baby so it can actually flower out

It looks like fungus of some kind, but I don't know exactly what.

What's your humidity and air flow like?
It's unusual to see fungus taking hold like that unless it's quite moist with limited air flow.

I don't think there's much you can do for the branches already affected apart from cutting them off (make sure you take all the infected stem) and trying to stop it spreading.
You could try wiping the affected areas of the stem down with a mildish bleach solution, which might help, but if it's already spread into the wood, I don't think it will do much.

looking closer i would have to agree with bloke. also if you cut it away it might be a good idea to seperate that plant from the rest as much as possible for a week or so to be sure you got it all. maybe even wipe it down with a bleach solution as well

more than likely some kind of persistant mold, ive tried to wipe it off with all kinds of diferent things and nothing has made the slightest dent in it.
right now the hottest most dry part of the day is probably around 85-90 degrees but with 50-80% humidity morning and nights are like a sauna and even keeping them out of direct rain its still been like 90*-90% the last 2 weeks
i was dreading someone telling me that id need to cut them off, but at this point unless somebody has a miracle cure in the next 24 hours she will just have to be chopped.
is there a way to take them off without signaling the plant to try and re-grow those stalks?
i dont want her to slow down another couple weeks trying to push new growth instead of flowering like she should be
outdoors here is terrible for our wonderus plant but growing is the dream

as much as i hate to hear what i have to do, thank you guys! ive been stressing this crap all week and resigning myself to the fact but its not any easier until i think about what happens to the other 2 lol

It definitely looks like a fungus. You need to remove that plant from the group and get a fungicide and a spray bottle from a garden center and spray all the unaffected plants. Cut those stems off that plant and spray the rest of that plant also. Good air flow is important, and the spray will hopefully stop it from spreading. Good luck

thewickedBATMAN said:

is there a way to take them off without signaling the plant to try and re-grow those stalks?

Click to expand...

Just cut them off .. it's unlikely that the plant will re-grow them if it's already in flower.
If you have some fungicide, I'd dab some on the point where you cut, to try and stop any fungus getting into the wound.

I have been fighting this same thing in greenhouse and outdoors, primarily in one strain that seems more likely to get it. I have been able to slow/stop the spread, but I'm not sure if it is enough to get me to harvest, and to keep it out of the buds.
Here's what I've tried:
1. Hydrogen Peroxide, full strength, spray on affected areas, foams where the mold is.
2. Bleach solution, 10% strength, brush on affected areas.
3. Essential oil blend: water with 25% alcohol, add 5% oil of Thyme and 5% Clove oil.
4. Serenade (or other brands like Rhapsody), a biological agent that combats botrytis. Spray on entire plant 7 tablespoons/gallon. I do it with a hose and sprayer bottle. Best done as preventative, before you see problem.

So, do any of these work? For me, they all help, and will temporarily kill the fungus, but best luck was had with bleach solution, wait, repeat, wait, then brush on the concentrated Serenade directly onto affected areas. Seemed to prevent the nasty mold from returning, at least for awhile. If it does come back in areas I just repeat.

Another idea, I have a lot of pill bugs, they might be spreading it, or weakening the plant by chewing on outside. Tried tanglefoot on base of plant to keep them from crawling up, and manual control if I see the little buggers.