Stem looks purple/black, did I bruise my plant?

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GingerGrower

New Member
My plants are very young, about 2 weeks old. They started falling over like they were top heavy and the stems at the bend were turning white. So I lowered the light source and tied them up to a stick to hold them up. I thought I tied them up gently, the leafs still look green, but above the tie the stems look purple/black (I'm color blind/"deficient" and shades blend together). I think I may have bruised the stems! I loosened the ties, now what? Should I let it play out, clip at the bruise, start over?

I attached a picture of one of the plants. Again, note the stem is discolored (that's not a shadow), but the leaves look fine.

Thanks ahead for any advice.
 

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GrowinDad

GrowinDad

Well-Known Member
You will want to make sure the stem can get thicker without the twist tie hurting it.

Get some air circulating on it. That will strengthen the stem.
 
M

melvduk

Member
Alot do it sum is stress an it cud be strain dont warry just keep an eye on the plant as a hole it will tell u if its happy or not lol
 
G

GingerGrower

New Member
GrowinDad said:
You will want to make sure the stem can get thicker without the twist tie hurting it.

Get some air circulating on it. That will strengthen the stem.
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melvduk said:
Alot do it sum is stress an it cud be strain dont warry just keep an eye on the plant as a hole it will tell u if its happy or not lol
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Alright, thanks. Just paranoid since it's my first grow. If the top were to die off, should I just cut it from the dark color up and hope it will regrow?
 
topfuel29

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
Purple Stems could be a result of that wonderful thing we call genetics, if this is the reason, you are to expect a purple stem throughout the life of the plant. It must be noted that purple stems aren’t a dominant trait, and are rarely genetically induced.

Young seedlings are still adjusting to their environment and may be slightly lacking in a Nutrient. If this is the case, healthy plants will regain their green/greenish-brown color within a few days to a week or two.

Purple stems are commonly caused by a Phosphorous (P) or Magnesium deficiency, if there is a P deficiency you may also notice symptoms such as brittle leaves or greyish spots.
 
G

GingerGrower

New Member
topfuel29 said:
Purple Stems could be a result of that wonderful thing we call genetics, if this is the reason, you are to expect a purple stem throughout the life of the plant. It must be noted that purple stems aren’t a dominant trait, and are rarely genetically induced.

Young seedlings are still adjusting to their environment and may be slightly lacking in a Nutrient. If this is the case, healthy plants will regain their green/greenish-brown color within a few days to a week or two.

Purple stems are commonly caused by a Phosphorous (P) or Magnesium deficiency, if there is a P deficiency you may also notice symptoms such as brittle leaves or greyish spots.
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OK, that makes me feel a ton better! Right now I don't see any grey spots, and one plant the leaves are a little droopy compared to the other. Other than the discolored section on the stem, they seem healthy.

kinddiesel said:
in my case if I see purple stems, I know the ph is off, to high. im sure you checked that.
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I do check the PH, but I didn't know that you would see physical signs like that. Thanks for that bit of info! I will start double checking the PH. Right now I use an electronic one, but along with that I will also use the "old fashion" sample + solution drops.
 
G

GingerGrower

New Member
Draconus87 said:
also noticed quite a lot of stretch in ur plant mate, maybe lower the light source or bury some of the stem?
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OK, you definitely confirmed something I was thinking. They were getting top heavy and falling, I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but the stems seemed too thin and lanky compared to the tops. After reading other comments about plants [over]stretching to reach their light source, I was thinking this was the issue, and you confirmed it.

As for burying the stem, how far up should I bury it? Is it one of those "until I feel comfortable" things, or just fill it up but not past the first set of leaves?
 
Jimdamick

Jimdamick

Well-Known Member
GingerGrower said:
OK, you definitely confirmed something I was thinking. They were getting top heavy and falling, I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but the stems seemed too thin and lanky compared to the tops. After reading other comments about plants [over]stretching to reach their light source, I was thinking this was the issue, and you confirmed it.

As for burying the stem, how far up should I bury it? Is it one of those "until I feel comfortable" things, or just fill it up but not past the first set of leaves?
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You can bury them up to the cotyledon
 
G

GingerGrower

New Member
Trousers said:
Purple shmurple, you need to figure out why seedlings are bending. I have never seen that.
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From the comments I have read about bending, I was too cautious with the light. It was too high, so the plants basically outstretched themselves. I lowered it, tied them up, and put a better fan on them, so hopefully the stems will get stronger.
 
G

GingerGrower

New Member
Thank you to all that helped me!

I lowered the light, lowered the PH to the 6.2-6.4 range, tied them up, buried them a bit deeper and put a bigger fan on them. The purple section is still there, but above it the stems grew in very thick and brightly colored. Minus a little dropping in the plant that got it worse, they are doing great!
 
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