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Copper Deficiency

Nebula Haze — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 10:46:10 +0000

Problem: A cannabis copper deficiency appears with leaf symptoms such as dark leaves that take on blue or even purple undertones. The tips and edges of leaves turn pale yellow or white in stark contrast to the rest of the leaves which have turned dark. In flowering it’s important to correct a cannabis copper deficiency as soon as possible because buds may stop maturing if the plant isn’t fixed up right away. Copper doesn’t move easily through the plant and is considered “low-mobile” which means the yellowing leaves might not necessarily turn green again, but the problem should stop spreading to new marijuana leaves.

Cannabis Copper Deficiency Symptoms

Leaves turn dark with blue or purple undertones
Tips and edges of leaves turn bright yellow or white
Shiny or metallic sheen on leaves
Leaves may feel stiff and start turning under
Tends to affect leaves directly under the light
Buds do not ripen, or grow very slowly

The pale tips of a cannabis copper deficiency look a little different from nutrient burn, which may start out with slighly yellow tips, but soon makes tips appear brown or burnt.

This is what the yellow leaf tips of a cannabis copper deficiency looks like. The most telling feature of a copper deficiency is that the rest of the leaf darkens and takes on a blue or purple cast which makes the yellow tips look bright in comparison. The leaves also often appear shiny and may feel stiff.

Some strains are prone to copper deficiencies in the flowering stage, which can create dark purple or reddish hues in the leaves directly under the lights. The following picture shows a Blue Widow plant where all the leaves under the light turned purple due to too-bright light and incorrect pH triggering a copper deficiency.

A cannabis copper deficiency tends to affect the leaves directly under the light. If your grow light is close it may help to move lights a little further away.

A big problem with a major copper deficiency if it happens early in the flowering stage, is the affected leaves are not good at photosynthesis and won’t provide nearly as much energy for the buds as they would if they were green. It’s important to keep leaves near the buds healthy during the majority of the flowering stage to help ensure you get the best yields possible. While it’s normal for leaves to start dying in the last week or two before harvest, you should react quickly if you’re seeing unhealthy leaves earlier than that!

It is very unlikely that there is no copper available in your water or soil, so usually a copper deficiency in cannabis is caused by a pH problem at the roots that is restricting access to nutrients.

Copper toxicity (too much copper) in cannabis plants is rare, though a severe case of too much copper can cause a quick death to the plant.

Solution For Cannabis Copper Deficiency

1.) Adjust pH to Correct Range

The most common reason growers will see copper marijuana deficiencies is when the pH at the roots is not in the correct range. Copper tends to get locked at certain pH levels, and is better absorbed by the plant in a slightly acidic root environment.

If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a copper deficiency due to incorrect pH, flush your system with clean, pH’d water that contains a regular dose of cannabis-friendly nutrients. This will remove any nutrient salts that may be affected the uptake of copper and help restore pH to the proper levels..

Watch to make sure that the problem starts to clear up within a couple of days. Old growth may not recover, but new growth should be healthy.

In soil, copper is best absorbed by the roots in the 6.0 – 7.0 pH range
In hydro, copper is best absorbed by the roots in the 5.5 – 6.5 pH range

Learn how to manage your pH for growing cannabis.

2.) Give the Right Nutrients

The truth is, most cannabis growers don’t need to add more copper in response to a copper deficiency!

In fact, most growers have actually already given plenty of copper to their cannabis plants since it is found abundantly in most tap water. If you’re using quality soil or cannabis-friendly nutrients, you probably don’t need to worry about adding more copper. In general, copper deficiencies are more likely to appear when a grower is using heavily filtered or reverse osmisis (RO) water to feed plants since any copper has been removed, but pH is a much more common reason growers see copper deficiencies in their cannabis plants.

3.) Take Good Care of the Roots

Copper deficiencies can show up with the plant is having root problems or if the plant is overwatered, even if the pH is right and the copper is there. Proper watering practices help plants grow healthy and avoid a host of problems!

4.) Watch for Leaf Recovery

After going through all the above steps, watch to make sure that the copper deficiency starts to clear up within a few days to a week or so. The damaged leaves may not completely recover all their green, but you know you’re in the clear when you stop seeing symptoms appearing on new leaves.

If you cannot get rid of a cannabis copper deficiency, please consult our 7-Step Cure to 99% of Cannabis Growing Problems with chart!

The post Copper Deficiency appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Nitrogen Toxicity

Nebula Haze — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 20:14:13 +0000

Problem: Dark green leaves, shiny leaves, clawing, weak stems, and overall slow growth. Marijuana leaves that are nitrogen toxic often get “The Claw” or talon-like leaves that are bent at the ends. They also do an odd curving (or cupping) that is often mistaken for overwatering, but is unique to nitrogen toxicity. You can see a “clawing” leaf in the pictures below (click each picture for a close-up).

Leaves that turn into claws often start turning yellow and dying if the nitrogen toxicity is not treated, much like a nitrogen deficiency, only the leaves will continue to get more and more clawed. Leaves eventually turn yellow or brown and fall off. You can tell if yellowing is caused by too much nitrogen because the rest of the plant will be dark green, and the yellowing leaves will turn into claws first.

The majority of times that growers encounter problems with nitrogen, it’s from giving too much of it to their plants.

Many new growers accidentally give their plants give too much Nitrogen, especially in the flowering stage. This results in dark, shiny, clawing leaves.

Your plant needs a lot of nitrogen in the vegetative stage, and it’s generally hard to give too much as long as you’re not going completely overboard with nutrients. Nitrogen is a big part of what makes leaves green, and is incredibly important to the process of photosynthesis (making energy from light).

But cannabis plants need relatively low levels of Nitrogen in the second half of the flowering/budding stage. While your plants still need N (nitrogen) during flowering, too much N at this stage will prevent your plants from forming buds properly, resulting in lower yields, less potency and possibly inferior buds.

This is why it’s important to avoid any type of “time-release” nutrients or soil (for example, standard Miracle-Gro soil) as they will keep giving your plant a lot of N even after its started flowering.

When it comes to nitrogen, this is what your plant needs:

Vegetative Stage – higher levels of Nitrogen (pretty much any plant food will do)

Most complete plant foods that you get at a gardening store contain high levels of nitrogen (N). These nutrient systems tend to work well in the vegetative stage.

Some examples of cannabis-friendly one-part Vegetative nutrient systems…

Flowering Stage – lower levels of Nitrogen (use “Bloom” or Cactus nutrients)

It’s extra important to find a nutrient system with lower levels of nitrogen for the last part of your plant’s life. Many “Bloom” or “Flowering” style base nutrients are just the ticket.

Some examples of good one-part Flowering nutrient systems…

Dyna-Gro “Bloom”
General Hydroponics “FloraNova Bloom”
If you can’t order online and can’t find a good one-part base Bloom formula locally, you do have other choices. Though not an ideal choice, most Cactus plant foods will contain good nutrient ratios for growing cannabis during the budding stage. So in a pinch, you can use the cactus nutrients that can be found at most gardening stores.

Different strains react differently to nitrogen toxicity. Some plants get dark green leaves with no clawing. Some strains will get leaves that do the weird 90 degree bend at the tips, while other strains or individual plants start curling like claws and then turn yellow / brown and fall off like a deficiency. Yet these are all signs of too much nitrogen.

Signs of Nitrogen Toxicity

Dark green leaves and foliage
Leaf tips may turn down, without signs of overwatering.
You may notice yellowing on the affected leaves or other signs of nutrient deficiencies as time goes on
Nitrogen toxicity is often but not always accompanied by nutrient burn
The Claw often seems random, affecting leaves here and there
Heat and pH problems will make the clawing worse, as they stress out the plant and lower her defenses, and cause her to drink more water (and uptake more N)
As time goes on, the claw leaves will eventually start turning yellow, getting spots, and dying

This cannabis seedling is dark because it was underwatered in a “hot” soil mix (too much Nitrogen), but after watering the plant as normal for a week or two, the plant started growing vigorously

Solution: Reduce the Nitrogen your plant is getting!

Reduce the amount of nitrogen that is being fed to the plants. If you are feeding extra nutrients, cut down that amount. If you are in the flowering / budding stage, make sure you’re using a formula that’s specifically meant for flowering, or else it could have too much nitrogen.

If you are not feeding extra nutrients, you may have “hot” soil that has been giving your plants extra nutrients. In that case, flush your plants with filtered, pH’ed water to help clear out the extra nitrogen.

Effected leaves likely won’t recover, but you should see the problem halt with no new leaves being affected.

Wait! I’m not sure if it’s Nitrogen toxicity!

Ok, you ruled out overwatering, now what?

When I first got started growing, everyone kept telling me that this particular kind of leaf clawing was caused by under or overwatering my plants, pH problems, or heat problems.

Yet in my case, I knew that it wasn’t over or under watering (I was growing in hydro, where roots grow directly in water and air stones are constantly adding oxygen). I knew it wasn’t pH (my reservoir water had the right pH) and I knew it wasn’t heat since the grow area was slightly cooler than room temperature.

So then what was really causing my claw leaves?

It’s understandable that other growers were mistaken. It is true that many stresses will make any other problem worse.

Plus overwatering can cause a similar kind of leaf clawing (learn more below). And if you do have nitrogen toxicity, than heat or pH problems will make the problem much worse.

Now, you may or may not know that marijuana (or any plant) needs an element known as “Nitrogen” to grow.

In fact, nitrogen is one of the 3 nutrients that are included in almost every kind of plant food.

When looking at plant nutrients, you’ll almost always see 3 numbers listed, like 3-12-6 or 5-10-5. These numbers represent the ratio of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) contained in the bottle. Just about all plant life on Earth needs these 3 elements to grow.

The very first number, “3” in the case of the picture to the right, always displays the proportion of nitrogen in this nutrient bottle compared to the other 2 nutrients (Phosphorus and Potassium respectively).

The reason nitrogen is in all plant nutrient formulations is because it’s vital to plant processes.

For marijuana plants, when they don’t get enough nitrogen, the bottom leaves start turning yellow and dying. Left unchecked, a nitrogen deficiency can cause the whole plant to eventually die.

However, this time we’re the dealing with the opposite problem: nitrogen toxicity, or too much nitrogen.

Why You Should Treat And Prevent Nitrogen Toxicity

Marijuana plants that get too much Nitrogen in the vegetative stage don’t grow as vigorously.
Too much nitrogen is especially harmful in the flowering stage, because this will cause your plant to produce much smaller buds.
If you react quickly and reduce your nitrogen levels at the first sign of toxicity, your plant will quickly recover.

Note: Some strains with the word “Claw” in the name tend to do The Claw more easily than others.

Problems with excess nitrogen are not common in the wild; it’s a lot more common to see nitrogen toxicity on indoor plants, especially when overzealous growers go overboard with nutrients.

Occasionally you’ll come across a strain or particular plant that likes lower levels of nutrients, and when this happens, it’s important to realize the plant is showing signs of toxicity, even if all the other plants in your garden seem fine.

One of the most common signs off too-many-nutrients is “nutrient burn,” or when the tips of your leaf appear brown or burned. Yet there are specific signals your plant will display when she’s getting too much nitrogen…

Recap: How You Know You Have a Nitrogen Toxicity

Dark green leaves and foliage
Leaf tips turn down, without signs of overwatering.
You may notice yellowing on the affected leaves or other signs of nutrient deficiencies as time goes on
Nitrogen toxicity is often but not always accompanied by nutrient burn
The Claw often seems random, affecting leaves here and there
Heat and pH problems will make the clawing worse, as they stress out the plant and lower her defenses, and cause her to drink more water (and uptake more N)
As time goes on, the claw leaves will eventually start turning yellow, getting spots, and dying

Light and “The Claw”

The distance between the leaves to the lights or irregular light patterns from reflectors often seem to affect the condition, which is why many growers believe that light is somehow causing the problem.
You may notice this clawing first appears on dark green leaves that aren’t getting enough light (they aren’t able to use up all their nitrogen and become nitrogen toxic).

The Claw in the Flowering Stage

If you use vegetative plant nutrients during the flowering stage, then they’ll deliver too much nitrogen. This is why you need to get special nutrients meant for the blooming / flowering stage. You’ll notice that flowering nutrients always contain a smaller percentage of nitrogen (the first number) compared to nutrients for the vegetative stage. Learn more about marijuana nutrients here.
Many growers mistakenly keep raising nutrient levels or adding additional nitrogen when they see yellow leaves in the flowering stage, not realizing that it’s natural for plant leaves to start yellowing as harvest approaches. Adding too much nitrogen in the flowering stage can cause nitrogen toxicity even when you can see yellow lower leaves. Nitrogen toxicity in flowering results in smaller yields and airy cannabis buds, so make sure to watch out!

Note: During the last few weeks before harvest, marijuana plants starts pulling all the remaining nitrogen from her leaves as part of the bud-making process. This causes yellowing leaves starting towards the bottom of the plant. This is part of the natural flowering process and you don’t need to fight it. You may notice that marijuana leaves are yellowing in almost all pictures of marijuana plants with big buds that are close to harvest. You tend to get smaller yields at harvest from nitrogen-toxic plants with dark green leaves.

It’s Normal For Marijuana Leaves To Start Turning Yellow As Harvest Time Approaches, Don’t Keep Adding More Nitrogen!

I know a lot of marijuana plant problems can look similar, but now that you’re armed with the right information, you’ll know exactly what to do if you see Nitrogen Toxicity affecting your marijuana plants.

The post Nitrogen Toxicity appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.

Phosphorus Deficiency

Nebula Haze — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 19:49:29 +0000

Problem: A cannabis phosphorus deficiency generally appears on leaves from the lower/older parts of the plant. The lower leaves may turn dark green or yellow, and start getting spots or big splotches that look brown, bronze or even a little blue. The leaves may thicken and curl, and the affected leaves feel stiff. Sometimes the stems of the plant turn bright red or purple, but not always.

Sometimes accompanied by a Calcium deficiency, as Phosphorus and Calcium interact with each other in the plant.

A cannabis phosphorus deficiency usually appears with some or all of the following symptoms:

tends to affect the lower and older leaves of the plant
sometimes a phosphorus deficiency is accompanied by bright red stems (though not always), though if you have red stems but no other symptoms, it’s typically not something to worry about
leaves darken (turning a dark green, blue or grayish color) and may appear shiny
leaves may start turning yellow in places if the phosphorus deficiency is left untreated, or if the deficiency is combined with other nutrients deficiencies and/or pH problems. However, yellow leaves is typically not associated with the beginning of a phosphorus deficiency.
leaves get bronze, purple or brown spots and splotches
leaves thicken and may feel dry or stiff
stems sometimes turn bright red or purple, but not always
sometimes accompanied by a Calcium deficiency, as Phosphorus and Calcium interact with each other inside the plant
this deficiency is more common after buds start forming, when the plant is using a lot of Phosphorus

Phosphorus deficiencies in the vegetative stage usually appear at the bottom of the plant on some of the oldest leaves, and will progressively climb up the plant if left unchecked.

The progression of a cannabis phosphorus deficiency

A phosphorus deficiency tends to be more common after plants start making buds in the flowering stage. Cannabis plants tend to love phosphorus in the flowering/budding stage and it is unlikely for a cannabis plant to get too much phosphorus using standard nutrients formulated for a flowering plant like cannabis. Nearly all flowering nutrients will come with an abundance of phosphorus for your plants. So if you’re seeing a cannabis phosphorus deficiency while using standard cannabis nutrients, chances are you actually have a root pH problem (explained below in the solution section)!

Phosphorus (P) is used by your cannabis plant in all phases of growth. It is one of the 3 major nutrients (N-P-K) listed on the front of most nutrient bottles, and phosphorus will be represented by the second number that appears.

When there is a phosphorus deficiency, the lower (oldest) leaves turn dark green. Leaves occasionally get a bluish or bronze tinge, and may thicken or curl downward before exhibiting dark gray, bronze or purplish splotches. Sometimes the stems of the affected leaves will turn bright red or purplish, usually starting from underneath.

It’s common to see a Phosphorus deficiency accompanied by the symptoms of a Calcium deficiency, as those nutrients interact with each other in the plant.

Sometimes you will get a cannabis phosphorus deficiency, and the stems do not appear red or purple at all, or the coloring may not be pronounced.

The leaf below was at the bottom of the plant and turned dark green and shiny, with a bluish tinge. Cannabis phosphorus deficiencies usually appear on the lower/older parts of the plant. The leaf then started showing the spots of a phosphorus deficiency where it was being touched by light (the parts of the leaf working hardest). The leaf began to curl downwards and turn yellow.

Notice that the stems or veins never turned red or purple on this leaf, except for some parts that were actually affected by the phosphorus deficiency.

A common symptom of a cannabis phosphorus deficiency is bright red or purple stems, though it doesn’t appear on all affected plants. Red stems can also be caused by direct light exposure (like a “tan”)

Another example of bright red stems that may be the result of a Phosphorus deficiency, or possibly direct light exposure.

It’s important to remember that some cannabis strains naturally grow with red or purple stems even when all their nutrient needs are being fulfilled, so red or purple stems is not a symptom to worry about on its own.

Do not mistake natural reddish-purple colored stems for a phosphorous deficiency!

When you notice that stems are turning red or purple starting from underneath, it may be a sign of a phosphorus deficiency only if accompanied by other symptoms. If the only symptom shown by your plant is red or purple stems, and you are not seeing any other signs of splotches or unhealthy leaves, the red or purple stems are likely caused by the genetics of your plant. If that’s the case, you have nothing to worry about.

Phosphorus is used heavily by cannabis plants in the flowering phase to produce buds, and is a crucial component of photosynthesis (turning light into energy for the plant).

Some strains of cannabis use much more phosphorus than others, or be more susceptible to a phosphorus deficiency, and you may have many plants in the exact same setup with only some of the plants showing signs of a phosphorus deficiency.

Solution For Cannabis Phosphorus Deficiency

1.) Adjust pH to Correct Range

Your cannabis plant may show signs of a phosphorus deficiency if the pH at the roots is not in the right range. That is because when the pH of your root zone is off, your cannabis cannot properly absorb phosphorus through its roots. Therefore the first step is to ensure that you have the correct pH for your growth medium. Learn more about pH and cannabis.

Phosphorus is best absorbed by cannabis in soil at a root pH of 6.2 – 7.0. Phosphorus is best absorbed by cannabis in hydro at a root pH of 5.5 – 6.2. If you believe you have a cannabis phosphorus deficiency, it’s important to check the pH of your root zone to make sure the deficiency isn’t caused by the pH being too high or too low.

If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a phosphorus deficiency, flush your system with clean, pH’d water that contains a regular dose of cannabis-friendly nutrients that includes phosphorus. This will remove any nutrient salts that may be affected the uptake of phosphorus and help restore pH to the proper levels.

In soil, phosphorus is best absorbed by the roots in the 6.2 – 7.0 pH range (in soil, it’s generally recommended to keep the pH between 6.0 – 7.0, but phosphorus specifically tends to be best absorbed above 6.2 and below 7.0)
In hydro, phosphorus is best absorbed by the roots in the 5.5 – 6.2 pH range (in hydro, it’s generally recommended to keep the pH between 5.5 – 6.5, but phosphorus specifically tends to be best absorbed below 6.2)

2.) Take Good Care of the Roots

Wet, compact soil or overwatering can trigger a phosphorus deficiency to appear even when all other factors are perfect. So make sure you water your plants properly every time to help prevent a phosphorus deficiency.

3.) Provide the Right Temperature

Cooler temperatures lower than 60°F (15°C), as well as large temperature swings, can make it harder for the plant to absorb phosphorus. Cannabis plants are therefore more likely to show signs of a phosphorus deficiency when the temperature drops too low, or if they go through a cold spell.

Cannabis likes a comfortable room temperature (they like about the same temperatures as we do).

Read the cannabis temperature tutorial

4.) Give the Right Nutrients

Most growers have actually already given plenty of phophorus to their cannabis plants since it is found abundantly in quality soil and cannabis-friendly nutrients. However, even if you are giving phosphorus, it’s important to give your cannabis the right ratio of nutrients.

An excess of Fe and Zn may cause the symptoms of a phosphorus deficiency by preventing the plant from being able to absorb phosphorus properly. If you believe there may be a buildup of nutrient salts in your growing medium (or if you are growing in hydro and have not recently flushed or changed your reservoir) you should make sure it’s not an excess of other nutrients that is actually causing the phosphorus deficiency to appear. Flush your plant thoroughly with properly pH’ed water containing a regular dose of cannabis nutrients including phosphorus, or completely change your reservoir if you believe that an excess of nutrient salts may be causing the phosphorus deficiency.

Sources of phosphorus:

Bat guano (phosphorus is readily available, especially if made into a teat)
Bone or blood meal (takes quite a bit of time to break down in soil unless made into a tea first)
Worm castings or worm tea
Soft Rock Phosphate
Fish meal
Crabshell
Most cannabis-friendly “bloom” or “flowering” nutrients contain high levels of phosphorus to aid in flower production, and phosphorus from a liquid nutrient is one of the most readily available forms of phosphorus you can provide to your cannabis plants

If you’ve tried everything else, then you may try adding a higher percentage of phosphorus to your feeding schedule and see if that helps clear up the problem for your plant. Cannabis plants love phosphorus, and therefore it is unlikely that you will give your cannabis too much phosphorus.

Most nutrient systems that are formulated for a plant like cannabis will carry and abundance of phosphorus, especially in budding/flowering formulas, so it is unlikely that you will see signs of a phosphorus deficiency before other nutrient problems when using nutrient systems formulated for cannabis (as long as you keep your root pH in the correct range and prevent the plants from getting cold or being overwatered). If you’ve got very high powered lights, or if your plants are growing in direct sunlight, they may be going through a lot more phosphorus in the flowering stage than average and may need you to provide extra phosphorus to make sure buds get as big as they could be.

Just remember that if there’s no actual phosphorus deficiency currently appearing on your cannabis plant, adding more phosphorus is probbaly not going to help plants grow better or make bigger buds – in fact adding too much phosphorus may actually hurt your plants by preventing the uptake of other nutrients! While it’s difficult to overdose your plants on phosphorus, adding too much compared to other nutrients will often cause other strange & unexpected deficiencies to appear.

5.) Take Good Care of the Roots

Phosphorus deficiencies can show up with the plant is having root problems or if the plant is overwatered, even if the pH is right and the phosphorus is there. Proper watering practices help plants grow healthy and avoid a host of problems!

6.) Watch for Recovery

After going through all the above steps, watch to make sure that the phosphorus deficiency starts to clear up within a few days to a week or so. After a phosphorus deficiency is cleared up, the problem (brown spots, unhealthy lower leaves, red/purple stems, etc) will stop appearing on new leaves, usually within a week.

Please note that leaves which have been damaged by a phosphorus deficiency will probably never recover or turn green, so you want to pay attention to other leaves for signs of recovery.

If you cannot get rid of your phosphorus deficiency, please consult our 7-Step Cure to 99% of Cannabis Growing Problems

The post Phosphorus Deficiency appeared first on Grow Weed Easy.