Ugh…I have a very sick and unhappy plant - but she was very happy just 11 days ago. In fact, she was just as happy as her twin sister.
Here are the sisters on March 23. This is right after I took them from their hydro environment and introduced them to their new soil home. The sisters are the 2 plants on the right - the yellow arrow points to the one that’s currently sick:
When I flushed the sick one, not only did I use RO water, but I aerated the hell out of the soil with a small diameter wooden skewer that reached the bottom of the pot. The water that was running off smelled sour, so I’m thinking that I packed the soil too hard and that was the cause of the issues. I mean, both of these plants were about the same size 11 days ago, and they were both planted into the same soil and watered with the same water only minutes apart. What else can it be?
It looks ok except for the sagging. All you can really do now is wait and see if she likes the flush. Don’t water her again until almost completely dry.
Hi @beacher. Thanks - and I agree that all I can do is wait, and to not water again until she’s thirsty. But I might raise the light to relieve any stress it might be causing.
@vernal, yes, the soil IS wet and heavy because I literally took the photos moments before flushing it and immediately after flushing it.
At this point, all my plants are clones. If you want to see a better idea of the life of this plant before I put her in soil, you should read this post:
Sometimes when you take a cut, the interior pith doesn’t callus over. This can trap pathogens inside the plant tissue (the hollow part). It does occasionally happen with cuts, even ones that have been growing for a while.
It is especially likely when you notice that all the other identical plants are growing well and there’s no pests in the garden.
When you cull the plant, cut into the base of the stem. You may notice brown rot inside.
You also stated you flushed it with another two gallons of water. Im still saying it looks overwatered. And yes, its possible to overwater just once. Especially when up planting to bigger pots. Believe me, Im guilty of this quite often.
Are you referring to the stem of this plant when it was first taken as a clone? If so, it was a solid stem - no hollow end. The roots were big and white when I transplanted them.
It can still happen even with non-hollow stem varieties.
Check the roots for rot when the pot dries out if you can.
If everything else is in order, and all the other plants are thriving, and I can’t figure the problem out, it is often likely fungal or viral infection. I typically toss plants with obvious “failure to thrive”. I’ve had a perfectly rooted, healthy, growing clone melt seemingly for no reason.
But @Grohio, I took the photos of the sick plant today - 11 days after I transplanted and watered it the first and only time. Today is when I flushed her, then took the last pics. And I moved her from a hydro environment, not a smaller pot.
Is it possible that my theory of packing the soil too tightly on the day I moved her to soil is the “root” of the troubles?
here is a plant i overwatered about 5 or 6 days after transplant. It was almost 14 days before it perked back up. Not saying im 100 percent certain that is what is going on for you. But, i definitely believe it is quite possible. And for what its worth the soil im using is really light and drains well.
