Can I save it? Girl Scout Cookies Extreme is very sick

[Purple-N-Hairy]

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:

And here there are today:

Here’s a shot showing just the sick one:

So I did some defoliating and flushed her with 2 gallons of RO water, and now she looks like this:

And here’s a side by side of the sisters after my work on the sick one:

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?

[vernal]

What’s your temperatures?

Have you ruled out root aphids or another pest?

[beacher]

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.

[Grohio]

Overwatering perhaps

[Purple-N-Hairy]

Thanks for your reply, @vernal. The temps are around 76 with the lights on and 63 to 66 with the lights out.

There are no issues with any pests - not even gnats.

[Purple-N-Hairy]

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.

[Purple-N-Hairy]

lol, @Grohio - is it possible to overwater if I only watered her once when I planted her into soil?

[vernal]

Could be fungus. Check the roots. Are they brown and slimy?

[Purple-N-Hairy]

Do you have a suggestion on how I can check the roots?

[vernal]

Might be risky business since the soil looks still wet and heavy. Are the roots visibly coming out of the bottom?

I don’t think it’s overwatering. That mix looks light, plenty of visible perlite in it.

Is this a clone or a seed plant?

[Purple-N-Hairy]

@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:

Playing in the Dirt

Here’s another update to my garden… Although this thread is labeled “Playing in the Dirt”, I actually start my clones and do most of my veg stage using hydro/aeroponics. I’ve tried all types of methods to start my clones, but I get 100% success rates from my simple setup. Here’s my first stage… [DSC04650] I usually take small cuttings, so I’m able to cram 15 of them into the lid of this 5 gallon bucket. I have a small pump and EZ Clone style sprayer and use the 3 part GH Flora series nutes …

[vernal]

That might be the problem.

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.

[Grohio]

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.

[Purple-N-Hairy]

@vernal

interior pith

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.

[vernal]

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.

[Gpaw]

I’m with Grohio, I think it is having some shock from the transplant and flushing.
It’s sister is a tough ol’ weed, this one is “sensitive”…

G

[Purple-N-Hairy]

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?

[Grohio]

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.

[Purple-N-Hairy]

So @vernal, you don’t agree with my first thought that I packed the soil too tightly when I moved her to soil could be the reason it’s not thriving?

[ifish]

If it was watered 11 days ago and the pot was still heavy befor the flush then yes overwatered : )