Fan leaves yellowing during flowering - GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education

Ben Jammin · #1 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 04:57 PM

Hey guys - about 50 % of my fan leaves are yellowing and drooping.
I am 3 weeks into flowering.
Any ideas or help?

CAMSTER626 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 05:17 PM

Some strain's aggressively consume the nitrogen in the leaves during the flowering phase...Since you prolly reduced their nitrogen intake when switching to bloom fert. My plants look like hell by the time I pull...but the smoke is always good

No worries.

CAM

CAMSTER626 · #3 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 05:23 PM

I know you cant see the extent of it by this pic...but this girl is yellowing all over. I still have 4 more weeks to go as of yesterday.

Mr Tumnus · #4 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 05:39 PM

Hi Ben, chill mate, I'm by no means an expert,but from all I've read you've nothing to worry about as the plant uses up all the nutes in the leaves to help in the growth of the bud.If you're still worried check out the FAQ's at the top of the page as there's bound to be something relevant in there.Hope this helps. T

Richard Owl Mirror · #5 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 05:58 PM

If it is indeed true:

Quote:

the plant uses up all the nutes in the leaves to help in the growth of the bud

wouldn't it be prudent to offer the plant some nitrogen so that the plant can retain it's Fan leaves for energy conversion during the flowering stage?

Ben Jammin · #6 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the encouragement!
Should I add nitrogen as Richard suggest?

P@ssw0rd · #7 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 06:59 PM

I find a dose of grow nutes about 1/2 way through flowering helps but i wouldn't try to keep them dark green till the finish. Then you would risk a ****ty taste to the buds.

Richard Owl Mirror · #8 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P@ssw0rd

I find a dose of grow nutes about 1/2 way through flowering helps but i wouldn't try to keep them dark green till the finish. Then you would risk a ****ty taste to the buds.

Yeah, I'm not as experienced as others but, it just seems like those fan leaves should be retained so the plant can gather energy while producing her buds.
Perhaps even half-strength for a week or two might supplement the nutes being consumed from the leaves ?

jangel · #9 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 07:06 PM

No you want all the nitrogen to burn up or the smoke tastes like hay. Mine look really terrible by the time the buds are ready to be picked. You can add some bone meal in a top dressing or bonemeal tea, as this will just be used as it is needed, and not really stored in the leaves. You can also give them blackstrap molasses in order to give the plant micro nutrients which aid in helping the buds to trich up. and makes them sweet. As scott06 says by the time they are ready, the leaves look like old salmon skin after they have swam upstream to breed. Leave the leaves on till they dry up and see if they are loose, then just pull them off.

They are fine.

Peace

It is all good.

jangel · #10 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 07:08 PM

...and if that picture is under an HPS light, they might be greener than you think. Take them into daylight and they won't look as bad. they look just fine.

Richard Owl Mirror · #11 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jangel

No you want all the nitrogen to burn up or the smoke tastes like hay. Mine look really terrible by the time the buds are ready to be picked. You can add some bone meal in a top dressing or bonemeal tea, as this will just be used as it is needed, and not really stored in the leaves. You can also give them blackstrap molasses in order to give the plant micro nutrients which aid in helping the buds to trich up. and makes them sweet. As scott06 says by the time they are ready, the leaves look like old salmon skin after they have swam upstream to breed. Leave the leaves on till they dry up and see if they are loose, then just pull them off.

They are fine.

Peace

It is all good.

Is this true even though these plants are "1/2 way through flowering" ?
I was under the impression the reduction in leaves would take place much closer to harvest time. As I said, I am only thinking out loud on this.

If the fan leaves are not needed during flowering, would it be helpful to simply cut them off, allowing more light to reach the interior of the plant ?

jangel · #12 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 07:20 PM

No don't do that. Nature knows when it is time for them to die. Let the plant decide. I have had a friend that one year got the same clones I did, we got them at the same time. Everything pretty similiar but they, when they started to flower, cut many of the fan leaves off. I must of got over double in buds that they did.

The plant knows what they need. Leave the fan leaves alone. Better to tuck them under, and out of the way, but leave them on the plant.

Of course, you can clear the lower growth, and the scraggie looking growth low on the plant when you put them in to flower, but otherwise let nature direct when they die off.

And every type of herb is different as well. Some still have a load of fans at the end, others have very few.

peace

insub4u2 · #13 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 08:17 PM

They are just getting old, like we get gray hair or no hair at all.......

It's all part of the plan. These girls are gone now, but you still miss them.

insub4u2 · #14 (**permalink**) 05-30-2009, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jangel

No you want all the nitrogen to burn up or the smoke tastes like hay. Mine look really terrible by the time the buds are ready to be picked. You can add some bone meal in a top dressing or bonemeal tea, as this will just be used as it is needed, and not really stored in the leaves. You can also give them blackstrap molasses in order to give the plant micro nutrients which aid in helping the buds to trich up. and makes them sweet. As scott06 says by the time they are ready, the leaves look like old salmon skin after they have swam upstream to breed. Leave the leaves on till they dry up and see if they are loose, then just pull them off.

They are fine.

Peace

It is all good.

Mine looked really bad at 5 weeks, and I flowered them 10. It seemed leaves were falling off everywhere, and very few fan leaves at finish, they were Seedsman White Widows, and after a few month cure, the smoke is the nicest one hit high I can recall.

I just mixed up my next batch of soil, and will use this tea recipe. Note the Seabird Guano, which is 10-10-1, I think, so has nitrogen right up to finish. I believe it's not the nitrogen that's all bad, but the type that may be destructive to taste. You can either grow mass produced, chemically induced, supermarket tomatoes, or farmers market beefsteaks. Which tasted better? Read Soma's articles, as he gives a great perspective. Don't feed the plant, feed the soil. What happens to a forest in the fall? Leaves fall to the soil, and the circle of life continues.

Here's the recipe and some links:

http://www.growery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/40246
Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
(That makes the "dry mix". You can make all you want and save it to use later.)
Mix with water @ 2 cups of dry mix into 5 gallons of water to make the tea.
To that 5 gallons of tea add:
5 tbs. Liquid Karma
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
Use it to water with EVERY watering.

http://www.somaseeds.nl/magazine_articles/index.html