I have a single branch that is wilting, the rest of the plant looks fine. We did have a severe wind storm over the weekend, causing a crack in the main stem and this branch was slightly broken at the base, but not actually broken off. The plant was also leaning over. I put up a couple of fence posts, tied her up in bondage, and tied her to the fence posts yesterday. I also put some honey on the wound sites.
I took some pictures of the cracked areas and also the problem branch. You can see the rest of the plant is doing just fine. My primary concern is that it could be fusarium wilt or borer bugs. Hopefully it is just a broken branch.
I also should note in the early morning it is not wilted at all. I suspect this is because it gets foliar fed by morning dew, and there is no sun beaming on it. I sprayed that branch with a foliar application of Athena IPM last night. I had already stopped using it but its only second week of flower so for one dying branch I figured it may help hydrate the plant and help fight off pathogens.
That hole is likely thru to the center core of that branch. Bit of honey and pull it back together may help if it’s not too late.
Plumbers tape works well with some plant tie or zip ties. (. They’ll have to come off in a couple weeks )
I already used honey and tied it together and also tied the plant to fence posts that i banged into the ground. She won’t blow away this time. Hopefully the branch recovers. If its fusarium then im fucked.
Also, last year i had a similar incident with another plant that cracked open at the base. I put a bunch of mychorizzae root inoculant on the base, covered it with super soil, and then watered it with a bunch of rooting hormones mixed into the water. The plant got fucking huge!
This is only effecting a single branch though and doing a move like that is risky as it can rot the stem. Thats why i used rooting hirmone and mychorizzae to stimulate turning the base into a giant root.
Stakes would have zero effect on a plant of this size. It is roughly 12 feet tall and 8 feet wide currently. A 5 foot tall stake would be ripped right out of the ground if the plant was blown by a heavy wind as the plants weight would be simply too much.
That’s why I bought heavy duty fence posts and tied them with jute twine. I did sling style bracing with many separate sets of twine and did not fully wrap around any individual branch to avoid causing any tyoe of constriction. This way of tying will have a little bit of give to it and allow the plant to adjust or grow in size.
She will recover, just give her time. Shes a big girl and will heal nicely. Remember that she might need supportling for the rest of the grow especially when she starts budding. I have a plant now I HST’d on purpose and ahes doing great.
Idk. We will see about that. I think the plant will be okay but think i might have to amputate the branch otberwise that branch will be very susceptible to disease.
But I didn’t chop it off yet. We will see how she’s doing tomorrow.
Dont underestimate how hardy a weed plant can be. I had my outdoor plant that was topped above the 5th node split at the “Y” down to the next node from wind damage. I was very concerned but i used plant wire for repair and never looked back.
There was wilting for 2 or 3 days, not quite as severe as yours. The two halves never did fuse back together. The wire just holds the split together and both branches are the largest and healthy.
@Solidgold91 exact same with my current big girl, she’s inside and it happened from LST, right down to the next node. Man i cursed myself so bad lol.
I think when its been topped and grows for a few weeks the area under the top is just a dead air pocket inside the stem and they are already to main stems doig their own thing. Just like yours mine never went back together but they stayed my two best branches.
@Mastrosso i think your branch will be fine as long as the open area was/has been covered since. But your ‘Y’ trunk would have me nervous for flowering, I’d have that taped several layers a few inches from base especially if youre getting crazy weather. She’s a big beautiful giant
I didnt quite cover the crack, I used jute twine to tie the branches together and also tie them to fence posts. I did put honey in the crack but I did not cover it. Should I? What are your thoughts on covering the whole knuckle with soil?
I dont think it would be a bad idea to bury some of it and have a little poke after a while to see if there’s any root stubbies comin through. You did a good job tying up the ‘Y’ shape from above though so maybe you’ll be fine.
Usually whenevr i get a split i do exactly as you did, some honey and i tape it up with some electrical tape good and tight, and thats that. Thats all i meant by covering but im sure its just extra precaution really. Hardy plants ive no doubt all will be fine
My main concern with covering it with soil is that it could cause stem rot if it doesnt root out. During flower the plant is less likely to grow new roots. HOWEVER - as i mentioned earlier, I saved a Blue Dream this way last year.
It was cracked at the base worse than mine. I covered the area in a fuck ton of Great White Shark Mychorizzae to act as a root inoculant. Like a couple of tablespoons worth which was probably a billion fungal spores, lol. Then I dumped a bunch of soil on top. To finish the job I mixed a bunch of liquid rooting hormone (Bonide Root n Grow - IBA based) and some superthrive too (kinda weak but has another root hormone NAA) with a couple gallons of water and watered it all in.
Here are a couple of updated pics. The picture of the whole plant is from last night and the picture if the struggling branch is from 11am today. It is doing better today but the weather is cool and cloudy which is probably a factor. It wilts the most in hot sun.
Yesterday I foliar fed the struggling branch with hyshield (chitosan) and then again a few hours later with some fox farm. In a quart of water I added 5 drops of big bloom, 5 drops grow big, and 5 drops tiger bloom. Less than 1ml of each. I have never foliar fed nutrients before, i only foliar feed IPM sprays or neem oil. And I’m aware it’s frowned upon to foliar feed anything during flower, but she is only 2 weeks in and desperate times call for desperate measures. Some leaves have died from chlorosis. I have only been spraying the problem branch as I do not like making my plant get all wet. Also nutrients in the flowers can increase risk of rot, but the plant doesn’t have any large buds yet just a very small number of hairs clustering so I think I will be okay.
I will foliar feed her with fox farm again shortly but if she continues to do well I will cut off the foliar tomorrow or Sunday.
A diluted compost tea might be better. If you feel the need to do so. Helps with yellow leaf spot too. Ive done it in early bloom, but never late. Even though i hear you can use it til harvest.
I recently started using a plant protector foliar. Pure crop 1 is what im spraying. Other than that i try not to spray at all.
