Growing plants in marijuana grow tent, there are many problems you need to consider. One of the most common problems that first-time growers face is that they notice their marijuana leaves curling up at the edges. If the serrated leaf edge starts to curl or fold upwards, then this is a sign that the growing conditions are not ideal.
Common causes of leaf curling include:
Excessive humidity
Excessive heat
Root problems
Over-watering
The good news is that these problems are all relatively easy to fix. For example, if the marijuana plant that is having the issues is the one closest to the grow light, then this is a sure sign that it’s a temperature related problem. If the plant also shows signs of burning or spots, then moving the light further away could fix the issue.
If the plant isn’t showing such signs, don’t rule out a temperature issue yet. Try ventilating the room or installing fans to keep the air circulating so that you don’t have to worry about the plants getting too hot. Use a hygrometer to keep track of the humidity also.
If you’re sure that it’s not a temperature issue, the next things to look at are the roots, and how often the plant is being watered. Yes, you need to water marijuana regularly, but not so that the soil is soaking. Over-watering is a common mistake.
Your pots should have drainage holes to allow excess water to flow out. If the roots are left in stagnant water for a long time, then this will create a situation where they are starved of oxygen and are unable to take up nutrients.
Root problems make the plant droopy and can stunt its growth or make the leaves twisted. It is possible for it to recover if it is transplanted into a pot with fertile soil and watered appropriately, but it can take some time.
The leaves that are ‘cupped’ may not ever recover, but over time new leaves will grow in their place, and they should be healthy if you take good care of them.
Cannabis is quite resilient, and it will recover from most things, given time and care. If you’re worried about the health of the seedlings you are growing, the best thing to do is to seek advice early. If root problems are caught fast, then you have the best chance of ensuring that the seedling thrives and achieves its full potential early on.
So above we talked about a few reasons which can cause cannabis leaves to curl, but why do they physically curl?
Generally when leaves begin to curl it means that the leaf is weak and it loses its structure based on the weak cells of the leaf. For example, this happens with over watering and under watering because the leaf doesn’t have the ability to grow properly, and it causes loss of structure, which causes the leaves to fold and grow in irregular shapes.
Curling cannabis leaves are caused by many different issues that your marijuana plants could be experiencing.
Aside from the reasons that were already mentioned, including overwatering, over-fertilizing, heat stress as well as low temperatures, it could also be due to nitrogen toxicity.
Nitrogen toxicity basically is when plants get too much nitrogen. Ultimately it could also be due to high levels of nutrients.
And what it does is cause dark green leaves and curled tips. Ultimately, curled tips are the main symptom that you will notice if your marijuana garden is suffering from nitrogen toxicity.
Windburn is also another issue, and this is caused by your plants getting too much wind. If you’re growing your garden indoors, you’ll notice that the leaves that are farther away from the fan do not have these symptoms.
Bad soil is not also another reason why leaves will curl. If you have bad soil or if you are growing your marijuana in thick and muddy soil, leaves will eventually droop and curl irrespective of how good our watering practices are.
Under-watering causes symptoms very close to the symptoms of overwatering; however, you will notice that underwatered plants perk up each time that you water them.
Root problems are usually caused by overwatering, and once the roots are sick, the symptoms will remain for a while, even though you start watering your plants properly. Unhealthy roots can cause various problems including curling.
If your roots are damaged in any way, you’ll notice that your marijuana leaves start to curl and take on a strange blistery appearance.
This could either be from root damage and, in some cases watering as well as heat stress. Ultimately, it leads to leaf curling.
Root rot is another common cause of curling leaves. Marijuana hydroponic growers tend to suffer from this problem a lot.
It’s often triggered by heat, as well as a lack of bubbles in the roots. Leaves also take on brown patches that indicate deficiencies in the roots.
Light burn is another issue. Even if the temperature is completely under control, it’s quite possible for your leaves to experience light burn.
This is especially if you are growing indoors, and your plants are too close to grow lights. Ultimately, the leaves that are closest to the light will start to turn yellow.
Bugs are not the common cause of leaf curling. Bugs such as broad mites are hard to spot since they live inside the plant. However, if your marijuana gardens are infested with these mites, the leaves will look curled and wet.
Clawing is a sign or signal that the cannabis plant is sick and needs to be healed. Seeing the leaves curling or clawing means that something is seriously wrong. There are several causes why marijuana leaves tend to curl up or down but do not worry because there are ways to cure them.
In this article, we have listed several causes of why marijuana leaves tend to curl and how to cure them.
We often think that when we water the plants, we keep them healthy all the time. Apparently, that is not true. If we are not careful in watering the plants, it will drown the plant’s root. Aside from drowning the plant, it will also rinse helpful microbes. Also, overwatering the plant persistently will attract parasites called Pythium, which can cause root rot. This will cause your plant to have claw-like leaves that will tell you that they are waterlogged.
To cure this, the first thing that you have to do is to try reducing the volume of water that you are giving your plant. Maintain a wet-dry cycle. You can tell by their weight if they needed to be watered. If you can pick up your pots, then it is good for you. Another method to check if your plants need water is to press the soil and see if it is dry or too moist. If it is dry then try to water them with just the right amount, if it is still too moist, perhaps do it the next day.
Feeding the plant with too much fertilizer is also not good. The excess dosage of nitrogen-rich vegetative growth base nutes can cause the plants leave to craw or to curl up and down. Overdoing any vitamin or mineral-rich feeding to the plant will cause the leaves to curl as well, and it will scorch the tips.
The best way to cure this is to have a feeding chart to control what you give to your plant. Feeding charts usually come with every fertilizer that can be downloaded on their website. It is feeding your plant with fertilizer; it is best to start low and slow. You may increase the dosage over time. Check the leaves every day to see how the plant is responding to the feeding process. Make sure to measure what you feed them having the right nutrient solution with the right pH. The right pH is about 5.8pH to 6.0 pH.
Heat stress is very dangerous to your plant. It can happen both indoors and outdoor cultivation, and it can even burn the leaves. You may see your plants leaves curling with brown tips. If you see these signs, then your plant may be suffering from heatstroke. This is a distress signal that you have to take notice of. The regular temperature for your plant should not be over 28 degrees Celsius, and anything above that is harmful to your plant. A inline duct fan can be your great choice.
To be able to cure this, make sure that you adjust the temperature to your grow room. For indoor growers, it is easy to adjust and lower the temperature. You may utilize an airconditioning unit to cool down the temperature. Unfortunately, outdoor growers may have a bit of a problem in controlling the temperature or exposure to the heat. Most cultivator uses a screen to shade to keep the plants slightly cooler.
Just like hat stress, very cold temperature is not also good for your plants. Cold temperature can cause curly leaves as well. Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, which is more than 10 degrees, can not just cause curly leaves or will kill the plant. If it is caught with a high RH, buds will become moist, and I may get sick.
For indoor cultivation, if the temperature is high, just add some more full spectrum LED grow lights to increase it. Temperature is very hard to control outdoors, though, so for outdoor growers, the best wat to deal with change in temperature is to have an early harvest. The ideal temperature for cannabis plants is 20 degrees to 28 degrees Celsius.
If you are planning to reproduce or to breed, it is very important to have healthy parent plants. Genetics will tell us that if the parent plants are healthy, it will also produce healthy offspring. In the case of an unhealthy parent plant, it will also pass on some disease to the offspring plant that would cause them to grow unhealthy as well. This may also be one reason why leaves are curling, so to fix the problem, you may need to feed your plant with much-needed nutrients or fertilizer to heal them from any kind of sickness.
Yes, growing cannabis can be easy and enjoyable, but it may also require much of your attention, especially in maintaining its health. The quality of yield depends on your plant’s health. If you happen to see that your plant is developing curly leaves, this is a sign that they are under distress. The tips that we have mentioned will help you identify which among the abovementioned factors is causing the leaves of your plants to curl. Though it can be cured, do not disregard the symptoms and do something right away to cure fix them.
If your cannabis leaves are curled up, it could be due to a number of issues, and each issue has various solutions you can try to put into effect. The point here is that you do need to get to the root of the problem as fast as you can, before it gets any worse, or else you risk the health of your plants, and of course the final yield and potency of your bud. Leave the problem for too long, and your cannabis plants might just die.