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Hollow Stems?

Dakine

Dakine

Active member
Veteran
Hey you guys, I had A question about stems. I've been seeing alot of debates about whether or not hollow stems are good or bad.

Many people seem to think that hollow stems are actually a sign of A perfect healthy plant. Also that A hollow stem is better for the plant to be able to pass water and nutrients throughout its self known as Capillary Action?

Others seem to think hollow stems and/or red stems are due to deficiencies such as calcium and/or boron?

I've noticed that my healthiest looking plants seem to have thick pithy stems. When I supercrop or cut branches off for clones, the stems are filled and juicy. Also when I bend branches down,they'll fight it and want to bend back up and grow straight up.

I recently just had A nute deficient girl that was rootbound in A 1-Gallon Smart Pot for about 2 months. She stretched majorly and her branches where very hollow. I could bend the branches super easily and didnt even have to tie them down..

So I think some of the hollow stems might be due to genetics.. But IMHO I would think alot of it is due to nutrients. What do you guys think about having hollow stems?
 
G

ganjygav

Never thought much on it. I've noticed some strains are Woody and some are hollow. My blueberries I have going now are hollow but my plants are healthy. The M.O.B I'm growing along side the blueberry have solid stems. I just thought it was strain dependent.
 
Dakine

Dakine

Active member
Veteran
Alright. So are hollow stems just present in mature/older plants? So Pit or Pithy stems is Cytoplasm, which conducts water and dissolved minerals when the plant is young. The xylem and phloem are basically the important parts for vpd to transfer and direct to and from the stomata from roots. They are located on the innerwalls but outer part in the stem.

But I still dont understand why A plant will have hollow stems. Then give it calcium,silica, and all that good stuff and you dont have hollow stems anymore?
 
seeded

seeded

Active member
I'm pretty sure people think hollow stems are ideal because the plant isn't acting like hemp and growing fibrous stems which they assume to mean it's instead growing like cannabis. Personally though I've seen nothing to suggest it's anything other than a genetic trait that leads to floppy colas on top heavy plants so it's not something I look for in my girls.
 
D

DemonTrich

Active member
Veteran
Don't think I've seen a hollow stem yet in 4+yrs and over 18 strains.

All 100% healthy top shelf strains
 
J

Jhhnn

Active member
Veteran
Loc Dog

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
I grew GG4 in coco for 2 years with solid stems. Went to hydro, and have completely hollow stems. Have been adding cal/mag and silica. When I cut them down in 20 days will report back here. GG4 is clone only, so genetically identical, and not a phenotype issue.
 
Dakine

Dakine

Active member
Veteran
From personal experience, I didn't think hollow stems was A good sign though. I only got it when neglecting plants. But if the internet is correct(lol) mature plants end up having hollow stems, and the younger plants have full stems with the pit/pithy inside..

But if you think about certain things, I don't see how anyone would actually think hollow stems is A good thing. A lot of people are saying it's good and that their vpd is on point according to "other growers". Some don't even know what A stomata is or does but are certain that I'm wrong about it being bad if it's not genetics...

EDIT- For example, what stems are usually the easiest or hardest to Clone?
 
troutman

troutman

Seed Whore
Sometimes I get both hollow and solid stems in one grow.

Not sure if there a big difference though.
 
Loc Dog

Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
Veteran
Solid stems are much easier to clone. Hollow ones have problems with capillary action (I am assuming) and turn to mush.

I just threw out a bunch of GG4 in RDWC that had hollow stems, 3 weeks into flower, because I neglected them, doing too many things at once. Noticed that the hollow stem plants did not respond well to supercropping. Most that were bent, never grew upwards. The branches that were not bent grew crazy tall, like GG4 is known to do in first 3 weeks of flower.

I should have moved that batch to RDWC sooner, and let veg a couple of weeks, to develop massive root system. Some were on the weak side, for RDWC.
 
Mikell

Mikell

Dipshit Know-Nothing
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Hollow stems in brassicas and other plants is attributed to boron deficiency. Moses brought it up a few monthes ago.

Cut through a node on hollow stem clones for a better rooting rate.
 
J

jidoka

Active member
Hollow stems are caused when the plant does not have sufficient Ca, B and Si when it is building frame. This is most often seen in plants grown with salts.

All of the formulas on the market tend to emphasize N and K to excess cause it makes things that dark green color with really fast growth. Problem with that is the frame is not built properly
 
G

ganjygav

So what I'm reading here is my blueberries plants which are on the same nutes and in the same soil as the mob are deficient in something?
So it's not because they're different strains? My plants all look healthy though and the blueberries are the best looking plants out of the 2 strains but they're deficient?

It don't make no sense to me but I ain't no plant scientist or done any fancy courses. I'm just saying what what I see.
My blueberries have had hollow stems 3 weeks into veg I noticed as I had to bend them because they were growing tall compared to the mobs. So the blueberries have had hollow stems from the start. How could they be deficient that young?
 
G

ganjygav

Lol I've just seen what thread this is in... I'm sorry I will shut my mouth because I have no business talking about botany and advanced growing science lol

I just grow
 
Dakine

Dakine

Active member
Veteran
ganjygav said:
Lol I've just seen what thread this is in... I'm sorry I will shut my mouth because I have no business talking about botany and advanced growing science lol

I just grow
Click to expand...

Ah Cmon bro, stick around and put your 2cents in! Even TonyGreens plants looked good. But they had hollow weak stems and I think some slight red/purpling on them? I could be wrong about the coloring though..

He upped the calcium and A couple other nutes and the weak hollow stems went away. Yields increased and more of the Strains full Terpene Profile showed in the flowers of that grow..

ganjy would you be able to do some experimenting with A plant or 2 that have the hollow stems?
 
G

ganjygav

Again I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about but my tap water is full of calcium I know that much.

I'm using the whole biobizz line up and I would like to think with that and allmix soil I have all bases covered. I pay enough for my bottles for it to be that way anyway lol but we don't live in a perfect world.

I read threads like this and it makes me think there's something wrong with my plants. I'm a hypochondriac for my plants, if I read something online about plant problems I start stressing that my plants have it haha.

I even went and sat with my plants last night for 20 mins or so last night inspecting them after reading this thread.

I'm happy to read what's being said but I don't feel I have anything valid to add to this thread without doing my own head in haha
 
D

DocTim420

The Doctor is OUT and has moved on...
So I did this massive seed run (124 beans) last year and all plants were in excellent balanced grow medium....and guess what I found when I was cloning the tops? Two had completely hollow stems. One even began to split at the end after 2 days of water soaking. Visualize a 5" clone with few leafs and a normal fat stem with a 45 degree cut (made days earlier) was no longer flat but stem appeared more more mushroom like. At the cut, the hollow stem was split into 4 sections and flared outwards with stem sections protruding out 1/4" on all sides. The other hollow stem cutting did not flare out at the cut--but took forever to root (21 days instead of 10-12).

Final outcome: The plant with the hollow stem with the flared end was a female but hermied in flower (pollen chuckers and their fucking unstable genetics) and the other hollow stemmed plant turned out to be a male runt.

Stranger the strange!
 
J

Jhhnn

Active member
Veteran
ganjygav said:
So what I'm reading here is my blueberries plants which are on the same nutes and in the same soil as the mob are deficient in something?
So it's not because they're different strains? My plants all look healthy though and the blueberries are the best looking plants out of the 2 strains but they're deficient?

It don't make no sense to me but I ain't no plant scientist or done any fancy courses. I'm just saying what what I see.
My blueberries have had hollow stems 3 weeks into veg I noticed as I had to bend them because they were growing tall compared to the mobs. So the blueberries have had hollow stems from the start. How could they be deficient that young?
Click to expand...

I think you're on to something- that hollow stems don't matter, not all by themselves, anyway. If you have some problems then hollow stems might be an additional indicator. OTOH, no problems means no problems regardless of hollow stems.
 
G

ganjygav

We shall see how well they hold up when they have full flowers. I'm only on day 7 of flower at moment so bare with me lol
 
D

DocTim420

The Doctor is OUT and has moved on...
Of course if you google: large hollow stem cannabis

Then you will find a plethora of statements such as this:


Males that have large hollow main stems are sought out rather than males that are more pith-filled stems - the main reason are that large hollow stemmed males are better THC producers than other plants.
 
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