What’s wrong with my tangerine dream?

Hey guys,

It’s been almost ten years since I was last on here. Was taking a bit of a break but now I’m back at work. Good to be back!

Anyway I’m having issues with my tangerine dream plant, I really don’t know what’s the problem.

I’ve attached photos so you can see what’s happening. Basically the plant is eating itself from the bottom up. The lowest fan leaves are turning yellow one by one and then shriveling up and dying.

I am using Jungle Bloom nutes (I doubt anyone had heard of them, maybe that’s the problem). Giving about 5ml per liter of water. I check my ph and usually feed at about 6.3 ph.

I’m growing in really basic gardening soil, general purpose soil from my local gardening store (I know, I know!) with a three to ten perlite mix.

I’ve got a full spectrum 300w LED panel for lighting.

It’s a rather old tangerine dream seed (probably three years old or so, from Barney’s farm in Amsterdam). I’ve been flowering for about three weeks now.

Also some background. This grow has transitioned through various stages. I started this as a window plant, no extra light whatsoever. Then I eventually got a 21w LED and finally upgraded to the big 300w panel. It was meant to just be for fun to begin with but as you may have guessed, it’s gotten more serious now.

I really don’t understand what the issue could be. I’m sure it’s getting enough nutes, I’m on the max of the recommended dosage on the bottle. As I said, ph should be fine. And I’m sure with the led panel, it’s getting enough light. I’ve had the panel up for a number of weeks now so it’s not anything mega new.

Any ideas what’s going on here? I can’t figure it out but would love to stop this ASAP so it can finish up and deliver the goods.

Let me know, thanks a lot guys!

You didn't mention container size. I can see what looks like the edge of of a container in the one pic, and it looks mighty small. My bet is that plant is rootbound to hell and back?

Hey Moses,

Thanks for your feedback, it is indeed in a very small container. I honestly can’t tell you what size but it’s less than a liter.

Would that really have such an effect on the plant? I thought that would only limit the yield but not cause it to eat itself?

Post up a pic of the whole plant and the whole container! How long did you veg for? Providing the plant with enough space for the roots in relation to the growth above ground is absolutely critical. With a stunted root system the plant is unable to deliver enough nutrients to maintain rapid growth regardless of how much it is being fed!

Have you carefully removed it from the container and inspected the roots?

Hi Moses,

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I will take some photos when I’m back with the plant.

I vegged for about six months haha. But bear in mind a huge part of that was when it was sitting at the window. That’s why I did it for long before flowering.

I have not removed the plant from the pot to check the roots. Would I just be looking for healthy white roots or something else?

Thanks Moses.

Sure thing man. Take what you can get this round. And focus on big improvements for the next one!!

Thanks Moses. I didn’t make it home before lights out so I will have to take a photo tomorrow. But the more I think about it, the more your explanation makes sense.

it just looks like it's eating it's first and really old baby leaves which can happen anytime but I do think you should put it at least in a 4 litre pot.. it's the same risk but will return you so much more.

Thanks so much for all your thoughts guys, really appreciate it.

As requested here is a picture of the full plant, pot included:



Now my question is, does it make sense to repot at this point in flowering? The tangerine is three weeks into flowering. I also have a blue mystic plant which is experiencing similar issues but not as badly. It's six weeks into flowering. Should I repot that as well?

Thanks again guys!

Yes repot the plant before flowering.

Also yellowing from the bottom up is a N deficiency. Transplant and give the plant a stronger veg feed.

This is a good opportunity to transplant into good soil as well.

Needs to be lollipopped up to the 2 big branches and transplanted. Other than that looks fine.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm already three weeks into flowering though. That's what I was unsure about. Whether I should repot while flowering is already underway?

Thanks sourpuss.

Quick update now that I have been able to confirm. It is currently in a 0.6 liter pot. Should I upgrade to 4 liters as suggested or something smaller?

She ideally needed a bit more root mass before flowering but if I were you I probably would go into a 4 litre at least.

Also it needs more light

Thanks a lot for all the feedback guys. Looks like it was definitely root space. After repotting, the issues have stopped and everything looks good.