Slow/Stunted growth and NO other symptoms?

[!!!]

I have no data to back it up, but I'd say the #1 cause of stunted/slow growth is overwatering. I had to lose every single houseplant I owned to learn how to water properly, but it was a lesson worth learning. But what else can cause this?

Plant has NO other symptoms - no curling, no spots, no droopiness, no burns. It just doesn't seem to be doing much of anything.

You wake up day in and day out, you can't tell at all if the plant has changed over the past few days. I know this isn't normal for any plant except a cacti.

I'm trying to make a checklist of things to check if plant growth is really slow or if the plant isn't growth at all.

Causes of Slow/Stunted Growth:
Overwatering (plants droop, and look normal for a long time before dying of root rot)

Underwatering (plants droop or become flaccid)

Nute toxicity - but this would show other symptoms?

Nute deficiency - but this would show other symptoms?

pH imbalance - but this would show other symptoms..?

Root rot - caused by lack of dissolved oxygen (DO) & root zone temps too high for extended periods

Low intensity light - overrated. People quickly jump to this conclusion and add more intense light.

The medium - overrated. People quickly dismiss soil as being the culprit when it's not that much slower than hydro/aero.

Plants being rootbound (overrated, it's usually not the problem)

What else is USUALLY the culprit?

 

[ibjamming]

I'll go with the one you laughed about...not enough light. Shitty light = shitty plants.

 

[!!!]

shitty plants is one thing, but I'm talking about plants that aren't moving at all. I've grown under soil + 1 small fluorescent bulb and you actually see new shoots developing. I've also grown under an HID and have had plants that just produced no new shoots before dying (root rot for instance).

 

[superpedro]

I have no data to back it up, but I'd say the #1 cause of stunted/slow growth is overwatering. I had to lose every single houseplant I owned to learn how to water properly, but it was a lesson worth learning. But what else can cause this?

Plant has NO other symptoms - no curling, no spots, no droopiness, no burns. It just doesn't seem to be doing much of anything.

You wake up day in and day out, you can't tell at all if the plant has changed over the past few days. I know this isn't normal for any plant except a cacti.

I'm trying to make a checklist of things to check if plant growth is really slow or if the plant isn't growth at all.

Causes of Slow/Stunted Growth:
Overwatering (plants droop, and look normal for a long time before dying of root rot)

Underwatering (plants droop or become flaccid)

Nute toxicity - but this would show other symptoms?

Nute deficiency - but this would show other symptoms?

pH imbalance - but this would show other symptoms..?

Root rot - caused by lack of dissolved oxygen (DO) & root zone temps too high for extended periods

Low intensity light - overrated. People quickly jump to this conclusion and add more intense light.

The medium - overrated. People quickly dismiss soil as being the culprit when it's not that much slower than hydro/aero.

Plants being rootbound (overrated, it's usually not the problem)

What else is USUALLY the culprit?

IMO you overlooked two options.

Running the humidity too low can cause stunned grow. They stop breathing to save moisture = no co2 uptake.

The soil. Soil with poor drainage/ low oxygene content = slow soil.

 

[inreplyavalon]

BUGS!!

Root Aphids in particular...can halt growth completely as the plants look perfectly healthy. I'd say lots of bugs can be silent killers.

 

[Gilles&Cheryl]

I had a plant like that one time. It just would not grow. Weeks would pass before it opened up with a new set of leaves.

Finally, in my frustration, I killed the plant. I dissected the almost nonexistent root ball and found what I believe was the problem.

Most of the roots, tap root included, were trying to fight their way through a large piece of pine bark. They had colonized the big chunk of bark but had yet to penetrate it.

I learned to find the softest medium I could. No more soil that contains bark for me. Coco is where it is at...for me.

IMHO, medium plays a huge roll in plant vigor. Remember, a plant can only grow as fast as it's roots. A plant in a good, soft potting soil will always out preform a plant in red clay or whatever.

 

[hippie_lettuce]

It's all about the roots!