eleaf

Hey all,

This is my first grow and I am running into a slight problem . . .

I have a beautiful grapefruit female which has been LSTed sitting in a 3 gallon bucket of FF OF and about 30-40% perlite which is definitely rootbound. What I mean is that there are roots which have emerged from my drainage holes at the bottom of the bucket. The pH is fine (about 6.6), and she is basking under dual 150 hps lights. I water when she asks for it (2-3 times weekly) and use ferts with every watering (as per the published FF soil feeding schedule).

My lower fan leaves are turning yellow and it seems to be slowly working up the plant. I know that leaves turning yellow is perfectly natural starting during the 4th or 5th week of flowering (I am starting my 5th week today) due to the plant using N stored in the fan leaves (I must have read 300 posts about yellowing leaves last night and today), but I'm not sure whether this is a natural yellowing of the leaves or a root bound yellowing of the leaves and whether that would be of any detriment to the plant this late in the game. According to femaleseeds.nl, grapefruit matures in 8 or so weeks, so by that logic, I am about 1/2 through the flowering process.

She stopped her stretch after I flushed her about 2 weeks ago and is no longer growing vertically and has not been for quite some time. Her buds are stinky and the trichs are starting to show themselves nicely and overall, the buds and bud leaves look healthy. It is only the lower/middle fan leaves which are yellowing.

So here's the question of the hour . . .

Do I bother with a transplant this late in the game and risk stressing her and creating a perfectly bad hermie? Or do I stay with the current bucket while risking any potential root bound fallout and make a mental note for next time to place them in 5 gallon buckets rather than 3 gallon?

If I were to transplant, I would carefully cut opposite sides of the bucket and take the old bucket off, placing the entire rootball in a new 5 gallon bucket.

mr. hyde

i think you are fine in the 3 gallon unless you vegged your plant for an inordinant amount of time

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eleaf

I vegged her for 3-4 weeks (until she was about 8" tall) and then through her under 12/12.

From what I understand, she is about as bad is she is going to get in terms of her root boundedness (Ie, the growth her root structure takes a back seat during flowering), and therefore there shouldn't be an absolute need to transplant. But being that I have been wrong with just about all of my assumptions thus far, I could be wrong. I just don't want to have to start all over (I'm looking forward to a Thanksgiving-time harvest) bcause I didn't do something I should have. That is my prime concern. I want to harvest this girl.

What are the potentail fallouts of being root bound at this stage? Could she die (at worst), am I simply looking at a compromised harvest (liveable), or not much at all (best case)?

mr. hyde

it sounds to me like she is a little nitrogen deficient not rootbound.

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eleaf

That is not too bad. According to my nute schedule (the FF nute schedule for soil), I am to add a bit of Grow Big into the mix for this week (this will almost certainly add enough N to the mix) and then 2 more weeks of only flowering nutes until the final flush.

I watered her yesterday with only flowering nutes. Would it be bad to water her again today with the new mix including the Grow Big in order to get some N back into the soil? Generally I don't water her but every few days (2-4).

mr. hyde

usually rootbound will just stunt the plant a little nothing major unless you are growing in a teeny tiny pot which isnt the best. that veg time in a 3 gallon you are fine in my opinion. no worries about that. you probably could give it a little grow fert for n but flowering plants don't need a whole lot of n after the mid flower point.

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eleaf

This is the only week, according to the FF schedule, that will contain any Grow fert during flower. Up until now it has been all flower nutes, and after this week only flower nutes until the flush.

Thanks