Purple / Red stalks

Question

Ok so I’ve read multiple books and listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts and have learned quite a bit but I’m having trouble figuring out why my stalks are streaked purple & red ? I know this is going to require quite a bit of up front info regarding my set up so I’ll try to give a brief description. Growing in bagged soil (Roots Organic 707) with added worm castings from Colorado worm company, 5 and 10 gal fabric pots set up with Blumat carrots on a gravity fed reservoir. 4x4 tents using HLG 600R led lights. Mostly following the Build A Soil dry amendment protocols. My well water has extremely high ppm (1070) so it is run through a whole house softener and filtration system plus an additional drinking water filtration that includes an RO filter and several other filters and a remineralization filter that produces drinking water with 74 ppm 8.5 ph. I do add a cal-mag product to the reservoir and also add epsom salt to my soil drench feedings every couple of weeks. The girls look pretty good other than the purple/red streaks on the stalks , at first I thought magnesium deficiency and added the epsom salt to my nutrition regiment but not seeing any improvement. I also thought possibly genetics as 2 of my successful grows were from same breeder but this latest grow has 2 from Humboldt seed company and they are also showing the purple/ red streaks since flipping to flower. From what I can find in my grow books and on the internet magnesium and phosphorus deficiencies can look very similar so if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear from you. Thx

Stootie · Accepted Answer

Welcome to Percys mate 🙂 Im pretty new to growing myself, think iv done about 10 grows, and nearly all of my ones ended up with purple/redish branches. I think it can be genetic, stress can cause it and sometimes the light can cause them to darken a bit like a purple sun tan but as far as iv seen it never does any harm. When I first started growing I wondered what was happening to my plants when I saw it but now I dont really pay any attention to it 🙂

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Shonuff · Answer

When you see it in a young plant it is generally a sign of stress and an indicator to dial things in a bit more. When it comes to later veg and flower I wouldn't worry about it at all. It does seem to be a sign of stress but I have had plants stripe like that all the way through flower with no issues. And hey, stress isn't always a bad thing for our girls. 😀

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monkeydo · Answer

You could be looking at some “sunburn” on those stems. Led lights can trigger a response on plants causing some reddish pigments in some stems. Usually if you look at leaves in brighter light the color is darker and on leaves that are constantly shaded the red is very light or non existent. Red color can also be a deficiency but most often it’s a reaction to the LEDs.

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Chickenlizard · Answer

They look pretty healthy apart from the purple/red lines. I have had this happen to many grows. But it was genetics. If that's your only problem on the plant and all the environment is within range. I wouldn't stress that much about it. When you use Epson salts a foliar feed with it will work wonders and the plant will absorb it a lot easier.   Best of luck {percysemojis}:thumbsup:

Questions [Completed] Purple / Red stalks