Odd Leaf Behavior on Magnum?

[EinGutesBier]

I suspect that it has something to do with the constant plant light (50 watts, about one foot away from the tallest plant) or watering regimen, but what I'm getting is a sort of shriveling of the leaves. As you know, they have three main pointsthat look like a maple leaf. On my magnum, they're bending inwards; they're not yellow or diseased, just sort of bending inwards and maybe a little shriveled. This is one one of the bines that has been growing strongly...the second one that popped out and was growing well has pretty much ceased and is starting to do the same thing.

I don't really know what to do so I turned off the plant light for now. They've been having that lamp on constantly and I'm hoping it helps. I don't think I've been overwatering them...I have four plants and take a turkey baster and each plant gets 1/4 to 1/2 of the baster's contents several times a day. Does anyone know what I can do to help the Magnum out?

 

[david_42]

Some viral infections can cause leaf curling. "Quite often the growing tip of the vines curves downward and becomes brittle and dies. As the new shoots grow this also happens to them. The leaves are dark green and curled downward. The cones may also turn brown and fail to develop." Not much you can do except keep the plant away from your other hops.

Curling can also be a mineral deficiency. Try a dilute liquid fertilizer. You should also let the top of the soil dry out a bit and only water once a day.

Cut the light to a maximum of 16 hours a day, they do need some down time.

 

[Oakwoodforge]

Could be heat from the plant light, I assume you are using a 50 watt incandescent plant light? Try switching to a high out-put Full spectrum CFL bulb - almost no heat out put so you can have the bulb closer to the plant with out cooking it. Oh and put the lights on a timer - 14 hrs on 10 hrs off Aprox- If you want to mimic nature- so your plants won't be confused when the get moved out side.

Post a pic if you're not sure

Jens

 

[EinGutesBier]

I think that might be the problem. I'll have to pull out my timer and see if that helps along with an initial period of no light for them. Let 'em cool off and do their thing. Maybe letting the soil dry out a little will help them as well. Thanks folks!

 

[shafferpilot]

A small oscillating fan may be all you need. Keep the air moving and the plants will be MUCH happier! They stay cooler, and CO2 will be more readily available.

 

[cheezydemon]

Light timing can fool it into thinking it is time to set flowers too. Not good for a small shoot.

 

[shafferpilot]

Light timing can fool it into thinking it is time to set flowers too. Not good for a small shoot.

that's when the "light ON" time gets pretty low.

 

[EinGutesBier]

I have it set to turn off at 10 at night and turn on at 7 am. Does that sound about right? I'll try to get some air moving in the room - I have a small fan I can set up. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[shafferpilot]

I have it set to turn off at 10 at night and turn on at 7 am. Does that sound about right? I'll try to get some air moving in the room - I have a small fan I can set up. Thanks for the suggestions!

That sounds perfect for maximum growth and plenty of cool down time to me. With some varieties of the dirty cousin, it can take as little as 8 hours on/16 hours off to get the plant to switch into flowering mode.

And while we're on the topic of light:
Has anyone had trouble with hop plants not flowering as a result of light polution at night? I don't leave the porch light, that is right next to my new hop plants, on at night, but there is a TON of light polution in my neighborhood.

 

[Biermann]

That sounds perfect for maximum growth and plenty of cool down time to me. With some varieties of the dirty cousin, it can take as little as 8 hours on/16 hours off to get the plant to switch into flowering mode.

And while we're on the topic of light:
Has anyone had trouble with hop plants not flowering as a result of light polution at night? I don't leave the porch light, that is right next to my new hop plants, on at night, but there is a TON of light polution in my neighborhood.

I think the answer to that question would lie in your neighborhood-- do other flowering plants have troubles in your neighborhood?? Hops are pretty resilient and adaptive--If other, more delicate plants have no problems with the light pollution, I doubt your hoplings will.

 

[ChrisS68]

Somewhere around here (or was it on the yahoo group) someone said that they have hops right under a street light and have had no problems. I hope not. The other night I realized that there's a light over the parking lot right next to where I planted my hops. Total brain-fart on my part, that darned light had been out of commission for years. Not that I had a better place to plant them.

 

[shafferpilot]

I think the answer to that question would lie in your neighborhood-- do other flowering plants have troubles in your neighborhood?? Hops are pretty resilient and adaptive--If other, more delicate plants have no problems with the light pollution, I doubt your hoplings will.

That's a good point. I do have some Iris that don't flower as strongly as I think they should, but everything else seems to be fine.

 

[morrighu]

You can look at the weather report and get the normal sunrise and sunset for your area. Adjust your timer once a month and you can mimic a good day/night cycle fairly well. I know that you're using artificial light, but you can adjust it according to make sure that they're getting the equivalent hours of "sun".

That's what I do with my orchids and they're really sensitive to day night cycles. They won't bloom unless they get proper light exposure. My orchids nearly always spike. If the orchids are ok, I would guess that hops are probably more forgiving.

M.