My Plant Isn't Growing, Isn't Dying, Isn't doing anything... HELP!!!

Okay, so I've dabbled in the whole act of growing for a long time, but it was always feeble attempts (that I now balk at the fact that I even attempted to grow under certain conditions). This is my first grow that I would say I was fully prepared for, and had a general well supplied amount of knowledge and overall grasp of the concept of growing (I've read many growing manuals) and I understand all the concepts of lighting, humidity, soil ph and nutrient content, that sort of thing. Well, I know that plants often sometimes take a week or so before they really start to take off, and frankly mine is doing basically nothing. It has been about 16-18 days since I planted the germinated seed. It actually popped out of the ground specifically fourteen days ago. And basically, comparing the current photo with other's plants at fourteen days, it basically has made very little to no progress (its spikey leaves haven't even popped out yet and the two that are there are still the pre-leaf round ones).


My settings:

Lighting: I have 3 CFL 55 Watt 3800 lumen light bulbs angled towards the plant with aluminum foiling aligned on the walls to reflect the light, as well as a small mirror I stuck in there to reflect the little bit that hits it back onto the plant. I have been running the plants on 24/7 lights, but the last day or so I've been changing the routine to 22/2 a day (thinking maybe the plant needs a resting period).

Growing Medium: I just used miraclegrow brand, I know I've heard a lot of people say natural is better, but I'm just looking to produce bud, no need for "natural bud" for me.

Humidity: I have a small humidifier that I keep the closet grow at about 40-50 (sometimes gets to 55-60 but never above).

Water: I have been using the method of waiting till the water feels dry one inch down, then watering (so about every 3-4 days or so, but I usually give a generous amount but not enough to make it soggy, just enough to make sure the soil is completely wet and the water at least gets through about 75 percent of the pot's soil).

Wind: I have a room fan sitting about 2 or 3 feet from the plant.


Hmmmm, I can't think of any of the other variables if you have any questions, ask.

I'm no expert but thats allot of bulbs and allot of wind for such a small plant. Is it possible that your environmentally stunting the plant? I.E. too hot and too windy?

The plant should also be getting more than adequate Co2. The closet door sits open all day and the rooms door is open most of the time, as well as the window is often open.

My knee-jerk reaction is probably too much watering. I've heard many things from many places, but one thing I'm pretty certain is true is that most people tend to overwater their plants.

I have also heard that for this period of growth, 18/6 is superior to any other lighting schedule, but again, this is hearsay. I think besides watering, whatever strain you're growing can have an impact on when it will grow its first "true" leaves (the leaves you have now are baby leaves, so you are definitely in the seedling phase). Keep in mind that with almost all plants, in this particular phase of growth, the energy the plant is receiving is mostly going towards growing roots. One thing that has helped me in my current grow was starting the seedlings in a seedling plug so I could monitor root growth and see how it was progressing. Right now you don't have that luxury, so you'll have to figure out through process of elimination what is contributing to the stunting of your plants.

Autoflowering strains I'm learning very quickly are slow growers, so that can definitely make a difference as well. What strains are you growing?

It might just be putting its efforts into roots. Thats a big pot to start with so I'm thinking roots. Also most of your light is coming off the sides of those bulbs, so if you could find a way to turn the bulbs it might help eventually.

First, get some 6500 daylight cfl bulbs. The ones you are using now are good for flowering.

Also, the aluminum foil is going to cause heat displacement and probably end up burning your plant as well as the mirror. Mirrors aren't used for light reflection. Flat white paint or mylar is your best options.

After you get the 6500 bulbs wait a week and see if it starts to grow more. It should because it the proper spectrum for veg.

Good luck..

Edit: The mirror is probably absorbing all the light from the plant.

White plastic is over 95% reflective and does not make hotspots.

id definitly say your babying it way to much

jswett1100 said:

id definitly say your babying it way to much

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yeah, dude, noffense intended but you said this is your first grow?
my first grow i had similar problems cuz i was babying it too much, giving too much light, too much wind, ya know
i think alotta ppl baby there first grow too much, but yeah it might just be doing roots.
if it gets really really dark green, you gotta dud, i had that happen at the begining of my current grow, it had its seed leaves and never grew up, it turned dark dark green then just died off.

Caspernode said:

yeah, dude, noffense intended but you said this is your first grow?
my first grow i had similar problems cuz i was babying it too much, giving too much light, too much wind, ya know
i think alotta ppl baby there first grow too much, but yeah it might just be doing roots.
if it gets really really dark green, you gotta dud, i had that happen at the begining of my current grow, it had its seed leaves and never grew up, it turned dark dark green then just died off.

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Lol that sounds like plant abuse not babying lol.

SirGreenThumb said:

First, get some 6500 daylight cfl bulbs. The ones you are using now are good for flowering.

Also, the aluminum foil is going to cause heat displacement and probably end up burning your plant as well as the mirror. Mirrors aren't used for light reflection. Flat white paint or mylar is your best options.

After you get the 6500 bulbs wait a week and see if it starts to grow more. It should because it the proper spectrum for veg.

Good luck..

Edit: The mirror is probably absorbing all the light from the plant.

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Thanks for all the helps guys. Do you think the current bulbs I have won't be able to adequately satisfy the plant throughout the vegetative state? It's also important to mention I have two warm bulbs (good for flowering) and one cool one (good for sproutling and vegetative state). As well I notice if I move the mirror it looks visibly a lot darker on the plant than with it.

The seed I am using came from a batch of kb. My guy said he didn't know the name but he made up a name "mistletoe" because of the look of the cannabis. So the strain is unknown basically.

JuniorHead said:

Thanks for all the helps guys. Do you think the current bulbs I have won't be able to adequately satisfy the plant throughout the vegetative state? It's also important to mention I have two warm bulbs (good for flowering) and one cool one (good for sproutling and vegetative state). As well I notice if I move the mirror it looks visibly a lot darker on the plant than with it.

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You can use those bulbs if you want, the plant will still grow as it is doing already. If you are wanting more constant growth though you will want the right spectrum of light. Its good while using cfls to mix between 3600k and 6500k, but use more 6500k than the other for veg and switch for flower. And the thing with the mirror; I thought about the same thing my first grow with cfls and after a lot of research on this site as well as others I found out to not use it. Mylar is really easy to find, you can find it at walmart as a thermal blanket or do what burgertime suggested and get some white plastic. Proper reflection is always good, especially if your using cfls, the more light getting to your plant the better.

I would have to agree with the others. This is a weed left alone with adequate light and water it will grow. Too much water will stifle the root system and just like a human will suffocate and die. At this stage I let the top of the soil dry a bit before adding more water. Some plant strains can take more adverse conditions. The fan may also be causing some problems seedlings are susceptible to environmental stress from being wind blown try putting a dome over it for the first few days to protect it. Maybe try a skunk seed or something from that family there almost indestructible compared to an OG or Kush plant. Good luck