Stunted, slow growth across the plant

Likely causes, most likely first

Ranked for this sign on its own. Your stage, medium and readings change the order, so run the checker for your plant.

1. PossibleOverwatering (roots short of air)

   Root zoneDeal with it this weekRead: Drooping cannabis: overwatering vs underwatering

   Fix: Water only when the pot is clearly lighter (about half the water used), then water to 10-20% runoff. Seedlings in big pots: water a small ring near the stem only. Add air: fabric pots, 25-40% perlite, no saucer standing water. Let a soaked pot dry back before the next watering.

   Recovery: Leaves lift within a day of drying back; colour and growth recover within 5-7 days.

   How to confirm it

   • Lift the pot and check moisture at depth. Lift the pot right after a full watering to learn its wet weight, then lift before each watering. Water when it is clearly lighter (about half the added water gone). Push a finger or a moisture probe 5 cm (2 in) down. Heavy for 3-4+ days with droop: overwatering. Very light with limp papery leaves: thirst.
   • Look at the roots. Hydro: lift the net pot and look at the root mass in good white light. Containers: tip the plant out with a hand over the medium and look at the edges and bottom of the root ball. Healthy roots are white to cream with fine fuzzy tips. Brown roots whose outer layer slides off between the fingers leave a bare thread: rot. Firm, evenly tan roots with white tips in coloured solution are staining.
   • Smell test of roots, medium and reservoir. Smell the roots, the bottom of the root ball, the drain water or the reservoir up close. Healthy roots smell earthy or of nothing. A sour, rotten, swampy or sewage smell means anaerobic conditions and rot. In hydro, a slimy feel on the reservoir walls or tubing adds to the case.

2. Less likelyAutoflower stunted by early stress

   EnvironmentDeal with it this weekRead: Why is my autoflower so small?

   Fix: Autos run on a countdown from germination, so lost growth never returns. Next run: sow straight into the final 11-19 L (3-5 gal) pot, never transplant, water seedlings in small rings, give 300-600+ µmol/m²/s early, train with LST only (topping never matches proper LST). This run: keep conditions steady and feed well; don't add more stress.

   Recovery: Steady weekly growth from here on; size gap to siblings stops widening.

   How to confirm it

   • Lift the pot and check moisture at depth. Lift the pot right after a full watering to learn its wet weight, then lift before each watering. Water when it is clearly lighter (about half the added water gone). Push a finger or a moisture probe 5 cm (2 in) down. Heavy for 3-4+ days with droop: overwatering. Very light with limp papery leaves: thirst.
   • Measure PPFD at the canopy top. Use a quantum (PAR) meter, or a calibrated phone app as a rough guide, at the top leaves in a 5-9 point grid. Compare with the stage target: seedlings 100-300, veg 300-700, flower 800-1,200 µmol/m²/s at ambient CO2. Bleaching and taco at the top above ~1,100 point to light; stretch below ~300 in veg points to too little.

3. Less likelyGeneral underfeeding (whole feed too weak)

   NutrientDeal with it this weekRead: Building a cannabis feed by stage: ppm targets per element and how to hit them

   Fix: Raise the whole feed in steps of about 0.2-0.3 mS/cm toward the stage target (veg 1.2-1.8, flower 1.6-2.2 mS/cm in coco and hydro). Stop any 'flush': plain water for weeks starves the plant, and pre-harvest flushing is a myth that costs yield.

   Recovery: Colour deepens and growth speeds up within a week; runoff EC tracks input.

   How to confirm it

   • Measure runoff EC against input EC. Water to 10-20% runoff, collect the runoff in a clean cup and measure EC of both with a calibrated meter (1.413 mS/cm standard). Runoff more than ~0.5 mS/cm above input means salt build-up; well below input means the plant is hungry or you are over-leaching. In hydro, compare reservoir EC with the EC you mixed.
   • Measure input pH and root-zone (runoff or reservoir) pH. Calibrate the meter with fresh pH 7 and pH 4 buffers, then measure the mixed feed and the runoff (containers) or reservoir (hydro). Soil and living soil should sit at 6.0-7.0, coco, rockwool and peat mixes at 5.5-6.5, hydro at 5.5-6.2. Track 3+ readings; one reading is not a trend.

4. Less likelyHop latent viroid (dudding)

   DiseaseAct within a day or twoRead: Hop latent viroid (HLVd, 'dudding') and other cannabis viruses

   Fix: No cure in a plant. Test mothers (roots and leaves) by RT-PCR or RT-qPCR, discard positives, disinfect tools with 10% bleach or heat (alcohol and peroxide don't inactivate it), and use meristem tissue culture to rescue valuable genetics. Don't take cuttings from stunted plants.

   Recovery: Negative tests on new mothers; no more duds in the next cycle.

   How to confirm it

   • Lab test for hop latent viroid (RT-PCR or RT-qPCR). Send root and leaf samples (roots detect HLVd earlier in young plants) to a lab offering HLVd RT-PCR or RT-qPCR. Test mother plants and any stunted plant among healthy siblings. A positive plant cannot be cured; tissue culture of meristem tips can rescue genetics.
   • Compare with siblings or the same cut. Put the affected plant beside siblings or clones of the same cut in the same conditions. A trait shared by all of a cultivar (purple stems, foxtailing, pale colour) is genetic; a problem on one plant points to its roots, a virus or its genetics; a problem on every cultivar points to the environment or feed.

5. Less likelyLow dissolved oxygen in the root zone

   Root zoneAct within a day or twoRead: Deep water culture (DWC)

   Fix: Restore oxygen: clean or replace air stones, size the air pump for at least ~1 L/min per 4 L, keep a 2-5 cm air gap under net pots once roots reach the water, cool the solution to 18-22 °C (64-72 °F). Aim for 6-8+ mg/L DO.

   Recovery: Fresh white root tips within 3-5 days; wilting stops.

   How to confirm it

   • Dissolved oxygen check. Measure DO with a meter in the root zone, or check the system: air pump running, stones bubbling evenly, return water splashing, no dead spots. Target 6-8+ mg/L. Without a meter: if stones are clogged or the pump is undersized for the volume, assume low DO.
   • Measure reservoir and root-zone temperature at the end of the light period. Measure the solution in the reservoir and in the root chamber or bucket, at the warmest time of day. Target 18-22 °C (64-72 °F). Above about 23-24 °C (73-75 °F), dissolved oxygen falls and Pythium risk rises; below 16 °C (61 °F) uptake slows.
   • Look at the roots. Hydro: lift the net pot and look at the root mass in good white light. Containers: tip the plant out with a hand over the medium and look at the edges and bottom of the root ball. Healthy roots are white to cream with fine fuzzy tips. Brown roots whose outer layer slides off between the fingers leave a bare thread: rot. Firm, evenly tan roots with white tips in coloured solution are staining.
   • Check pumps, timers, nozzles and drippers. Watch one full cycle: the pump starts on time, every nozzle mists or every dripper delivers, NFT channels have flow end to end, air stones bubble. Clear clogged emitters and filters. In HPA, a failed pump or blocked nozzle can kill exposed roots fast, so check this first when plants on one system wilt together.

6. Less likelyNot enough light

   LightLow urgencyRead: Stretchy, leggy cannabis: a differential

   Fix: Bring PPFD to stage targets: seedlings 100-300, veg 300-700, flower 800-1,200 µmol/m²/s. Yield rose linearly with PPFD from 120 to 1,800 in a controlled trial. Lower canopy buds under ~300-400 µmol/m²/s make larf: thin or lollipop the shaded bottom, or train flat.

   Recovery: New internodes shorten within a week; denser buds on the following weeks of growth.

   How to confirm it

   • Measure PPFD at the canopy top. Use a quantum (PAR) meter, or a calibrated phone app as a rough guide, at the top leaves in a 5-9 point grid. Compare with the stage target: seedlings 100-300, veg 300-700, flower 800-1,200 µmol/m²/s at ambient CO2. Bleaching and taco at the top above ~1,100 point to light; stretch below ~300 in veg points to too little.

7. Less likelyRecovery stall after topping, supercropping or heavy defoliation

   Physical damageLow urgencyRead: How long does a plant take to recover after topping?

   Fix: Give 3-7 days for photoperiods to recover from topping or HST before the next session; don't stack stresses. Prefer tucking to stripping leaves. On autos use LST only.

   Recovery: New growth resumes within a week.

   How to confirm it

   • Watch new growth for 5-10 days after one change. Make one correction at a time, mark the top node with a twist tie and photograph the same leaves every 2-3 days. Damaged leaves never recover; judge only new growth and whether the symptom stops spreading. Mobile-nutrient symptoms stop climbing within 5-7 days; immobile ones show in new leaves within 7-10 days.

8. Less likelyRoot rot (Pythium)

   DiseaseAct nowRead: Root rot and Pythium in cannabis

   Fix: Act now. Fix conditions first: solution at 18-21 °C (65-70 °F), strong aeration (6-8+ mg/L DO), no overwatering. Change the reservoir, trim dead roots with clean scissors, clean and disinfect the system. Then either re-establish beneficial microbes (Bacillus, Trichoderma; house-preferred) or commit fully to a sterile regime (e.g. dosed hypochlorous acid or peroxide). Isolate affected plants on recirculating systems.

   Recovery: New white root tips within 3-7 days and wilting stops; brown roots don't recover.

   How to confirm it

   • Look at the roots. Hydro: lift the net pot and look at the root mass in good white light. Containers: tip the plant out with a hand over the medium and look at the edges and bottom of the root ball. Healthy roots are white to cream with fine fuzzy tips. Brown roots whose outer layer slides off between the fingers leave a bare thread: rot. Firm, evenly tan roots with white tips in coloured solution are staining.
   • Smell test of roots, medium and reservoir. Smell the roots, the bottom of the root ball, the drain water or the reservoir up close. Healthy roots smell earthy or of nothing. A sour, rotten, swampy or sewage smell means anaerobic conditions and rot. In hydro, a slimy feel on the reservoir walls or tubing adds to the case.
   • Measure reservoir and root-zone temperature at the end of the light period. Measure the solution in the reservoir and in the root chamber or bucket, at the warmest time of day. Target 18-22 °C (64-72 °F). Above about 23-24 °C (73-75 °F), dissolved oxygen falls and Pythium risk rises; below 16 °C (61 °F) uptake slows.
   • Dissolved oxygen check. Measure DO with a meter in the root zone, or check the system: air pump running, stones bubbling evenly, return water splashing, no dead spots. Target 6-8+ mg/L. Without a meter: if stones are clogged or the pump is undersized for the volume, assume low DO.
   • Send a sample to a plant diagnostic lab. For rots, wilts, leaf spots and viruses you can't separate by eye, send a fresh sample (whole plant with roots or a wilting branch with healthy and diseased tissue) in a sealed bag to a university or commercial plant diagnostic clinic. Results in days to 2 weeks.

Look for

Same plant photographed weekly with a ruler; include a sibling for comparison..