Can my plant be put back together again?

[Lovie]

This is an outdoor plant so it's hard to give an exact date on where it is in flower but if I had to guess I would say it is around week 5. The weight of the buds and rain did a number on my plant today. I want to know the best way to try to save my plant. This plant was FIMed. 3 of the 4 colas lying on the ground are 3 to 4 feet long, full of buds, and heavy. I don't know if I should stick a stake into the soil to support the weight because I am afraid of damaging the roots but if I don't then I don't know how to support the branches. I was wondering if I should try to find a way to support and tape it back together or cut the split ends and try to graft it together instead.

After these pics were taken one of the colas broke all the way off. I placed it in water overnight until I figure out what to do and go to the store to get what I need to attempt to save my plant. I am assuming the answer is no, but I will ask anyway. Can the branch in the pic below be cloned or is it too wooden? Should I attempt grafting it to another plant or would that stress the other plant out too much during flower? FYI.....I have no experience with cloning or grafting. This is my first grow. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Or if it is not savable let me know that too before I run to the store and spend a bunch of money on stuff for nothing.

 

[Fenderbender]

Ouch, that's a though rip.. taping back together can be done if it's done straight away and the rip is kinda clean and fits together nicely, Like that side branch would be easy to tape.. but the top ones the rip looks rather complex and there's a lot depending on that point.
I dunno.
You could try, but to be safe you'll need help not to do more damage. Put a stake so you can tie them straight to that when finished, have someone holding them up and maybe an extra set of hands that does the match & squeeze whilst one just tapes otherwise it's gonna be very frustrating to get it right.

Other option I'm thinking is protecting the rip.. maybe with hansaplast liquid bandaid or a glue and shade it from Sun and put a support so you can rest the branches horizontally and just let them continue flower like that, there's still some lines intact to both ends.

 

[Azimuth]

Plants in flower get progressively harder to clone/root, partially because the stalk gets more woody and partially because the hormones have shifted from growth mode to flower.

As fender suggested tieing everything back together quickly before the inner core dries out gives you your best shot, but it's a long one. Some fresh aloe to the wound can help fight off disease but I'd give you low odds of repairing successfully.

Next time there are things you can do to strengthen the stems like adding silica, or properly supporting the branches earlier, but you likely didn't know any of that beforehand.

Sucks.

 

[BAKIND]

Cannabis branches are very easy to repair however, that appears to be past any possible repair do to the woodyness of it. Most common breaks are during LST (Low Stress Training) and it's usually at the point were a branch meets the main stock. I use flex tape. I just did two repairs the day before yesterday.

 

[Lovie]

I noticed some of my plants were struggling with the weight of the rain and buds yesterday morning and I went to get some stakes to help support them. When I got home, I found this. Talk about minutes too late. I have 5 plants. I believe 3 of them including this one have a potassium deficiency. Those seem to be the ones struggling with the weight. My plants have leaf septoria. I was confusing the potassium deficiency with the septoria at first. I also just picked up some potash yesterday while out getting the stakes. This will not be my first repair. I had a branch break almost all the way off a couple of months ago on another plant that the stalk was woodened and it healed so I am going to try. I feel like I have come too far not to at least try to save it. I may not be able to save all of it but I think I can salvage some. I will post after surgery pics later.

 

[SmokingWings]

I don't know if I should stick a stake into the soil to support the weight because I am afraid of damaging the roots but if I don't then I don't know how to support the branches.

Stick several bamboo stakes into the soil in the pot. These stakes should be close to as tall as the plant after they have been pushed down to the bottom of the pot.

There is no reason to be afraid that this will damage the roots. The way I see it if a stake that is a 1/4 to 3/8th of an inch across will cause root problems then there is another issue with the roots.

I was wondering if I should try to find a way to support and tape it back together or cut the split ends and try to graft it together instead.

Then one by one lift the damaged limbs up so that the area where it split off of the main stem starts to come back together. Using Jute twine you can then tie the broken branch to the main stem and it should hold it in place. This can also be done to any branches that have not broken. There is a chance that "Jute twine" sounds unfamiliar so do a quick google search. It is a twine made from natural fiber and sometimes called organic.

As long as those side branches are still connected to the main stem by the green bark they should continue to grow and ripen. The channels that the plant uses to move water,nutrients and sucrose around the various plant parts are in that layer and not in the woody interior.

An example of this tying off is shown in another msg in a currently active thread. The first photo in the first msg is the example of the basic method. I recommend that the string be tied to the side branch higher up though than what is in that photo. I go for the string coming at right angles off of the main stem at the very least. It could even be tied off and going over to the branches that need the support at an angle going up.
my-outdoor-plant-chernobyl-putang

Any branches that have completely broken off are toast. Either toss them or cut any young buds off and experiment with using them for something. The bark area and the xylem and phloem are past the stage where they will grow back in an attempt to graft. Plus the wrong growth hormones as @Azimuth mentions.

 

[013]

obviously you gotta try to put Humpty Dumpty back together, the breaks look pretty gnarly but hope repairs will hold so you can keep her going to the end.

best of luck!

 

[JiggiLotus]

Ouch!! That's gotta sting. What a bummer.
Duct tape works too. Just fyi.
I had the same thing happen. She recovered and put the rest of the energy into the lower branches. They got thick fast and she continued to go on about the day.

 

[Sueet]

Oh man, what a bummer Good luck with the repair but I wouldn't expect much tbh, that looks pretty bad and it will be difficult to get the water pathway to seal back up.

Long branches are definitely a problem sometimes once the flowers are growing heavy and the wind seems to be in a mood.

 

[Lovie]

After I dropped my kid off at school I went and got a bunch of stuff that I thought may come in handy for this repair. When I got home I secured the other plants first because it is still raining and I wanted to prevent further loss. I had to leave back out to go to a doctor's appointment but I am back now and getting ready to begin.

Any branches that have completely broken off are toast. Either toss them or cut any young buds off and experiment with using them for something. The bark area and the xylem and phloem are past the stage where they will grow back in an attempt to graft. Plus the wrong growth hormones as @Azimuth mentions.

I read you should use a cloning gel when grafting. From the comments here I am taking that grafting will not work. Should I still use the cloning gel when trying to put my plant back together?

Also, if I cannot put the plant back together again can I clip the small side branches that are still green and not wooden off the main branch and try to clone those? If I do that I am going to have a whole lot of clones.

 

[Lovie]

Oh man, what a bummer Good luck with the repair but I wouldn't expect much tbh, that looks pretty bad and it will be difficult to get the water pathway to seal back up.

Long branches are definitely a problem sometimes once the flowers are growing heavy and the wind seems to be in a mood.

It really hasn't been windy. It's just the weight of the buds being wet from all the rain. They are heavy......and it doesn't help that they have a potassium deficiency. The ones without the potassium deficiency are doing good. I still went ahead and staked and supported the bigger branches to be on the safe side though.

 

[JiggiLotus]

After I dropped my kid off at school I went and got a bunch of stuff that I thought may come in handy for this repair. When I got home I secured the other plants first because it is still raining and I wanted to prevent further loss. I had to leave back out to go to a doctor's appointment but I am back now and getting ready to begin.



I read you should use a cloning gel when grafting. From the comments here I am taking that grafting will not work. Should I still use the cloning gel when trying to put my plant back together?

Also, if I cannot put the plant back together again can I clip the small side branches that are still green and not wooden off the main branch and try to clone those? If I do that I am going to have a whole lot of clones.

Idk about the clone stuff but the tape and clone gel isn't a bad idea..what's the worse that can happen? Can't hurt to try.
Good on ya to stake and secure the remainder.

 

[SmokingWings]

I read you should use a cloning gel when grafting. From the comments here I am taking that grafting will not work. Should I still use the cloning gel when trying to put my plant back together?

It is up to you as far as using the gel while putting the plant back together. If you are using the same sort of cloning gel that I am thinking about then it probably contains an artificial hormone that promotes root growth. If it works for what you are trying to do, then great. If not then the loss is only some time and a small amount of money. Like @JiggiLotus says "Can't hurt to try.".

can I clip the small side branches that are still green and not wooden off the main branch and try to clone those?

I doubt it will work at this stage but who knows. I have seen some people pull off some very interesting experiments. Give it a try and if one of them takes then it cam be can be considered a success.

 

[BAKIND]

I think the only thing to take out of this is a lesson. If your plants are outside in an area where storms and high winds move through, then you might want to consider adding barriers as wind shields. Also, It may be that your plants could have used more cal/mag which helps build thick and strong stems. Silica also is a huge help to strenghen the cellular structure of the plants.

 

[Lovie]

So, I was Dr. Frankenstein and my dad was Igor and together we put it back together again. I coated the pieces with CloneX Gel and used a medicine syringe to inject it into the crevices I couldn't get to. Working from the bottom to the top we carefully pieced it together, wrapping it first with plumbers tape to help hold in the moisture, then plant tape. Not to toot my own horn but I am impressed with the outcome of our surgery. I have added stakes to help support the weight of the branches. I gave it a good feeding.....now time will tell. Hopefully, it stops raining tomorrow. I am guessing this plant will need to be foliage fed for a while. Can you foliage feed a plant that is flowering?

 

[BAKIND]

Keep us posted with pictures. Yes you can foliar feed, but usually it's supplemental. I don't believe foliar feeding alone would be enough to survive if uptake from the root system was not reaching the main plant. However, it could make a difference, if your fix partially worked. Lets see.

 

[Lovie]

cut any young buds off and experiment with using them for something.

Even though I feel we did a good job putting the plant back together and I am going to do everything possible to save it.....I have low expectations.

What kind of things can I do with young buds?

 

[Lovie]

The rain has stopped. We are supposed to have 3 days of sunshine followed by more days of rain. Any ideas on how to keep the rain off of it but allow the sun through at the same time?

 

[Lovie]

One last question......how often can I foliage feed? Until the plant heals some I know it is getting very little from the roots. I want to foliage feed as much as possible until it heals enough to get enough nutes from the soil. My concern though is foliage feeding too much and causing the buds to stay wet and mold.